Government and main opposition parties sold the Irish people a pup

Last week we witnessed another attempt by the EU to move us closer towards a federal Europe. Proposals from the European Commission that would see draft national budgets submitted to Brussels for scrutiny and peer review by other member states means that the future sovereignty of national budgetary and fiscal decisions now hang in the balance. This is no surprise. We in Sinn Féin argued that this is precisely what would happen if the Lisbon treaty was passed. We are merely witnessing the implementation of the treaty itself.

What is interesting is Fine Gael’s response. They argued for the treaty. They sold the Irish people a pup. They falsely told us that Lisbon was good for Ireland, that it was good for smaller states and that it was good for democracy. The Labour Party even told us that it strengthened democracy within Europe. Both Fine Gael and Labour also connived with the Government by turning a debate on a complex and important treaty into one on jobs and investment. Remember the slogan – A vote for Lisbon is a vote for jobs and investment. So where are the jobs and where is the investment?

We in Sinn Féin argued differently. Locally I argued that if Lisbon was passed it would give greater powers to unelected EU bureaucracies to interfere in our affairs and that the EU was eyeing up greater control over the economies of member states. The ultimate prise is complete economic federalism with a harmonised taxation system across the EU. In my criticisms I am not projecting the EU as some sort of evil empire or monster. It is quite legitimate to politically argue for a federal Europe.

What is illegitimate is to persuade people to vote for a treaty which gives the EU more powers and complain about it afterwards. This is the cynical and hypocritical position adopted by Fine Gael. We in Sinn Féin are consistent in our analysis. We are not in favour of an EU superstate or surrendering what remains of our economic sovereignty to an unelected EU elite.

Pension top-ups for senior bankers and pension cuts for senior citizens

Across the country people are adjusting to the new economic reality. Ireland is no longer awash with money. Cheap credit is a thing of the past. For most people it is a case of holding what you have at best. And these are the lucky ones! Tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs. Thousands more have had their hours reduced, their salaries cut and their taxes increased. People on social welfare have not been immune. They had their benefits cut also. And all because of the reckless behaviour of a small group of politicians, bankers, speculators and regulators. The so called elite of this country, the golden circle, played fast and loose with our money and lost. And now we are paying the price – big time!

So it was with dismay and anger that we learned this week that Ireland’s senior bankers are unable to adjust to this new economic reality. Revelations that the major banks are using a cash allowance system to circumvent government tax on pension top-ups for the big boys is proof that the greed which almost collapsed the banks has not gone away. It seems taking the pain is only for the little people. In the meantime, the Government is warning us that billions more will have to be found through more cuts in pay and benefits. The Government axe may even extend to the old age pesnion.

It is not unreasonable to question the moral compass of our present Government and those at the top of our banking system. They are simply unable to do the right thing. How on earth can senior bankers justify the use of this cash allowance system? How on earth can the Government consider cutting the old age pension? Has Ireland really been reduced to this? And yes, I have heard the argument that we have to pay the most to get the best. But paying senior bankers 15 times more then the person who runs the country exposes the folly of that argument. The 'greed is good' philosophy is alive and well in the Irish banking and political establishment.

City Council act on Ard Rí Hotel site

I welcome the move by Waterford City Council to enter the former Ard Rí Hotel Site on the derelict sites register. All fifteen city councillors have been pressing the council management for some time to deal with derelict sites in the city. The Ard Rí Hotel site was the most urgent given its strategic location and poor condition. The council set in train a process some time ago to deal with the site but the patience of the public was wearing thin. The former hotel has been badly vandalised and it cast a shadow over the city. I recently contacted the City Manager and urged him to make a full public statement on the matter to properly inform the public. I welcome his decision to do so.

I also welcome his commitment and that of the council to proceed with enforcement and if necessary carry out the remedial works. I am calling on the owner of the site to comply with any enforcement order and carry out the necessary work. Other site owners need to sit up and take notice and recognise that City Council will not tolerate derelict sites. I am confident that this instrument can and will be used again if other site owners do not get their house in order. I understand these are difficult times for property owners but the image of the city must come first. Dereliction simply cannot be tolerated. I offer my full support to the city manager in proceeding with this enforcement and if necessary carrying out the works. This will involve a cost to the council which will have to be recovered but we are left with no other option. We must put the image of the city first and I stand fully behind the manager in his efforts to deal with such derelict sites.

BNP must be defeated

As the British General Election campaign enters its final stage immigration has emerged as a major issue. The two main parties have been very defensive on the issue being conscious of public opinion. Working beneath the surface of mainstream politics is the British National Party seeking to exploit people’s concerns on the economy, rising debt and the M.P. expenses scandal. However it is on the issue of immigration that they seek to manipulate people’s minds with their cleverly disguised racist, vile and divisive policies. The BNP are a far right party which base their policies on Nazi ideology. They are anti-Semitists who foster racial hatred and division.

The BNP constitution states that the party is “committed to stemming and reversing the tide of non-white immigration and to restoring, by legal changes, negotiation and consent the overwhelmingly white makeup of the British population that existed in Britain prior to 1948." In other words they want a white only Britain. Its leader Nick Griffin was convicted on race hatred charges in 1998 and has shared several platforms with far right extremists, Nazi’s and members of the Ku Klux Klan. It is important that people in Britain and elsewhere separate what might be a legitimate concern on immigration from the hateful policies of the BNP. If the BNP do win seats on Friday it may act as a beacon of hope for likeminded individuals in Ireland. I sincerely hope that this does not happen.

The cosy, crony capitalism of the Irish Republic

This week Goldman Sachs is being investigated in the US for fraud. It has been credibly alleged that as the banking crisis and recession took hold Goldman Sachs exploited it as an opportunity to make further profit for themselves at the expense of others. Reports suggest that while the economy was turning belly up Goldman Sachs developed and sold risky mortgage packages and then bet against them. A win – win for the Wall Street giant.

A series of damning internal Goldman Sachs emails have been published by the US authorities one reports the “good news” that the wipeout of one security and the imminent collapse of another meant Goldman would make $5 billion from a bet against the instruments it had set up and sold itself. Even after the US authorities moved to charge Goldman Sachs with fraud against its investors to the tune of €1 billion and the German and British authorities’ in turn commenced investigations Goldman announced a new round of bonuses for its staff amounting to £3.5 billion.

What has this got to do with us? Well, as the government consistently reminds us, in a futile effort to evade taking responsibility for the nation’s current troubles, we live in a global economy. Our banks are tied up with the international financial markets. Our banks eventually follow where their international role models lead. And Goldman Sachs analysts issue assessments of Irish banks which have consequences for their abilities to raise capital. The per-share profit estimates issued by Goldman analysts have consequences for Irish stocks. What have our government done in response to the growing evidence of fraud by this financial ogre? Have they blacklisted it from future contracts and consultancies? Have they sought to minimise the consequences for Ireland of its activities? No. The Fianna Fáil Green government sought an endorsement of its NAMA plans from Goldman Sachs and has been happy to rely on it since.

Let’s be under no illusion here Fine Gael would do no better. The Fine Gael hack Peter Sutherland pumped up on his own arrogance and bloated self-importance, who would close half of Ireland universities if he got his way and who is against a University for Waterford, is chairman of Goldman Sachs International. And Fine Gael Senator Eugene Reagan is a director of Goldman Sachs Ireland.

This world of cosy crony capitalism which both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael inhabit is the source of our countries woes! A property-lending binge was embarked upon by the Irish banks for the most part of a decade. The Government had a very pro real-estate policy. Fine Gael was no different. For almost 15 years the growth in bank credit outstripped the nominal growth in GNP by a factor of about 2 or 3. Poor lending standards, unregulated products and bonus bonanzas brought the Irish financial sector to its knees.

Meanwhile in the real world thousands of people are still losing their jobs. Nothing is being done to help those out of work. Young people are being forced to emigrate. As we approach International Workers Day 460,000 people in this state are out of work with 26,000 in Waterford City and County. Thousands more are now facing mortgage interest hikes while simultaneously losing their jobs and having social welfare cut. A lot of small to medium size businesses are being starved of credit. We have no jobs plan. The banking bailout has failed. And yet dozens of former Ministers still in paid positions had to be dragged kicking and screaming into surrendering their pensions. Am I the only one angry?

Buses, trains and a boat but no plane

What started as a fun family holiday to France ended up as a long trek across France and Britain. Like millions of others in Europe and elsewhere I fell victim to the cloud of volcanic ash. I was due to travel home on Monday. Two buses, three trains and a boat later I arrived home. To make matters worse our three year old son Emmet caught a bug and was sick. Nobody is to blame and the decision to halt flights on safety grounds was the correct one. What I am disappointed in is the poor customer care service offered by Aer Lingus.

As our holiday progressed it was clear that our flight was going to be cancelled. On Sunday morning I received a text from Aer Lingus confirming this and advising us not to travel to the Airport. There was no offer of accommodation. No mention of a hotline or special contact number. It was impossible to get through on the official line. You had to paddle your own canoe.

I called to the Eurostar train office. This is the high speed train from Paris to London. The first available spaces were on Wednesday evening. We then had to plot the remainder of our course home. This involved a train from London to Cardiff, Cardiff to Fishguard and the ferry to Rosslare. The journey was not that bad. Some of it was fun. There were people in far worse situations then we were. What is annoying is the lack of support from Aer Lingus. I hope all of those who were stranded in far away places got better support then we did. I also hope I will be reimbursed for expenses incurred and ease the pressure on my flexible friend, the credit card.

Bring on the bye-election

I am humbled and privileged to have been selected as the candidate to represent Sinn Féin in the upcoming bye-election. I commit to conducting a positive and constructive campaign. I will robustly challenge the Government on their absolute failures and provide real solutions to the country’s problems. This election must be about the issues facing the people of Waterford and not personalities.

Waterford taking centre stage

We have an opportunity to seriously impact on national politics and set the political agenda. We have an opportunity to properly hold those responsible for the economic collapse and the jobs crisis to account. In doing so we must also provide a credible alternative and offer hope to those who are hurting. Things do not have to be the way they are. 26,000 people in Waterford do not have to be out of work. We do not have to accept that Waterford will remain without a University. We can take a stand and say enough is enough. We should demand a new economy, a new kind of politics and a new Government.

New Economy

The Government has presided over the collapse of the Irish economy. Our banking system has caved in on under its own greed. The Irish people have been saddled with a €80 billion debt as we pump billions into five wayward banks. Put simply, our economy was serving the few and not the many. We need a new economy. We need to protect jobs and create jobs. We need to save jobs today and create the jobs of tomorrow. I set out four areas where the potential to create jobs exist:

* Tourism
* Green Technology
* IT and Digital Sector
* Agri-business

Tourism has the potential to be a key economic driver for the city and county. It can be the hook on which we underpin economic recovery locally. It is also an area where huge progress is being made. Green Technology and the IT and Digital Sectors are emerging industries internationally and Waterford is well placed to take advantage. These are areas where Waterford Institute of Technology is excelling in research and development. It is vital that educational providers, enterprise agencies and Government Departments work together and produce a new generation of entrepreneurs in these growth areas and in doing so create employment. Agri-business provides enormous opportunities for rural communities in Waterford.

New Politics – Renew the Republic

It is not good enough simply to rail against the system or blame the Government. The people of Waterford must stand up and be counted. We must demand real reform of the political system. A system which is dominated by special interests, tainted by corruption and is resistant to change. The entire political system needs to be reformed. The Oireachtas has consistently failed to exert sufficient scrutiny over the government and public bodies, and its composition reflects neither the talents nor the diversity of our people. A political system which is a carbon-copy of the British model, largely unreformed since partition, does not equip Ireland to meet the challenges of the 21st century. We need to renew the Republic to one which serves the people and not vested interests. We need a national Republic.

Rebuilding society

The birth of the Celtic Tiger created a lot of wealth in this state. It also brought about an undermining of society. Many of those who were celebrated as wealth creators were actually wealth destroyers. It is this individual greed which collapsed the banking system and saddled the taxpayer with the debt of dozens of big developers. On Good Friday 1,200 loans from the top ten developers in the country were transferred to NAMA. We need to rebuild the idea of a society and a community. In a society we all have a responsibility to each other. This goes for big bankers as well as the ordinary worker. Robust regulation of the banking and business sector must be put in place. People also have a right to live free from the fear of crime, drugs and anti-social behaviour. Rebuilding a sense of community is vital if we are to recover economically and bring about a fairer Ireland.

I am looking forward to the election campaign. I look forward to engaging in a battle of ideas with other candidates. I look forward to engaging with the people of Waterford. This is Waterford’s chance to set the agenda and send the Government a powerful message. We want real change.”