People Power needed for Bray Fire service

The people of Bray are deeply saddened to hear how two brave firefighers, Brian Murray and Mark O Shaughnessy, lost their lives fighting a  fire in a disused factory.

Their deaths are all the more poignant because the men had consistently argued that Bray needed a full time service.

About 35,000 people live in Bray and between 40,000 and 50,000 live in the greater Bray area.

We owe it to Brian Murray and Mark O Shaughnessy to ensure their deaths are not in vain.

This means launching the most determined campaign ever to get the full time fire service for Bray.

Beware of hypocritical politicians
Irish politicians often play a  cynical game. They tell electors what they want to hear – then they toe the party line afterwards, even if it is against the interests of those they serve.

Behind the scenes, a tiny corporate elite dictate the real agenda to the party bosses. Their agenda is to cut back on public spending so that the wealthy get away without paying taxes.

This is the real reason why a relatively small sum of €3 million a year is not made available to get a full time service in Bray.

It is high time that this cynical game ended and people were asked to account for themselves.

Last week, every TD from Wicklow had a chance to either stick with the people of Bray – or stay loyal to a party line that was dictated. Some failed dismally.

- When Dick Roche was a back bencher in  1997 he pushed for a full time fire service for Bray. But as Minister he did nothing – and did not support the vote for a fire service last week.

- Joe Behan says he has always  been in favour of a full time fire service – but he did not break from the FF line last week.

- Deirdre de Burca says she is for a fire service. So why is she not loud in her condemnation of the Green Party which voted with Fianna Fáil against a full time service.

People power
When politicians do not stick to their word, there is only one way to win through ‘people power'.

We have no doubt that the demonstration today will be a powerful expression of support to the families of the men who died.

But the cynical politicians who sit in Dáil Éireann will see our demonstration as just ‘letting off steam'. They hope that after one big demonstration we will go away.

We would like to suggest that the protests escalate so that we call a weekly demonstration at the same time every Saturday.

If everyone leaves this march determined to bring more next week, we will show that our movement is going forward.

Remember, the Berlin Wall did not fall after one demonstration, but because the movement escalated.

If people power brought down the Iron Curtain, it can also give Bray a fulltime fire service.

Public Meeting
The Politics of People Power
Speaker: Richard Boyd Barrett (Chair Irish Anti War Movement, People Before Profit Alliance Gen Election candidate in June 2007 in Dun Laoghaire, personal capacity)
Thursday 18th October
8.30pm Royal Hotel, Bray