Richard Boyd Barrett to address crowd in Limerick for first time in nearly 10 years

Limerick People Before Profit Representative Ruairí Fahy with Richard Boyd Barrett in front of the Jim Larkin statue on O’Connell Street. “The great appear great because we are on our knees. Let us rise!” — Jim Larkin.

On Monday October 2nd, People Before Profit TD, Richard Boyd Barrett, will speak to the people of Limerick against government inaction on rising prices.

He has been invited to JJ Bowles at 8PM by local People Before Profit representative, Ruairí Fahy, who has been organising locally on issues surrounding housing, heating costs and inadequate wages.

Mr. Boyd Barrett will be discussing the Cost of Living crisis and encouraging others to join the “national demonstration” organised by the “Cost of Living Coalition” on Saturday, October 7th, assembling at Parnell Square at 1pm. At the demonstration he said that “trade unionists, student unions, pensioners' groups, housing groups, anti-poverty activists and many more will march to the Dáil to demand urgent action to deal with the crushing impact of the cost-of-living, housing and homelessness crises.” and that he urges “anybody who is affected by or angry about the cost-of-living and housing crises to do so. People will be there because of homelessness, unaffordable rents, unaffordable childcare, mortgage interest hikes, grocery price hikes and much more.”

This week in the Dáil he highlighted how Ireland’s energy prices are out of step with the rest of Europe following Táinaiste Micheal Martin’s claim that the price increases were due to post Covid supply shocks and the war in Ukraine, “If it is all about the war in Ukraine, how does the Tánaiste explain electricity and gas prices here being almost double what they are in the rest of Europe?”

This comes in the same week that the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities released figures showing that 11% of electricity customers, or 256,000 households, are now in arrears. 168,000 gas customers are also in arrears.

This week the Living Wage Technical Group has released a report that calculates the living wage at €14.80 per hour, an increase of €0.95 due to inflation over the past year. This compares to a minimum wage of €11.30.2 The living wage is calculated at a level that allows people to obtain the goods and services essential for taking part in the norms of everyday life in Ireland.”

On having Mr. Boyd Barrett speak in Limerick, Mr. Fahy said, “It’s great to have Richard come down and put the cost of living crisis into perspective. He has a fantastic ability to cut to the core of the issue and push for people’s needs to be met not by putting more money in the pockets of landlords and companies who are making record profits but by using the powers the government has to regulate prices.

“Food, energy and rent have been the main drivers of inflation and these place the heaviest burden on the poorest in society as they make up the largest percentage of their expenses. We’re at the stage now that even business lobbyists are pleading with the government to move away from its model of folding to the interests of the parasitical landlord and asset owner classes.

“If people don’t see proper pay increases to exceed inflation we will enter a spiral of poverty that will create unemployment as people will have to direct what little they have towards food and fuel. We’re looking into a return of the hunger marches of the 1930s if this state continues on its current path.”