Video: West Cork communities at Dáil vow to fight Government cutbacks

» Mark Moloney

'The people of west Cork are not going to take these cuts lying down'

TWO busloads of people from west Cork made the long journey to Dublin on Tuesday to oppose Government cuts hurting rural communities.

Cork South West Sinn Féin representative Paul Hayes told An Phoblacht:

“We've come to Dublin show the Fine Gael and Labour Government that the people of west Cork are not going to take these cuts lying down. We're going to fight them.”

Cuts to local hospital services, rural transport networks and the closure of garda stations are all sources of local anger.

Some protesters carried posters attacking Fine Gael TDs Jim Daly and Noel Harrington and Labour's Michael McCarthy over their support for cuts to home help services for elderly and disabled people.

Demonstrators said Justice Minister Alan Shatter is leaving rural communities unprotected due to the closure of small garda stations while Environment Minister Phil Hogan was slammed for his department's plans to cut local development companies (Leader Programme), including West Cork Development Partnership.

TDs Brian Stanley of Sinn Féin, Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit and Eamon Ó Cúiv of Fianna Fáil all addressed the crowd outside Leinster House.

• Sinn Féin's Paul Hayes and Jonathan O'Brien TD with protesters at Leinster House