Yesterday morning, People Before Profit candidate Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin outlined his Dublin Central by-election campaign at a press conference in Buswells Hotel in Dublin 2, blaming Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil for the housing and cost of living crises we face and called for the rejection of those parties on 22nd May.
In his election campaign he is calling for energy and groceries price controls, rent reductions, including the reversal of Dublin City Council’s recent rent increases, and for the preservation of cultural spaces to make Dublin a city we can live in.
Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin said:
“Successive governments of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have created severe housing and cost of living crises. That’s not an accident. It's because those parties put the profits of developers and landlords before people.
“I stand for renters, not landlords, so I am calling for rent controls to cut private rents. I’m also campaigning for Dublin City Council to reverse its rent hikes. Council tenants are already under severe financial pressure and cannot afford the rent increases that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour and the Green Party voted for in November.
“Workers and their families need energy credits to cut their essential costs, along with lasting actions to reduce energy and grocery prices. People Before Profit’s Bills to cap and reduce grocery and energy prices are the sort of bare minimum measures that the government should have implemented long ago.
“I have also campaigned to preserve cultural resources in the constituency and I’m proud to have been part of the successful campaign to save the Cobblestone as an important site for Irish and folk music. We need cultural spaces for artists and musicians - they are the beating heart of the inner city.
“In just over two weeks, we will have an important opportunity to reject Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. I am asking the people of Dublin Central to vote number 1 for me on 22nd May so I can work for them as a campaigner to make Dublin Central a place we can live in.”
Director of Elections Paul Murphy said:
“Today we wanted to talk exclusively about the campaign issues, but on Friday afternoon, RTÉ informed us that Eoghan is to be excluded from the three Dublin Central debates that RTÉ is hosting.
“Eoghan is the only one of the nine candidates or parties that achieved more than 4% of first preference votes in Dublin Central in the 2024 general election. Any objective analysis of previous election results indicates there are nine viable candidates in this by-election. All have been included in at least one debate panel, with the exception of Eoghan.
“People Before Profit-Solidarity has 3 TDs and has had 15 years of continuous Dáil representation. We are outraged that RTÉ has chosen to exclude our unique national voice. We are firmly challenging this unacceptable decision and we demand that RTÉ reverse this and let Eoghan be heard in the debates.”
Richard Boyd Barrett said:
“People Before Profit today repeat our call for a formal ‘vote left, transfer left’ pact. Such a pact can ensure that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are defeated and the left wins this by-election.
“We also repeat our call for left parties to rule out coalition with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. We believe that would give people hope of real change and generate a wave of enthusiasm as we approach the next general election.”