The Socialist Party's local election candidates offer an alternative to "the grey mass that now dominates public life", the party's TD, Mr Joe Higgins, said yesterday.
At the introduction of its local government election manifesto, Mr Higgins said his party believed the local elections would help it become a substantial force on the left of the political spectrum. "There isn't a cigarette paper between the policies of the main parties, including Labour."
The legacy of the outgoing councils "is one of land speculation, big business payments to politicians, housing failure and the betrayal of the now defeated double tax water charges," he said.
His party aimed "to end the rule of the millionaires and the system based on greed and to replace it with a democratic, socialist society."
The party's candidates "give ordinary people the opportunity to vote no confidence in the establishment parties that have perverted local democracy in our communities and to elect proven campaigners," he said. If elected, the party's councillors would spearhead local campaigns such as abolishing "the unjust water tax."
The party is running nine candidates in constituencies in Dublin, Cork and Clare. It is proposing house price and rent controls, a massive local authority housebuilding programme, preservation of green belt areas, the spending of £6 billion on public transport nationally, no privatisation of services, and investment in recycling programmes.
Mr Higgins maintained that the Labour Party was moving to the right of the political spectrum.
"We see a major opportunity to develop as a left force. We are the only party with representation in the Dail that can claim quite categorically - unlike the Labour Party - that we are an independent force on behalf of working-class communities."
The party's candidates are Mr Mick Barry (Cork Corporation), Mr Dominic Haugh (Clare County Council), Mr Mick Cheevers, Mr Eamonn McNally, Ms Karen Allen, Mr Joe Higgins and Ms Clare Daly (all Fingal County Council) and Ms Lisa Maher and Mr Mick Murphy (South Dublin County Council).