This article by Lynda Walker first appeared in Unity, the weekly publication of the Irish Communist Party.
COMING up to May Day- we will highlight the state of the world as we go from one crisis to another-and from one war to another. As we experience the naked force of imperialism in different ways-the people in Lebanon, Iran, and Palestine are suffering the full force of the US and Israel’s war machine. In Cuba and other parts of the world the economic effects of capitalism in crisis is bringing raging disruption. Thousands if not millions are protesting against the war and genocide only to be met with hypocrisy and reactionary action. In Britain legislation to restrict protests is being introduced and protesters are being arrested. It is somewhat ironic that people with vehicles are prepared to come out and protest over the fuel crisis, but they are not willing to direct their anger to the cause of the situation to confront Trump, Israel and those governments who tacitly support them. Even to shift the protest to the American Embassy in Dublin.
As time goes by the effects become more tangible. Over the past two weeks’ there have been massive protests in Ireland over fuel costs. Lorries, tractors, oil tankers, HGV’s, taxis, other vehicles (everything but tanks!) blocked the roads and access to vital fuel depots and a major port. This led to closures of the main highway around Dublin as well as sections of other major roadways. Many fuel pumps were left dry and transportation across the country came to a standstill. This has also led to the arrest of protesters.
It came as a shock to the Irish government who have since acted and produced tax cuts on fuel, but the Irish Congress of Trade Unions are highly critical of €500m tax cut for the fuel industry. However, if the price of crude oil continues to rise sharply as it has done since Trump blockaded the Straits of Hormuz last weekend, then the tax cuts will quickly be reduced to nothing.
The protests about fuel cost and the cost of living has moved into so many corners. Some of the protesters were made up of working class people and organisations like the Community Action Tenants Union who organises not only around housing, but around the broader living conditions. who genuinely work to eradicate the cause of the problems.
However the main protesters were made up of people who are wealthy farmers, businessmen whose profits are being hit by the fuel crisis, a number of them would be employers too.
Comments that some of the individuals have made display a distinct racist and sexist ingrained ideology. Fintan O’Toole is just one of the journalists to highlight class conflict in his article in the Irish Times (14th-April).. He wrote about some of the main leaders like James Geoghegan who spoke about the ‘uprising’ “a revolution that is going to change Ireland forever.” O’Toole writes “The people’s advance guard is the men of property. Geoghegan boasts ‘I buy machines for €200.000.’ If, like him, you have been the subject of revenue judgements for €500,000 you have to have a very taxable income in the first place. Anyone with a bit of sense would know where these revolts of the disaffected middling business class always go: to the far right.” O’Toole quotes another of its main spokesmen Christopher Duffy who made an inflammatory statement about environmentalist Greta Thunberg saying “I couldn’t care if she got raped or beaten and I make no apologies for saying that.” This at a time when violence against women is increasing, at the very least the comment is incitement to hatred. And who would want to walk shoulder to shoulder with a man like that?
However this moment is an opportunity to have collective discussions with those who have the working class interests at heart, to call the on governments to ignore profiteering oil lobbyists, to challenge the right wing and to help those hit hardest by rising cost of living. Also Ireland should become more self-sufficient and install clean power and improved energy efficiency that represents the long-term solution
Stiofán Ó Nualláin from Trademark in Belfast remarked that: “The fuel protests are a legitimate response to real cost-of-living pressure. The core base, farmers, hauliers, rural workers are being squeezed by forces beyond their control and yes they’re identifying the wrong culprit and yes some far-right figures have attached themselves to the movement, but that’s a reason to engage, not walk away.”
Protests were also organised in the North last Tuesday 14th, we wait to see the results. The situation will not go away. It was said to be a wake up call for the Irish government-it is also a wake up call for the left in Ireland.