West Belfast food bank is a reflection of Stormont's austerity agenda

national | anti-capitalism | press release Thursday January 15, 2015 17:44 by Rua - Republican Network for Unity

West Belfast opens a food bank after vicious Stormont cuts.

Republican Network for Unity spokesperson Stephen McCourt has commented on the recent revelations that a West Belfast food bank is set to open its doors as a result of a rise in poverty.

McCourt said:

‘The Stormont sponsored cuts have pushed hundreds and thousands into poverty, with thousands more set to be plunged into a manufactured poverty as a result of the latest talks initiated by right-wing ideologues in Stormont along with the British and Irish governments.

‘It has recently been revealed that a food bank in West Belfast is set to open its doors to the people of the area. This is a disgusting reflection of the Stormont austerity agenda that has touched the lives of thousands living in the West, particularly children, who suffer from the highest poverty rate in the Six Counties.

‘While i welcome this short term alleviating measure being put in place, i totally denounce the Stormont manufactured poverty that has created the need for it. Food Banks shouldn’t be a reality in 2015, every person in West Belfast and beyond is entitled to the right to food on their table and shelter over their head. Unfortunately this is a reality and it will be entrenched and escalated over the coming years by Stormont puppet politicians who, instead of protecting the most vulnerable in our society, prefer to give a tax break to the corporate elite and take benefits from the poorest to pay for it.

‘The wealth to avoid these malevolent cuts evidently exists; the problem is that such wealth is controlled by a tiny elite, and will only ever be used in order to make a profit, rather than for social needs. Ireland, as a whole, cannot move forward until society is restructured and the wealth redistributed. RNU encourage all individuals to immerse themselves in struggle and play an active role in an anti-austerity campaign, at local and national level.’