May 5, 2009
In Ireland we are completely over-reliant on food imported from abroad. Around 90-95% of the fruit we eat is imported. As an historian of the Emergency period (1939-45) I am familiar with the perilous situation that such over-reliance on outside trade can cause, particularly during periods of crisis. Back then, Dubliners had many more plots available to them - allotments containing beds for vegetables, south-facing fruit trees , herb beds and flowers.
These days, soil fertility relies on chemicals instead of long term care with manure and rotation. People are not aware of how to goabout growing their own vegetables. I am pushing for the council to make more land available for allotments in the area and to start an education scheme for interested children and adults that will not only provide practical gardening skills but demonstrate why self-sufficiency in food is suitable for a lower carbon, more resource-scarce future.
I am also in support of the growing Guerrilla Gardening Movement. There’s plenty of land earmarked for development lying idle and some of it is the sort of scrubby land ideal for growing beans and other crops.
A recent article by Mark McKeever in Town and Village Newspaper showed the satisfaction in growing one’s own vegetables in this part of Dublin – mange tout in stir-frys, beetroot with goat’s cheese, french beans in salads. Let’s get digging! And let’s get the council to actively support this drive!
April 28, 2009
Gardening is a great recreation activity and way of meeting people. It is environmentally friendly, good for the health and, with food prices as high as they are in Dublin, an alternative to supermarket shopping. At present allotments leased out or sold by private individuals are massively overpriced. On the other hand, there are long waiting lists for allotments given out by the Council. These could be shortened by turning over more land to allotment gardening. The Council need to investigate turning over as much non-recreational public land as possible to people in order that they can grow their own vegetables. This happened during the last Emergency in Ireland and needs to happen during this one. We are in year 1 of a huge slump and people need alternative green resources. And where suitable private land is lying unused – earmarked for development that will not happen in the near future? Why, guerrilla gardening is the solution!
April 18, 2009
From talking to local people in the Rathmines-Pembroke ward, one gets the overriding impression that what matters to them most is their quality of life. In the developmentalist discourse surrounding the future of Dublin as a city people’s lives are often overlooked. Economic growth and affluence is nothing without its meaning for the lives of ordinary working people. The test of Dublin’s development is not how many Michelin starred restaurants it boasts, it is whether people can afford to live here, get decently paid jobs, schools for their children and access to public services.
This is what I have found, not from a political textbook, but from talking to people on the street. Most people’s lives have been hit – and will be hit – by the cutbacks. It doesn’t matter that these relate to macroeconomics, they affect local people. The local election in June will be about local issues but it will, more than ever, reflect the national situation as well.
That is why I oppose the bus service reductions that will affect the area from April 26th; that is why I am calling for another state school in the Rathmines-Ranelagh area; that is why I oppose the influence reckless developers have had in Terenure Road West and Dartmouth Square; that is I believe that local people should have greater access to allotments to grow their own vegetables. These are local issues but inextricably linked with the impact of the national situation. Vote People Before Profit on June 5th for real difference on Dublin city council.
April 17, 2009
I have nothing against Chris Andrews personally. In fact, I contacted him during the Gaza crisis to express my support for his calls for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador. However, as an elected representative of Fianna Fail, he too is accountable for the most savage budget in living memory.
Lenihan’s budget doubled the levy on low and middle income workers and robbed welfare recipients of their Christmas bonus. Mean? Absolutely. Even meaner when you consider that while people have been robbed of their xmas dinner the 6,000 tax exiles emerged completely unscathed from the budget. The budget could have made some real inroads into idle wealth by ending the tax exemption on wealthy artists who don’t need it and increasing higher rate taxation. Instead it was disproportionate, unfair and penny-pinching.
Our protest outside Chris Andrews’ constituency office on Friday drew great support. Amongst those who ‘honked’ their horns to show their support of People Before Profit’s protest were bus drivers and even a Garda car! We shouldn’t forget the many cyclists who rang their bells too.
If you oppose the cuts and you want to send a message to FF / Greens locally, join my election campaign. Remember, with their talk of not increasing tax and their influx of former PD’s Fine Gael represent an attitude to ordinary working people even worse than FF/Green; I hope Labour do well in the locals but we know that they have a nasty tendency to sell out; and SF need to extricate their left wing values from their atavistic nationalism.
Check www.bryceevans.org regularly for details on more activity in Pembroke / Rathmines.
April 10, 2009
Show local Fianna Fáil TD Chris Andrews what you think of the budget cuts on Friday 17 April at 5.30 pm by joining the People Before Profit stall OUTSIDE THE CONSTITUENCY OFFICE OF CHRIS ANDREWS TD (FF)
Where? 80 Sandford Road, Ranelagh, Dublin 6. Heading out of town, Ranelagh Road becomes Sandford Road. Andrews’s Office is on the left-hand side of Sandford Road (on the opposite side to Sandford Parish Church).
Contact Bryce Evans, your People Before Profit candidate for the local elections, June 5th.
E: Bryce.evans@peoplebeforeprofit.ie
P: 085 – 7751426
April 10, 2009
The pillars of the Celtic Tiger economy have turned to sand. The political and economic orthodoxies of the last two decades are being challenged as the greed of bankers and politicians has been exposed.Yet, unsurprisingly, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party have responded by attacking PAYE workers, those on social welfare and low and middle-income families; meanwhile, Ireland’s 6,000 tax fugitives and her cosy coterie of bankers have emerged unscathed. Brian Lenihan’s April mini-budget took money from workers to give to banks, yet again. The state is now holding around 90 billion in bad debt, resulting in higher interest repayments for the state. The pay cuts imposed through the doubling of the levy have actually had a deflationary effect on the economy.
I am involved with People Before Profit because, as a political alliance, it opposes any pay cuts for the lower paid. In fact, we oppose any policies which make workers pay for a crisis that they did not create. We believe that a National Construction Agency should be formed, to create jobs and embark on key housing, education and energy conservation schemes; that the banks should be nationalised and credit socialised; that all tax reliefs and subsidies for landlords and developers should be ended; in real change in the tax system with higher rate taxes increased, an end to tax relief on pension contributions over 100,000 euro, radical increases in Capital Gains, and an increase in Corporation tax so that it is brought in line with European averages. Unlike Fine Gael, we do not believe in holding back from taxing the greedy to help the needy.
Ultimately, we are for the emergence of a new economic and political status-quo. The winds of change are blowing globally, signalled by the sweeping Obama victory in the United States and the exposure of casino capitalism. We stand for proper nationalisation of the country’s banks and resources. Labour want to bring banks into public ownership, a measure which we support. But the Labour Party wants to bolster, not weaken, the system that has got us into this mess in the first place. We believe in credit for badly-needed public works schemes such as the insulation of houses, better schools and primary healthcare facilities, not property and hedge funds.
April 6, 2009
Keep an eye out for establishment party rule-breakers!
Recently, Fine Gael and Green party local election candidates have been breaking the rules on election advertising by mounting large posters of themselves on bus stops and intersections that are not advertising public meetings. This behaviour marks a clear breach of the rules on advertising for the local elections, which stipulate that May 6th is the date on which such material can legally be displayed. If you see such rule-breaking please contact Dublin City council on 01 2222810
April 4, 2009
This week I have been thinking a lot about food. In Ireland prices are flagrantly extortionate, with large supermarkets such as Tesco charging over the odds for basic foodstuffs, not to mention other goods. Along with their failure to stock ethically sourced produce (Israeli peppers and spices are a no-no for me, I’m afraid) I find getting regularly ripped off a real affront. The clearly marked sterling equivalent prices on some goods are a slap in the face, too.
Ideally, we’d all have access to organically sourced, reasonably priced food, but this just isn’t the case. When I watch cookery shows with celebrity chefs telling me I must get my fish from markets in French coastal villages, I sometimes wonder what planet they are living on. Although I must confess that I prefer my TV chefs of the motherly female variety, I do share some characteristics with the new breed of messy, rather angry chefs though, being a sloppy and somewhat slapdash cook myself – I put it down to creative flair (!)
Anyway, with the way things are going I am planning to start a small allotment in my small garden. A friend tried to put me off, claiming that cats would pee on my runner beans, but I’m determined to start a small veg plot out the back; I can always wash them! Tonight though, I’m cooking Cajun chicken lasagne and will enjoy it with a nice big glass of wine (before it goes up in price on Wednesday’s budget). Bon appétit!
March 23, 2009
Ireland’s victory over Wales to bring the Grand Slam home after 61 years; Bernard Dunn’s win in the boxing; and the Premiership title race blown wide open by Liverpool’s victory and Manchester United’s defeat.
Then, one thinks: professional sport. What relevance does it really have on everyday life? Well, professional sport – particularly soccer – may be the preserve of overpaid, slightly obnoxious young men. But it brings people together socially, and that should not be overlooked. It also serves as inspiration for young people to kick a ball around instead of lounging around in front of the TV or X-Box.
Personally, even the Grand Slam was overshadowed by the fact that my soccer team – Portsmouth – registered a 2-1 victory over high-flying Everton with a brace of goals from Peter Crouch. Play Up Pompey!
