Later today People Before Profit will meet with Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald to discuss the Zero-Covid strategy which People Before Profit have been campaigning on since September last year. The meeting follows on from a letter People Before Profit send to all opposition parties calling on them to join them in pushing for a Zero-Covid policy.
The People Before Profit delegation will be made up of Richard Boyd Barrett TD and Gerry Carroll MLA. The party is seeking to unite the opposition in pushing the government to abandon their failed ‘Living with Covid’ plan and take on a Zero-Covid policy to eliminate community transmission.
Richard Boyd Barrett TD said: “We very much hope Sinn Féin will come on board and publicly back and promote a Zero-Covid strategy and help us pile the pressure on the government to abandon their failed policy of ‘Living with Covid’.
“We can see that on both sides of the border the Covid response has been shambolic- we need a fundamental change of direction.
“If Sinn Féin come on board and publicly back a Zero-Covid policy we would be on track to have most of the opposition in the Dáil supporting such a plan and it would put serious pressure on other parties in the Executive to back an elimination strategy.”
Gerry Carroll MLA: “The handling of the pandemic by the Southern Coalition government and the Northern Executive have been equally chaotic and dangerous to public health. People Before Profit have been arguing for some time that we need to see the implementation of a Zero-Covid strategy which will end lockdown yo-yo, save lives and give people hope that there is a way out of this horrendous situation.
“Governments have used every excuse under the sun to not implement a Zero-Covid strategy. This must come to an end and Governments need to shift dramatically away from the ‘Living with Covid’ strategy and implement what a growing number of scientists are calling for- a Zero Covid Strategy, with all the necessary financial support supplied.”
