People Before Profit selects candidate for Midlands European election

A socialist candidate will be on the ballot paper for the European elections in this region.

People Before Profit announced today that Brian O’Boyle had been selected as its candidate for the Ireland Midlands North-West Constituency for the European Parliament Elections

Dr O’Boyle is an economist and a lecturer at the Atlantic Technological University in Sligo.

Speaking after his selection, he said: “I am delighted to have been selected to represent Ireland Midlands North-West for People Before Profit in the upcoming European Elections.

“I am running to highlight the fact that the EU is a rich man’s club that currently presides over staggering levels of inequality. According to the most recent Oxfam report, the two richest people in Ireland own as much wealth as the bottom 50% of the population. This completely undermines democracy and leads to insecurity for many people.

“The far right and many establishment politicians have used immigration to distract attention from the glaring inequality that has risen as the EU bails out banks and enriches the 1%. Instead of scapegoating vulnerable people I will use the campaign to shine a light on the elite decisions responsible for making life harder for Irish people and those fleeing war.

“I will also campaign with like-minded people for a Europe that puts people before profit. For a Europe that breaks with imperialism and refuses to stand by while the Israeli Defence Forces commit genocide in Gaza.

“I also want to reach out to rural communities left behind by successive governments. Small and medium farmers need a radical overhaul of the Common Agricultural Policy so that 80% of the money no longer goes to 20% of the farmers. They also need proper financial support to transition away from beef and dairy without losing any income. The burden for a just transition should be placed on those Agri-corporations that pollute our environment and make vast profits in the process, not small and medium farmers and rural people struggling to make ends meet.

“Finally, I want to use this campaign to argue for an alternative Europe. One that is progressive and social, not one built of greed, inequality, and creeping militarism."