Result of cuts will “fast become evident”, protesters warn.
“Jail the bankers, Save our Jobs” , “Hands off our communities”, the placards read as up to 2,000 people took to the streets of Limerick City Thursday morning to protest possible cuts in funding to community support services.
Protesters came form all over the south west to call on the Government to keep funding community based programmes for which children, families and the elderly rely so heavily on in both rural and city parishes.
Organisers say services such as after school clubs, crèches, meals for the elderly along with a wide range of action centres and Community Development Programmes will most defiantly come under threat from the McCarthy report.
Those taking part in today’s rally included members of community centres in St. Mary’s, St. Munchins, Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Brigids. Women’s networks from Limerick and Clare, along with groups from Tipperary and Cork also showed their support for todays gathering.
The protesters marched down Henry Street, around Arthurs Quay and back through the city on O’ Connell Street.
“Cutbacks and closures will only serve to increase poverty and widen the social and economic divide in society. These cuts will lead to deterioration in public health”, a speaker told the gathered crowds at Perry Square.
