People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith will address the Stand Up for Democracy demo this evening (5.30pm, Dáil Éireann) and will speak about the underhanded and undemocratic blocking of opposition bills by the government through the use of the money message.
Deputy Smith will raise specifically the Climate Emergency Bill which the government have attempted to block repeatedly over the last year, most recently resorting to a money message which was previously ruled on by the Ceann Comhairle as not being required.
Deputy Smith will also point to a number of Solidarity- People Before Profit Bills that have been blocked by money message- Objective Sex Education Bill and the Anti Evictions Bill for example.
Deputy Smith will say: “The progressive mask that Fine Gael and Varadkar attempt to wear has slipped once again. They like to portray themselves as progressive and forward thinking. However this doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
“When Solidarity- People Before Profit have proposed progressive legislation such as the Climate Emergency Bill, the Objective Sex Education Bill and the Anti-Evictions Bill the government oppose them and impose a spurious money message.
“They have once again been exposed. We have proven multiple times that the parliamentary trickery they are weaving over the Climate Emergency Bill is undemocratic and nefarious. On the one hand Minister Bruton and the Taoiseach speak in glowing terms about the Student Climate Strikers and then proceed to block the Climate Emergency Bill- the central demand of the movement.
“The Climate Emergency Bill is represents the central demand of the climate movement across the world and the principal behind it has been endorsed by Greta Thunberg, the Student Climate Strikers, Extinction Rebellion and climate scientists the world over including the IPCC. All of these groups agree we cannot continue burning fossil fuels and we need to keep 80% of know reserves in the ground.”
