A national Republic is still the big prize

Today I gave the main oration at the commemoration of the 90th Anniversary of the Pickardstown Ambush in Tramore, Co. Waterford where volunteers Michael McGrath and Thomas O Brien lost their lives. Over 300 gathered to remember their sacrifices. 


Full test of speech below..


I am proud to be here with family members of Michael McGrath and Thomas O Brien who died in pursuit of Irish Independence 90 years ago today. They did so to help establish a national Republic and to bring to life the proclamation of 1916. They were not prepared to accept second class citizenship and they believed in a Republic where all of the children of the nation are treated equally. We remember their sacrifices with pride.

We also rededicate ourselves to the ideals which underpinned their actions. Ireland is again at a cross roads. The current economic, social and political crisis has its roots in greed with establishment politicians turning their backs on genuine republican principles. The interests of the few were put ahead of the many. Bankers, developers and a wealthy elite were protected in the good times and the bad. Tens of billions of taxpayers money has been put into wayward banks as ordinary people see their incomes slashed. 460,000 people are without work with a 100,000 more having emigrated.

The first tranche of the EU/IMF loan will be paid out to Ireland on Wednesday 12th January. The interest rate being charged on this first part of the loan is scandalous. The EU is set to make a tidy profit of 3% on this loan, pushing up the cost of this intervention to an already beleaguered Irish economy.

We must strongly question why this Government has entered the Irish people into such a bad deal and why the European Commission, in their misguided attempt to help the Irish economy, are actually taking advantage of an opportunity. It was bare-faced profiteering that brought about this crisis and this same profiteering will only make the Irish situation worse.

“This transfer of loans next week is the final nail in the coffin of Irish economic sovereignty. The conditionality attached to this loan, as seen in the memorandum of understanding will hinder economic growth and cripple the economy, throwing the economy into a self-defeating policy spiral.

The State’s structural deficit is fixable. It is the insistence, by the commission and the IMF, that bank bondholders must be honoured that is plunging us into crisis. Remember this is the Commission that are telling us what to do while conversely penalising us through inflated interest rates on this same policy.

We need to burn bank bondholders, introduce a stimulus package, overhaul the taxation system and eliminate wasteful spending. This approach will deliver recovery, not EU/IMF loans with thick strings attached.

The people of this State need to be consulted on this monumental decision. This Government has no mandate to accept these funds, not least when many of the same figures who voted for this loan are refusing to go before the people at a general election to defend this position. We in Sinn Féin will continue to pursue a genuine national Republic where people are put first.

Budget tax hikes hitting working people hard

We all knew December’s budget was savage and harsh. We knew working families and the unemployed were hit hard. However the severity of the tax increases has taken many by surprise. Married couples on the average Industrial wage are down over €80 a week. This is aside from cuts in child benefit and increased service charges. Only yesterday VHI had announced an increase in their premiums putting a further burden on hard-pressed families.

The reality is that this budget has made it expensive to work. Those on average incomes have no medical card, no income supports, and no mortgage relief and are finding it difficult to cope. Many bought properties at the top end of the market and are saddled with huge mortgages. Those working in manufacturing plants such as GSK in Dungarvan and Genzyme in the City who depend on overtime will see most of it go on tax and levies.

The reality is that this Government had alternatives. We in Sinn Féin produced a fully costed pre-budget plan that would have taxed those on high incomes more and protected working families struggling to pay bills. We proposed a third rate of tax of 48% on incomes in excess of three times the average industrial wage (€100,000), an income linked wealth tax of 1% on all assets in excess of €1million and increases in Capital Gains and Capital Acquisitions Tax. These and other proposals were ignored in favour of tax hikes on those already struggling to survive and the unemployed. The quicker we have an election to kick out this incompetent Government the better.

Moneylenders are the real winners

With Christmas fast approaching the country is bracing itself for a savage budget. The Government has sent a very strong signal that the low-paid, those out of work and middle income earners will bear the brunt of harsh spending cuts and tax increases. The country’s top earners and the wealthy will be spared yet again. Undoubtedly we will see further hardship and more citizens living in poverty.

While canvassing recently I met a sixty-one year old woman who was shivering at the door. She ran out of heating oil and had no money to fill the tank. My heart sank as she told me she was a recovering cancer patient and I watched her tremble with cold before my eyes. Thanks to a local charity she received some assistance. I met another family of four children where both parents lost their jobs. They are unable to pay the mortgage. They cried as they showed me dozens of unpaid bills and talked about their fears for Christmas. These are the people who will get squeezed further in the budget while bondholders who invested in private banks will get billions from the Government. It is immoral and sickening.

Tens of thousands of families across the country face similar hardship. Many will be driven to unscrupulous moneylenders just to survive. The cost of Christmas will add to the pressure. The impending budget will push many over the edge. Moneylenders thrive in such circumstances. It is not the solution for these families but many are left with little choice. The answer to a debt problem is not to incur further debt.

And yet this is exactly what the Government is doing. Tonight they have concluded a very bad deal for the Irish people. They will incur further debt to pay existing debt. They will pay unrealistic and exorbitant interest rates and will ensure that a quarter of all state income will go to servicing our debt. Meanwhile they will continue to honour private banking debt that has nothing to do with the Irish people. For struggling families and Irish taxpayers generally the only winners in these times are national and international moneylenders. And how shameful is that?

New politics not old arguments

The Irish economy has suffered the equivalent of an earthquake. The aftershocks are being felt by ordinary working people and the unemployed every day. People feel betrayed by a Government who has sold its soul. They are looking for leadership and hope. They are looking for people to bring forward ideas about the future. They want real solutions and are demanding new politics.

We need a seismic shift in Irish politics. The old civil war politics needs to be laid to rest and new ideas and new opportunities emerge. This can come from the political parties. It may however come from the people. Opinion polls carried out over the last year have shown a consistent moving away from the two big parties. For the first time in the history of the state the combined vote of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael has dropped below 50% in back to back polls. The combined Labour, Sinn Féin and Independent vote climbed to an historic high of 42%.

The recent Donegal by-election poll provides another glimpse of this ground breaking shift. Sinn Féin Senator Pearse Doherty polled 40%. Who would have thought six months ago this was possible? While a lot of this can be attributed to the excellence of Pearse as a candidate and weaknesses in others, it does not tell the full story. In my view Sinn Féin is now being seen by more and more people as a real alternative. People know the big parties have failed them and lied to them. They know the cosy consensus between the big three is wrong. They are looking for something different.

And here lies the opportunity. The Labour Party has a choice to make. They can defend the status quo and seek to hold back the tide of change or they can embrace it and lead from the front. All of the signs point to them opting for the former. The real question is whether people will move ahead of the politicians. Will the voters continue to abandon the big two and embrace new possibilities? The option of a left coalition of Labour, Sinn Féin and Independents has always been dismissed as fanciful. But we are in uncharted waters and the impossible now seems possible. The decision rests with the Labour Party and its leader Eamon Gilmore – will he continue to defend old arguments or embrace new politics? Maybe the people might make his mind up for him.

Politicians must lead by example

The issue of politicians pay and expenses has always been a contentious one. The common perception is that all politicians are on the make and sure aren’t ye all the same. People’s attitudes have been soured by endless scandals involving un-vouched expenses, exotic foreign trips, first class travel, limo’s, merc’s and five star hotels. The corrupt few have damaged the many.

Most of the corruption has come from the top. TD’s and Senators have been creaming it for years. Massive salaries and bloated expenses were the order of the day. It was wrong in the good times and it is wrong in the bad times. It is now time for politicians to lead by example. National politicians need to take sizeable pay cuts. Sinn Féin is proposing that Ministers have their salaries cut by 40% and TD’s and Senators by 20%. The expenses system needs to be overhauled and replaced with a transparent properly vouched system.

Local public representatives must also clean up their act. The vast majority of councillors act responsibly and earn modest incomes. However others abuse the system and this must stop. All expenses drawn down by any public representative or official should be fully vouched. I was elected in 2004. Over the six years I was in a position to avail of €33,266 in conference expenses. I claimed €9,970.72 leaving behind €23,295,28. Upcoming national and local budgets are being framed as I type. Politicians need to lead by example and nothing less should do.

All changed, changed utterly

We all knew it would happen as the writing was on the wall. The great bailout has arrived. The Government’s blanket bank guarantee coupled with its reckless deficit reduction strategy has left us without any credibility. The international money lenders deserted us. Our European partners closed ranks. The noose was tightened around our country’s neck. A decision was made to save the Euro and sacrifice Ireland. And all the time the Government lied to us.

As a citizen, a taxpayer and a parent I am angry. I am proud to be Irish and of its people. I am proud of the talent, ingenuity and ability of the Irish people. I am angry that such a proud nation has been sold out by its political leaders. The word sovereignty is being bandied about as if it means nothing, as if it’s of no importance. Sovereignty is about having the power to make our own decisions. A Republic is about the people being sovereign and Government acting in the best interests of its people. How hollow that sounds when you consider the sense of betrayal that Irish people will now undoubtedly feel.

The government, certain economists and sections of the media will begin the job of convincing us that a bailout is our best and only hope. They will ridicule suggestions of an alternative just as they have done throughout this crisis. They will seek to convince us that there is no other way. This needs to be tackled head on – an EU/IMF bailout will further indebt the Irish people. It is not in the best interests of this state. It is not in the best interests of working people and those out of work. We need to stand up for Ireland and start making the right decisions.

What this country needs is a credible recovery plan. The first step on this journey must be to rid ourselves of this Government. We need a General Election and fast. We need to abandon failed slash and burn policies and change course. We need a plan that will save existing jobs, create new jobs, stimulate the economy and protect front line services. We need a more realistic and credible deficit reduction strategy that increases revenue and achieves savings in public spending. We in Sinn Féin have put forward an alternative. Today the party’s election candidates gathered in Dublin to discuss the crisis. Events are changing by the minute. Today all changed, changed utterly. It remains to be seen whether a terrible beauty will be born.

A leadership decision at a time of crisis

Few events shock me in politics. However I have to admit to being a bit taken aback when I heard the news that Gerry Adams was to resign his assembly seat and later his Westminster seat to contest the General Election in the South. Gerry will seek the nomination in the Louth constituency and will challenge for a Dáil seat. This is a brave and courageous move. He is resigning from one of the safest seats in Ireland and one he fought so hard to win. It is the type of decision only leaders make and it is not without its risks.

Some will question his motives while others will seek undermine his campaign. Sections of the establishment media will go into overdrive and let’s not rule out character assassination. The real issue is that Gerry Adams MP, leader of the largest nationalist party in the North and Irish republican is seeking election to the Dáil on republican politics. While some may seek to be dismissive, he and Sinn Féin will focus on the future.

We are already shaping the debate. Fianna Fáil, the Greens, Fine Gael and Labour are part of a cosy consensus for cuts and economic contraction. Sinn Féin is standing for economic growth and recovery. We have provided fully costed and practical proposals that will turn this economy around. We will not allow the Government and so called opposition parties to shape the debate. They did so in 2007 and lied. They did so on the Lisbon Treaty and lied. We are fighting back and taking a stand. Maurice Quinlivan took a stand in Limerick. Pearse Doherty took a stand in Donegal. Gerry Adams is taking a stand today. I am taking a stand in Waterford – the next election will not just be about more of the same. Sinn Féin will provide an alternative.