Country likened to ’30s Germany

KILRUSH town councillor Tom Prendeville has predicted that Ireland may soon resemble Germany in the 1930s, when the Third Reich was established under National Socialist German Workers Party leader Adolf Hitler.

Councillor Prendeville was speaking at this month’s Kilrush Town Council meeting, where he expressed his anger at the planned abolition of town councils in Ireland.

“Exactly the same conditions that pertain in Ireland today pertained in Germany in 1934. The general public just got disillusioned and frustrated with mainstream parties. At the moment, the mainstream parties in Ireland are at a very low ebb. All of a sudden, democracy doesn’t seem to matter any more,” he maintained.

“It’s the rise of the ultra right or the ultra-left parties now that are taking over. If there was a vote in the morning to get rid of the Dáil, I’m telling you there would be a 100% turn-out and they’d all vote to get rid of the Dáil because that’s the first place where these people should start,” Councillor Prendeville added, with reference to where he would like to see cutbacks implemented.

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Phil Hogan, has labelled his plans to reform local government as ‘Putting People First’. This drew further ire from Councillor Prendeville.

“The nerve of the minister to put the name ‘Putting People First’ on this. It’s putting people first in the firing line. That’s what you did during the war years. You put the foot soldiers out first and they took all the brunt of the bullets and the machine-gun fire. That’s what happened in Gallipoli and places like that,” he claimed.
Councillor Prendeville said he cannot understand why town councillors were asked to put suggestions together on the reform of local government, as he is adamant that those contributions were ignored.

“We went through a farcical situation here. I saw a great contribution from this council on the reform of local government. Marvellous contributions were put together and they were sent to Dublin. Where did they finish up? Inside in the bin,” he claimed.

“I just can’t understand how a minister could rubbish the contributions of progressive town councils, which exist on a shoe string. And all of a sudden we’re going,” he sighed.

“There seems to be a media thing out there that this is great. All councillors were on a gravy train, they were all getting huge salaries and huge expenses. They were going on junkets morning, noon and night. This was very salacious for the general population.

“All of a sudden now people are saying, it’s great the town councils are going, the Seanad will go next and maybe the TDs will go after that. We might finish up with a 1938 situation very soon in Ireland and then people will hanker for a return to local democracy,” he forecast.