Déjà vu - I thought we had this debate before

I took part in a debate in Limerick City last night on the upcoming Lisbon Treaty. It was with a sense of Déjà vu as we had the debate before; we had the arguments, the leaflets, the posters, the vote and the result. A majority of people voted on referendum day and of that a majority said no. Over 900,000 people to be precise. The people gave the Government a mandate to go and get a better deal. They wasted that opportunity and are now asking us to vote again on exactly the same treaty.

I believe that voting no simply on the basis that we have already said no is not reason enough. The world has changed since the last referendum. Ireland’s economy has gone into freefall. Our public finances are in a mess. The prospect of direct IMF intervention is real. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs. Savage cuts are being implemented in health, education and across the public sector. Nama is being set up to bail out greedy property speculators and incompetent bankers. So I agree, we do need a new referendum. We need a new treaty for the new changed economic circumstances we find ourselves in.

The economic philosophy which underpins Lisbon and Europe – Neo Liberalism – has failed. It is a system that has brought us boom and bust. It is a system that has increased wage differentials, brought about greater inequality, trapped more people into poverty, privatized public enterprises, weakens public services, undermines workers rights and above all supports the primacy of the free market. This failed ideology is not what we need to turn things around. You cannot solve a problem with the same thinking that created it. So we have a choice. We can say no again and for the right reasons again and in doing so send a strong message to our Government and to Europe – we need a new treaty for a new times..

Parents express anger at Education cuts

Today I and other members of Sinn Féin handed out leaflets outside a number of primary schools in Waterford City. The leaflets highlighted the impact the education cuts announced last year are having on schools. These cuts are now beginning to bite. Parents were very receptive and were seething in their anger of the Government. It is a disgrace that young children are being asked to suffer because the Government made a mess of the economy. Sinn Féin activists in Dungarvan, Tramore, Dunmore East and Portlaw also spoke to parents at their local schools. The leaflets encouraged people to contact local Government representatives and the Minister for Education and send them one simple message - hands off our schools.

Workers at Morris Builders Providers forced to strike

I joined workers at Morris Builders Providers this morning on their strike picket against what they see as a selective and unfair redundancy process. Over 30 members of the UNITE Union are on strike. The strike is not about money or wages. It is about an attempt by the management of the company to force through redundancies by the use of a manufactured and unfair selection process. The workers reluctantly withdrew their labour following three meetings of the Labour Relations Committee.

Essentially the company want to select who they wish to sack. The workers have a right to object to this and to seek a fair and just selection process. To this end I have called on the management of the company to engage with the union and to agree to a voluntary redundancy process. To many employers think that they can use the current downturn as an opportunity to treat workers in whatever way they like. They must not be allowed to do so.

TIME FOR THE COMMUNITY SECTOR TO FIGHT BACK

I attended a protest organised by SIPTU today in Dublin to fight back against cuts in the Community Sector. I commend SIPTU for organising the march and for mobilising thousands of people nationally from across the community sector. It is vital that the sector unites against savage cuts which will devastate communities especially those worst hit by the recession. The Community Service Programme has seen its funding cut by €10m. €44million has been cut from the Community Development Programmes and partnerships. Many Family Resource Centres are under threat of closure. €2.6m has been cut from the National Drugs Strategy. As a voluntary member of a Community Development Project in Larchville and Lisduggan and a former board member of Waterford Area Partnership I know at first hand the impact these cuts will have. These are organisations working at the coalface in disadvantaged areas trying to bring about social inclusion.

It is right that people in the sector are angry that the Government are making the vulnerable pay for their mistakes. However it is not enough to be angry. We need to turn that anger into action. The best way for the sector to achieve this is to unite behind a campaign to have these savage cuts reversed. I am calling on everyone involved with or who benefited from community development type programmes to attend SIPTU’s national march organised for September 30th in Dublin. Only be working together and uniting behind a single campaign can we successfully force this Government to abandon their strategy of making the vulnerable pay for their mistakes.

Greed, Greed, Greed behind Teva Job losses

It is truly devastating for everyone in Waterford to hear of the news that Teva is to cease its tablet production in Waterford. I was attending an important meeting of the City Development Board where we were discussing economic development when news seeped through that 315 jobs were to go at the plant. My immediate thoughts were of anger that faceless people motivated by greed can make such decisions with no regard for those who work for them. I thought of the 315 people, their families and dependents and what it will be like for them as they attempt to find work in these challenging times.

It is important that we do no lose sight of the human side of all of this. Nearly 15,000 people in Waterford are now on the dole. That is 15,000 families with mortgages to pay, children to provide for and all on just over €200 a week. These job losses will further weaken an already battered local economy. How much more can we take?

I am hesitant to make the typical call for the setting up of task forces and the like. We need action. In Waterford City we must lesson our dependence on Multi-nationals. We need to see greater development of local indigenous industry and give better support to the SME sector.

This week I furnished the city manager with a document – Getting Waterford Back to Work. The document is a call to action. The coalition Government has failed Waterford and has failed the 15,000 people now signing on. To say they need to do more is an understatement, however let us not sit on our backsides and wait for someone else to do something for us. We all have a responsibility to come up with solutions and play our part. While it is difficult to be positive and easy to be angry we must be constructive in helping to sort out the mess others have created.

College Registration Fees increased to €1,500

Many young people who recieved their leaving certificate results recently have been offered places in third level institutes. This is an exciting time in their lives. They should be thinking about all of the positives and the opportunities that lie ahead. Instead many are trying to scrape together the money to pay the college registration fee. I remember paying mine all those years ago. It was 200 pounds. I was working part-time and was able to pay for most of it myself. My parents paid the rest and helped to cover the accomodation costs in Dublin.

Today the fees stand at €1,500, up from €900. The increased revenue is not being spent on new facilities or to improve schools. It is simply an increase to cover existing costs. It is another stealth tax for parents. On top of this the Government are talking about introducing third level fees. Excuse me but is €1,500 not a fee! Introducing another fee will result in treble taxation. You pay once through your taxes, again through registration fees and if Batt O Keefe has his way again through new college fees. This is not on. We are venturing down the American road of making going to college a privelage and not a right at a time when the current American President is doing the opposite. This madness must stop.

Ben Gavin R.I.P.

On behalf of the Sinn Féin party I extended our deepest sympathy to the family of the late Ben Gavin. Ben served the people of Tramore well as a local town councillor. He served on numerous committees and is best known for his high profile position as chairperson of Waterford Port of which he only recently vacated. He will be fondly remembered by the people of Tramore and beyond. May he rest in peace