Nulty stands over decision as rivals call for resignation
Dublin People 10 Dec 2011
LABOUR’S latest
‘rebel’ TD, Patrick Nulty, is standing
over his decision to make a stand against the crippling austerity budget
measures backed by his own party in Government.
The Dail’s newest member caused a wave of controversy
last week when he defied his party only six weeks after topping the poll in the
Dublin West by-election.
The softly-spoken TD may have left his Labour Party
colleagues red faced when he left the parliamentary party but he won the
respect of many constituents for going against the grain to stand up for what
he believed in.
In an interview with Northside People, the 29-year-old
explained how he is passionate about protecting the most marginalised in
society; those who were most profoundly affected by the cutbacks.
Deputy Nulty said he felt strongly about protecting
education and frontline services in health care, partly because he spent so
much time in Temple Street Hospital when he was a young child.
At just two-weeks-of-age Deputy Nulty suffered severe
burns from a house fire, which he miraculously escaped from.
“I was in hospital a lot as a child,
? he explained.
“My attitude is that life throws challenges at you and
it is how you respond to those challenges that makes you who you are as a
person.
“It instilled in me a great deal of respect and
commitment to health and education.
“I believe that personal experiences shape and form
who you are, but they don’t define you. I believe that where a person comes
from should never hold them back.
?
He added:
“I am someone who believes that politics is
at its best when it’s about ideals.
?
Prior to voting against the Government’s decision to
increase Vat from 21 per cent to 23 per cent Deputy Nulty explained how he put
forward alternative proposals and suggestions in relation to how the necessary
savings could be made.
“Instead of disproportionately targeting those on low
and average incomes, we should have been asking those who have the most to pay
the most,
? he said.
“There were clear and better alternatives to meet our
international obligation and our economic debt.
“I have tremendous respect for my Labour Party
colleagues and all TDs in the Dáil but I was elected with a mandate to protect
the most vulnerable in our society and that was always what I was going to do.
“I don’t think it matters how long I’ve been in the
Dáil, whether it’s 30 days or 30 years. I will always be the voice of those who
voted for me.
?
Despite being expelled from the parliamentary party as
a result of his refusal to accept budgetary measures, Deputy Nulty said he has
no intention of going Independent and remains committed to the Labour Party.
However, political rivals in Dublin West rounded on
the young TD, with some calling on him to resign from Labour altogether.
Sinn Féin representative Paul Donnelly backed Deputy
Nulty’s decision to vote against the budget but said he should go a step
further.
“I welcome Patrick Nulty’s decision not to support the
savage budget being imposed on ordinary people,
? he said.
“However, I am
calling on him to go the full way and resign from the Labour Party if his
actions are to be taken seriously.
?
Local Socialist Party councillor, Ruth Coppinger, also
called on Deputy Nulty to resign from Labour and claimed his decision to vote
against the budget was down to pressure from her party.
“If Deputy Nulty is sincere, we call on him to now
resign from the Labour Party and make a principled stand against austerity and
for the building of a new left party in this country,
? she said.
“The swingeing cuts to health, education, the
disabled, lone parents and part-time workers on social welfare was clearly too
much for Deputy Nulty to stand over, despite an earlier commitment to always
vote with Labour.
“However, this mainly reflects the pressure placed on
Nulty by the Socialist Party/United Left Alliance during the recent Dublin West
by-election. The ULA has struck a bulls-eye against Labour in the run-up to the
budget.
?
Fianna Fail’s David McGuinness said Deputy Nulty
should resign his Dáil seat and run as an Independent in a new by-election.
“While I may agree with Patrick Nulty about many of
the callous measures which Ministers Burton and Varadkar have ensured are
included in the budget, he ran for election fully aware of the scale of the
budgetary adjustments that were necessary and the shape of the measures
likely,
? he said.
“They were being well flagged since early autumn.
“It is on these grounds that I would now ask him to
consider resigning the seat. If he then so wishes, he can run for the seat as
an Independent.
?
Cllr McGuinness came in second place in the Dublin
West by-election.
Related News
