New grouping calls for radical alternative to mainstream parties

LEFT-WING ALLIANCE:AN ALLIANCE of left-wing councillors and activists says it is hoping to give Fianna Fáil a pasting in the June 5th local and European polls and provoke a general election.

Calling for a new left-right alignment in Irish politics, alliance members said radical change could be brought about without doing deals with either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael.

At a press conference in Dublin yesterday, the members of the alliance said Opposition proposals were “even more savage” than those being implemented by the current Government.

The group insisted a new alternative was needed.

Richard Boyd Barrett, of the People before Profit Alliance, said community-based people power had delivered real change, demonstrating “you don’t have to trade principles for power”.

Mr Barrett said people power had been behind the rejection of a six-storey apartment block on the Dún Laoghaire baths site.

He said a community-based campaign had prevented the disposal of the local St Michael’s Hospital to property developers.

He said members had also campaigned against hospital cuts and bin charges and now wanted to reverse the privatisation of local government services.

Former Sligo-based Labour TD Declan Bree said he would like to see a broad coalition of the left challenge local government managers to pursue community- driven policies.

Former Green Party member councillor Chris O’Leary said he was one of a number of members of Cork City Council who had each saved the council €45,000 through non-participation in junkets.

He said people were tired of councillors who travelled to conferences “to sign in and leave” in order to collect mileage and subsistence expenses for journeys that were frequently undertaken in a car-pool. He added that the Greens were not listening to criticism of their involvement with the mainstream parties.

Cllr Joan Collins of Dublin City Council said there was a strong sense of anger “among people fighting to keep their homes”.

Hughie Lewis, a community activist in Ballybrack, in south Dublin, urged young people to vote to express their opposition to cuts in services and in education.

The cuts were, he said, depriving people of the ability to combat antisocial behaviour.

The left-wing group said it supported a fair tax system with a levy on the wealthy and the abolition of all tax loopholes.

The group is also calling for the introduction of a higher tax rate for top earners and investment in public services such as health, education and public transport.

It said free access to health and education was a right and demanded a reversal of recent cuts.

It also wanted a halt to privatisation, and said empty homes held by developers and speculators should be used for social housing and community facilities.