Workers’ Party Councillor Ted Tynan has said that
last night’s (Jan 28th) protest by anti-household charge and property tax protesters was
completely justified because councillors from the major parties have
consistently supported austerity and the imposition of unfair charges on
working people and their families.
Cllr. Tynan, who called for a referendum on the
banking bailout, said that those
councillors who had been most outspoken in condemning last night’s protest were
bandying about words such as democracy and mandates when in fact they were
supporting policies which were totally anti-democratic.
“It is grossly hypocritical for councillors from
Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party to lecture others about democracy
when they have collectively imposed and maintained the strictures of the Troika
in order to bail out insolvent banks and prop up the EU and the Euro project”,
he said.
Cllr. Tynan has said that he intends to put the
commitment of establishment councillors to the test by putting down a motion to
the council demanding a referendum, even at this late stage on the banking bailout
which had never been put to the people.
“The ordinary people of this country have been too
quiet. Councillors and others are
getting all hot and bothered because people are standing up for once and making
their voices heard. They expect people
to sit like spectators at a tennis match as councillors vote for more cuts in
services, rent increases and make decisions which impact on people’s
lives. Democracy is not just a word, it
means ‘rule of the people’ and if the people are consistently ignored then they
must reassert that democracy”, said Cllr. Tynan
