Denman Rooke has been selected as the People Before Profit candidate to contest the by-election in Galway West.
Denman is a socialist activist who lives with his wife and child in Galway city. He works as a commercial artist and designer. He has been a trade union activist for many years and is a long-time activist campaigning on issues of worker’s rights, trade unions, anti-racism, climate action, cost of living, and housing. He is a proud member of the Community Action Tenants Union helping people oppose evictions and fight back against rampant landlord exploitation.
Denman said:
“I’m proud to be selected as the People Before Profit candidate to contest the upcoming by-election for Galway West. The by-election will be another opportunity to reject Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and their failed market-led policies.
“Galway West, like so many other places in the country, faces a severe affordability and housing crisis as a result of successive Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil governments prioritising the profits of developers and landlords over the needs of working people.
“Housing is a human right. It should not be treated as an investment opportunity for big landlords. We need to ban investment funds from owning homes in Ireland.
“We need immediate rent controls and reductions and a ban on evictions, and we need a state construction company, scaled-up as quickly as possible with the land banks, the finance and labour required to build the tens of thousands of social houses and apartments that we urgently need. That is the only way we can end the housing crisis."
Rooke said, “Affordability will also be a central focus of my campaign. The cruel budget decision to end desperately needed income and cost-of-living supports has greatly increased the financial pressure on households and will drive many into poverty.
“I will be campaigning for an emergency payment for disabled people and carers, and for the restoration of the other income supports the Government ended in the budget. I will also demand price controls on energy, food and other essential goods to slash the cost of living.
Rooke also highlighted neutrality and militarisation as important issues.
He said “The Triple Lock is the only legal impediment to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael involving Ireland in Western imperial projects and military capabilities. Soon the government will move to end the Triple Lock and make it inevitable that we will be dragged into wars between the big powers.
“The continued delay in enacting the Occupied Territories Bill is clearly motivated by the Government trying to keep in favour with US power. Micheál Martin calling for Ireland to play Israel in the Nations League games has the same motivation. This is moral bankruptcy in the face of genocide. There should be no shamrock for Trump and the FAI must boycott the games with Israel.
“The vote for Catherine Connolly showed that many are deeply concerned about the deliberate erosion of our neutrality and the push towards militarisation. The Government should listen to the people and I will use the by-election to demand a referendum on the Triple Lock to let the people decide.
“This by-election will also be another opportunity for the left to cooperate to win, as we did in the massively successful Catherine Connolly for President campaign. I will be calling for 'Vote Left, Transfer Left' based on commitments the right to housing; disability justice; a National Health Service; defence of neutrality; radical and just climate action; and against racism and discrimination.
“For our part, we will be clear as to why we are asking people to give People Before Profit their No. 1 vote. We are the only party to rule out coalition with FF or FG, and we think that the left would be much strengthened by other parties joining us in making that commitment.
“I have already begun discussions with the candidates on the left including Sheila Garrity (Independent), Social Democrats, Sinn Féin, Labour, and the Greens on how we can collaborate over the coming months
“In this by-election, I will offer People Before Profit’s radical alternative to the century-long rule of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. An alternative where people’s needs for homes and essential goods come before the profits of the few, and where, on the global stage, we oppose militarisation and wars”.