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# Dublin Central: Make the Government Pay
- URL: https://rebelnews.ghost.io/dublin-central-make-the-government-pay/
- Published: 2026-05-07T14:29:56.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-01T07:53:39.000Z
- Author: Paul Murphy
- Tags: Ecosocialism, Features, News, Opinion, Socialist Ireland, by-election, Dail, Dublin Central, election, Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin, People Before Profit, #Migrated-1790841191722, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-10-01 07:53

Dublin Central is Ireland’s most unequal electoral constituency. The glittering towers of the IFSC are host to over €5 trillion of domiciled assets. Right beside them lies Gardiner Street, where one in ten of our 17,500 homeless people are living.

All around Gardiner Street are communities marked by deep deprivation. Terence Wheelock, the young man who died in highly suspicious circumstances, after being arrested by the Gardaí twenty years ago, lived around the corner. Unemployment is over 20%. Drug deaths are twice the national average.

It encapsulates the fundamental problem facing working people - we have a government which serves those operating from the IFSC, not those forced to live in Gardiner Street.

The reason for a bye-election on 22 May makes this clear. Paschal Donohoe, Fine Gael Minister and TD for the area, resigned his seat [to take up the job of Managing Director at the World Bank](https://rebelnews.ghost.io/content/files/2026/10/the-world-bank-behind-paschal-donohoes-payday.html), with an associated salary of €600,000\. He got offered it after approving an additional €10 million in funding for that institution, paid for by the Irish public, and against the advice of his own civil servants.

The candidates of the traditional establishment parties seem selected to hammer the point home further. Cllr. Ray McAdam, Paschal Donohoe’s right-hand man, criticised for flying business class (paid for by the public) to California, responded that he was “selling Dublin”. Meanwhile, John Stephens, the Fianna Fáil candidate, has already been exposed by the Ditch as lying in a planning application to build a second house, and then registering to vote in two constituencies.

The bye-election offers an opportunity to punish the government and to build momentum towards kicking them out and electing a left government for the first time in Irish history. The two key backdrops for the election are [the election of Catherine Connolly](https://rebelnews.ghost.io/content/files/2026/10/catherine-connollys-win-is-a-historic-victory-for-the-left-lets-build-on-it.html) as President, driven by a coalition of the left, and the [fuel protests](https://rebelnews.ghost.io/fuel-protests-we-need-workers-action-to-win-concessions-for-the-majority/) which forced concessions - but from which [right populist forces](https://rebelnews.ghost.io/fuel-price-protests-in-ireland-ecosocialism-or-barbarism/) like Independent Ireland have gained momentum.

The big question in Irish politics is whether the left can connect with the anger and alienation of wide swathes of the population and forge it into a movement targeted at the rich and powerful who are responsible for the cost of living and housing crises. Or will the right be able to capture a significant portion of that energy, and channel it into a movement which kicks down at the powerless and divides working class people?

This, together with the pressing nature of the cost-of-living crisis - which sees over 300,000 unable to pay their bills - is why People Before Profit has been urgently campaigning for the workers’ movement to take the lead on the cost of living. Together with our work as part of the Affordable Ireland Campaign, we have been popularising the necessity of a workers’ day of action led by the trade union movement.

The 22 May bye-elections are also a part of this battle. In Dublin Central, right-wing independent Councillor Malachy Steenson is standing on an explicitly anti-immigrant platform. However, unlike in Galway West, where Independent Ireland candidate and former Fianna Fáil Councillor, Noel Thomas, is in contention, the Dublin Central seat is almost guaranteed to go to a left candidate. The question is - who will it be and on what basis?

People Before Profit took the initiative on left cooperation, writing publicly to all the left candidates in February seeking the establishment of an organised pact. We wrote that a left victory:

*“can raise confidence amongst working class people and encourage them to join movements now to fight for an affordable Ireland, action on the housing crisis and to defend neutrality. It would also crucially give further momentum to the idea of electing a left government at the next general election.*

 *“A left transfer pact would give people a clear choice in this by-election between the FF/FG government and a left alternative. This could be based on agreement of a set of broad left principles such as the right to housing; disability justice; a National Health Service; defence of neutrality; radical and just climate action; against racism and discrimination. This should be linked to an explicit call to transfer to other candidates who have also signed up to this pact.”*

Unfortunately, this has not been taken up by the others. Instead, parties have called generally for “vote left, transfer left”. This is much better than nothing, but it lacks any commitment to clear left principles and a common projection which an organised transfer pact would provide. Nonetheless, we are campaigning vigorously for people to vote No. 1 for our candidate Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin and transfer to others on the left.

The argument for No. 1 votes for Eoghan is a strong one that is resonating on doorsteps across the constituency. Firstly, the fact that People Before Profit is the only party who rules out coalition with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. For those who want to see a left government, the more No. 1 votes received by Eoghan strengthens our key message - they should look left, not right, and join PBP in ruling out coalition with FF and FG. This approach is rooted in our eco socialist politics and commitment to a break from the capitalist system which is incapable of delivering for ordinary people.

Secondly, Eoghan’s record speaks for itself as an expression of PBP’s people-power approach. Eoghan is a well-known community activist, an award-winning folk musician and Gaeilgeoir. He received 4.5% in the last general election, despite high profile, former left MEP Clare Daly standing in the same constituency and garnering 4%.

He has spearheaded the campaign to save arts and culture across Dublin. He was a leading activist in the campaign to save the Cobblestone, and this year fought to keep the Complex and defend Izakaya. He has also been active on housing for more than a decade, opposing the landlord and developer class who profit from the crisis.

Eoghan recent campaigning on the Dublin City Council (DCC) rent hikes underlines the difference between People Before Profit and others on the left. PBP Cllr Conor Reddy put forward the amendment to the budget which would have stopped the 30% rent hike for Council tenants. Scandalously, Labour and the Greens voted against the amendment, supporting the rent hikes together with their Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael partners in the DCC ruling group.

Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats voted against the increase. But in terms of active campaigning, it is People Before Profit and the Community Action Tenants Union which have led the way. Eoghan organised four different local community meetings, bringing together tenants to discuss building a campaign against it. He called a successful local protest and has delivered banners and window posters to flats across the city to proclaim opposition.

People power can reverse the rent increases - our amendment was only defeated by one vote last year. The crucial vote to determine if it is dropped for next year will take place in November. Regardless of the result of the bye-election, Eoghan and the local branch will be working with tenants to maximise pressure on the Councillors. But a big No. 1 vote for Eoghan will be a blow against the rent increases.

With less than three weeks to go, the main feature is widespread anger at the government. The challenge for People Before Profit is to convince people that things can be very fundamentally different and to give people confidence again to fight back. The elections offer a vital opportunity to have that engagement. A good result for Eoghan will be a step forward for PBP nationally.