Chair Of Bin Tax Campaign To Stand For Dail
Published 19/03/2002

Richard Boyd Barrett, Chair of the Campaign Against Service Charges (CASC), has been selected by the Socialist Workers Party as its candidate for the general election in the Dun Laoghaire constituency. He has been at the fore of the campaign of non-payment which has seen tens of thousands of households refuse to pay the annual charge of £150 for bin collection.

He says "Almost sixty percent of people in Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown are refusing to pay the bin tax. Yet the main parties continue to support the charges. We want to use this election to challenge this disgraceful double tax. "

However, Boyd Barrett stressed that he was not simply a one-issue candidate. He said, "I see the fight against bin charges as part of a wider fight to put people before profit. The main political parties are in league with big business. We want to challenge that.

The SWP candidate is at the centre of a campaign to oppose any plans to privatise Dun Laoghaire Baths and demand its re-opening as a public facility.

He was a key organiser of the Save Our Baths Carnival last year, which saw 600 people march to demand the re-opening of baths. He says: "Developers and big business are trying to take over the seafront and other sites and push the public out. They make huge profits but the public lose out on badly needed amenities. I will use the election and any elected position to continue the fight to defend the baths and other amenities. "

Richard also believes that housing is a key issue in Dun Laoghaire and across the country.

"There are two and a half thousand people on the housing list in Dun Laoghaire. Yet not a single new local authority house has been built in the last three years." Mr Boyd Barrett was also centrally involved in the campaign in Dun Laoghaire and nationally against the Nice treaty. As a strong opponent of war and Irish involvement in NATO he is on the steering committee of the Irish Anti War movement.

"It is unbelievable that billions are spent every year on arms and weapons when millions of people across the world, including this country, lack basic necessities like health, housing and education".

Boyd Barrett has also pledged to only accept an average industrial wage and donate the rest to grass roots campaigning. Explaining this He said: "Politicians are paid too much. They are out of touch with ordinary workers. They should be in the same boat as everyone else. "He is proud that his party is described as far left saying

"Far left politics are enjoying a resurgence in Europe. It's what people need."

Richard Boyd Barrett can be contacted at 087-6329511

 

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