Power To The People Campaign Gathers Pace Across Ireland
Éirígí For A New Republic activists have been taking their Power To The People campaign to the streets over recent weeks. Thousands of Power To The People information leaflets have been delivered to homes and handed out at information stalls where citizens have also signed a petition calling for the public ownership of Ireland’s renewable energy sector.
Power To The People information stall outside Supervalu in Aylesbury, Tallaght
Power To The People pickets have also been organised outside the constituency offices of a number of Government TDs. Speaking from Athlone, Éirígí energy spokesperson, Fiona Moran spoke about the politics behind the campaign and the activism of recent weeks,
“The vast majority of Irish people seem to be unaware of the fact that the Dublin government has been handing control of Ireland’s vast renewable energy resources to Big Energy corporations for the last thirty years. That process is now about to enter a dramatic new phase as huge privately-owned wind farms are constructed off Ireland’s coastline.
Power To The People picket outside the constituency office of Fine Gael TD, Hildegarde Naughton in Galway
Within a few short years billions of euros from the hard-hit pockets of Irish people will be transferred to Big Energy corporations annually as we are forced to buy electricity from them that was generated using our own renewable natural resources.
All of Ireland’s 400 wind farms should be in public ownership instead of in the hands of Big Energy. The electricity generated by those wind farms should be supplied at a low, stable prices to Irish households and businesses to help them transition away from fossil fuels. This approach would go a long way to reducing Ireland’s carbon output and reducing the energy bills that we are all paying.
Power To The People leaflets going through the doors in Ballinteer in South Dublin
It’s now also thirty years since the Dublin government handed control of the Corrib Gas Field to Big Energy - an event which many people now recognise was a catastrophic, criminal waste of a massively valuable Irish natural resource.
It took years of intensive campaigning to raise awareness about the Corrib Gas giveaway and by then it was too late to stop Shell and other Big Energy companies taking control of that multi-billion-euro gas field.”
Power To The People protest outside of the constituency office of Green Party TD, Brian Leddin in Limerick City
Moran continued by explaining why Éirígí is bringing the Power To The People campaign to the streets at this time, “The government is in the process of giving away control of Ireland’s vast wind and solar resources - a natural resource giveaway so valuable it makes the Corrib giveaway look like loose change.
To stop a repeat of the Corrib Gas disaster we first need to first raise public awareness about the giveaway of our renewable energy resources and then rally public opinion towards the idea of public ownership and public development of Ireland's wind and solar energy infrastructure.
Power To The People protest outside the offices of Fianna Fail TD Robert Troy in Mullingar in Co Westmeath
The impact on our planet of burning fossil fuels as well as the precarious supply and skyrocketing price of fossil fuels has created an unprecedented public focus on Ireland’s energy sector. These are the reasons why we have decided to now bring our Power To The People campaign to the streets and into our communities.
There has never been a better time for a national conversation about our energy sector - about where we get our energy from, about who owns that energy and about who profits from that energy. For our part we Éirígí For a New Republic are leading the fight to both highlight and oppose the scandal of what is happening in the renewable energy sector.
Power To The People information stall outside the constituency office of Fine Gael TD Josepha Madigan in Churchtown, South Dublin
Distributing Power To The People leaflets, holding pickets at TDs offices, engaging in conversations with members of the public, talking to our own family, friends and workmates are all tools that we are using to raise awareness of the scandalous giveaway of our renewable energy resource.
They are also the tools that we use to build support for a radically different approach to energy than the one that the government is pursuing - an approach that will put our environment and the needs of our people ahead of the greed of Big Energy.
Over the coming months we will continue to push the Power To The People message within our own communiites and online, but would also welcome more help in doing so. I’d encourage anyone who is interested in joining the fight for energy justice to get in touch, to either or join Éirígí”
Power To The People leaflets going through the doors in Corrib Park, Galway City