People Before Profit’s by-election candidate Denman Rooke has expressed support for the fuel protests that rocked Ireland over the past few days. Rooke also unequivocally condemned the government’s appallingly authoritarian crackdown on peaceful protestors at the Galway docks, and the deployment of the army at the Whitegate Refinery.
“The protests may have on the surface been about skyrocketing fuel costs,” said Rooke, “but the underlying issue of a spiralling cost-of-living is why they had so much support beyond farmers and haulers. They’re the cry of a people whose government has failed them. People who are struggling to survive in the cost-of-living and housing crises, communities who have been carved out by austerity and inequality, the next generation who feel no hope for the future.”
This is why People Before Profit has supported the protests across the country. As Rooke explained, “Of course fuel for farmers, hauliers and suppliers is crucial, but the problem is much bigger than just these industries and impacts society as a whole. This is why People Before Profit have for years been calling for caps on fuel prices for home heating oil, for food and other essential goods. Just 2 years ago our party brought the Emergency Price Controls Bill to the Dáil, but the government refused to listen which has led us to this past week. It’s also why we’ve repeatedly asked for increased support for workers whose wages have been halved by inflation, for carers, for SNAs, for healthcare and education.”
Rooke urged trade unions and labour movements to show leadership. He pointed how with their help, we can build on the power we have seen displayed by the fuel protests into something much bigger and broader. A people powered movement of workers demanding our government take action on price caps on fuel, energy, that affects everyone in society.
“As we’ve seen this past week, the government will bend to the will of the people when the right pressure is applied. Now is the time for the Left to act to increase this pressure and the demands on the government,” said Rooke. “For too long we’ve described it as a cost-of-living crisis, but our lives and our communities shouldn’t have a price. It’s time to organise for more action.”
Denman Rooke on Protests: We Call it a Cost of Living Crisis, but Why Must We Pay To Live?
Denman Rooke has expressed support for the fuel protests and unequivocally condemned the authoritarian crackdown on peaceful protestors at the Galway docks, and the deployment of the army at Whitegate.
