'Candidates Opposed to Cuts Must Come Together' - Bree
Sunday, February 13, 2011 at 02:07PM
Independent candidate Councillor Declan Bree, has called for unity in the fightback against the cuts in wages, public services and social welfare.
Cllr Bree said: "The reality is that all the mainstream parties are committed to making ordinary people pay for this crisis. There is no justification for this whatsoever and it is particularly disappointing that the so-called opposition parties have proposed, much like Fianna Fail, an austerity programme that will see ordinary working families and those in receipt of social welfare paying for the recklessness of bankers and speculators.
“Bailing out the incurred debts of the banks is madness. Last week the Government gave €800 million to Anglo-Irish’s foreign bondholders. How many hospital beds could that have opened to the public; how many jobs could that €800 million have created. Obscenely that €800 million is almost equivalent to the budget cuts made to social welfare.
”This highlights the nonsense of the austerity package being pursued by all the establishment parties. Taking billions of Euros out of the economy and giving it to foreign banks, only deflates the economy further. People will have less money to spend and this will inevitably result in job losses and therefore higher unemployment – putting an even greater strain on the state’s coffers - and forcing even more of our people into emigration
"In the absence of any sort of real opposition from the mainstream parties, it is of vital importance that candidates throughout the country who wish to stand up in the interests of normal people come together and work as effectively as possible in opposition to these cutbacks.
“I have been in constant contact with candidates both in the North-West and across the country with a view to establishing a coherent opposition to placing the burden of private banking debt onto the Irish people.
"At the moment we are witnessing rises in mortgage interest rates, the implementation of the universal social charge, cuts in wages as well as social welfare. While banks have been bailed out, there will be no such bail-out for the Irish people. For my part, I intend to work tirelessly in an effort to reverse these savage cuts and ensure the blame for this crisis is put where it belongs, with the bankers, developers and speculators who have gotten us into this mess." said Cllr Bree.