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In the next couple of weeks, Frank Gallagher, Socialist Party Councillor on Drogheda Borough Council, will step down. Since his election in 2009, Frank has been in the forefront of fighting all measures of austerity and for the interests of ordinary working people in Drogheda and the general Louth area.

Bitter resentment is the over-riding feeling of the majority of people who have felt compelled to pay the property tax.  Successive polls have shown mass opposition to this home tax. Unfortunately, people clearly lacked confidence about refusing to pay as their form of protest.

The instances of neglect and maltreatment and the facts around the shoddy inspection regime that current exists are now well documented in the press and media.

For the second time this year, Oxfam has stepped into the political arena to slam the injustice of the richest people in the world owning, controlling and hoarding their wealth while more and more ordinary people are pushed into poverty worldwide.

According to the RED C polling organisation 29% of households will not register with the Revenue Commissioners for the property tax.

In the past weeks, European Commission President, Barroso has spoken about how austerity has “reached its limit”. At home, Joan Burton, Minister for Social Protection, opportunistically declared that “we have reached the limits of austerity now”.

Socialist Party TD, Joe Higgins, abstained on the Dáil vote on the bill to criminalise the purchase of sex proposed by Thomas Pringle TD which took place on Tuesday 7 May 2013.

Minister Joan Burton said “we have reached the limits of austerity now”. However this comment brings no hope of relief as unfortunately words have lost all meaning for Labour, who are breaking records for broken promises.

The radicalising impact of the crisis in Ireland has thrown up all sorts of responses from people and organisations offering some kind of strategy for opposing austerity.