Speaking in the Dáil on Cost-of-Living Crisis, Paul Murphy said:
“Next week, People Before Profit, Sinn Féin, Social Democrats, Labour Party, and other left Independents will be launching the Affordable Ireland Campaign.
“That is a campaign that will be launched together with, supported by and involved with a broad coalition of disabled people's organisations, trade unions, students unions like Aontas na Mac Léinn, civil society groups, the Irish Wheelchair Association, the Disability Federation of Ireland, Unite the Union, Postgraduate Workers' Organisation, the Irish Traveller Movement, the National Women's Council, the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed, and the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament.
“What unites us is a determination to make Ireland affordable. We all deserve a country we can afford, not this rip-off republic, and not a society that caters for the wealthy but leaves everyone else struggling to put food on the table and keep the heat and lighting on.
“The affordable Ireland campaign has six very simple demands:
- to cut energy costs by introducing energy credits and abolishing standing charges;
- to cut and control grocery prices;
- for above-inflation pay, social welfare benefits and pension rises, including finally introducing a living wage;
- for an emergency payment for disabled people and carers and a permanent cost-of-disability payment;
- to abolish fees for public services, including college, childcare, health, and general practitioner care; and,
- to freeze and cap rents and build public housing.
“We will be on the streets for the first time with a focus on the call for an emergency payment for disabled people and carers on Saturday, 28 February, at 1 o'clock in Parnell Square.
“The last couple of weeks, or any week that one pays attention to, to be honest, tell us a lesson. This week, we have the rip-off rents Bill. Last week, we had the Social Democrats' motion for an emergency winter payment for disabled people shamefully voted down by the Government.
“The lesson is that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Lowry-lackey Independents who prop them up will not do any of this unless we force them to act.
“The launch of the Affordable Ireland campaign recognises the fact that this right-wing Government will only take action on the cost-of-living crisis if it is forced to do so.
“Left to their own devices, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the right-wing Independents will do nothing to make Ireland affordable.
“In fact, they will do the exact opposite. That is what the rip-off rents Bill is about. It is about deliberately increasing rents even faster than the already unaffordable rents that we have.
“That is what the attacks on the poorest in society and disabled people in the budget were about. They are making it harder for ordinary working class people to have a decent life.
“They will hike up rents for council, approved housing body and housing assistance payment tenants, and now for every private tenant too. They will roll out the red carpet for data centres, which means driving up electricity costs for everybody else.
“The Government acts like Robin Hood in reverse - stealing from the poor to give to the rich. It is not because it does not have the money.
“The Government had more than enough money in the budget to give hundreds of millions of euro in tax breaks to landlords, developers, fast food chains and Google, which walked in the front door of the Department of Finance, had a meeting with the Minister for Finance and said it wanted an increase in the research and development tax credit.
“The Government never has enough. It is always hard choices for ordinary people with never enough to ensure they can afford to live unless, of course, an election is coming and the Government wants to buy people's votes with a few one-off cost-of-living payments.
“All of it is enraging, all of it is unfair and all of it is unjust but all of it will continue unless we stop them. That is why we have to mobilise with the Affordable Ireland Campaign.