Today I had an opportunity to speak in the Dáil on the outcome of last weeks European Council meeting. Much of the debate was around the EU/IMF/ECB bailout of €45 billion to the Irish government, its social consequences and the debt repayments that must be met by the state.
But it was also an opportunity to raise the issue of the flotilla of ships which are planning to bring much needed aid to the besieged people of Gaza. One of the ships is the MV Saoirse, an Irish boat. Among its crew of Irish activists are a number of shinners from west Belfast, Waterford and Derry.
If you want some idea of what they are up against then read the words of the Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Israeli radio on Tuesday morning. He accused those taking part in the flotilla of being ‘terror activists, seeking to create provocation and looking for blood.’
Minister Lieberman then sought to dismiss the flotilla as irrelevant and to claim that a number of those planning to join it had declined because they had been convinced ‘by our explanations regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza.’
In reality what people will be more concerned about is the safety of those brave human rights activists who have refused to be intimidated by Israeli threats and are determined to bring aid to the besieged citizens of Gaza.
Last May nine unarmed aid workers were killed by heavily armed Israeli naval commandos who dropped from helicopters onto the deck of the Mavi Marmara.
And already the Israeli state is getting its defence in first with off the record briefings to the media claiming there ‘may’ be Hamas members in the flotilla ‘who means Israelis harm.’
The siege of Gaza by Israel is an international disgrace. The settlements on the west Bank are a breach of international law and the result of the theft of Palestinian land. The separation wall, which runs for hundreds of miles stripping the Palestinian people of land and water, is a weapon in the arsenal of an Israeli government determined to strengthen its apartheid system against the Palestinian people.
Last week the Israeli government imposed a new and harsh regime on the thousands of Palestinian political prisoners it holds. Education courses have been withdrawn; visits curtailed and telephone contact with families several restricted or withdrawn entirely.
We have seen it all before in our own situation. And repression didn’t work here and it won’t work there. It will only exacerbate a bad situation.
Imagine all the people of the north crowded into an area roughly the size of County Antrim. Imagine that 80% of those living there are entirely dependent on aid that has to come from outside the area, through hostile military blockades. Imagine that sanitation is terrible, food scarce, and that many homes destroyed several years ago in a military strike by your powerful neighbour, have not been rebuilt because they won’t let the building materials in.
Imagine that medicine are difficult to acquire and that essential and life saving hospital equipment can’t work because those who besiege your territory won’t let it in.
Imagine you have a huge number of children growing up in this, living in frightening conditions and with little hope for the future.
The treatment of the Palestinian people by Israel has been shameful.
To our credit Irish people have been very active over many years working in solidarity with the Palestinian people. There are Irish people today living and working on the west Bank and in Gaza. They do so knowing that there is a real risk to their lives.
This blog strongly supports the right of the humanitarian aid workers and others to deliver very necessary humanitarian aid to the people of that region which they are being illegally denied by the Israeli authorities.
I welcome the efforts by those engaged in this flotilla. I know some of those on board the MV Saoirse and I want to commend them and their colleagues for their courage in standing up for the rights of the people of Gaza to live free of oppression.
The Flotilla should be allowed safe passage to Gaza to bring its much needed aid to the besieged Palestinian people there.
And the Irish Government should be speaking to the Israeli authorities to ensure that they get it.
The government should also support the unity efforts of all the Palestinian groups and their demand for recognition for statehood when it comes up in the UN later this year.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Opinion Polls – that’s your opinion but ...
The Life and Times Survey last week, which claimed that 16% of the population of the north and 33% of Catholic favour a united Ireland, caused jubilation in some unionist circles and among those in the media who support this position. Given our experience with inexact, and occasionally totally wrong opinion polls over many years, most nationalists and republicans took a much more relaxed attitude.
This blog wasn’t surprised by the unionist political reaction. Unionist politicians are continually seeking reassurance on the union. Usually it has to come from British Prime Ministers who must constantly declare at every opportunity their support for the union.
Sometimes it’s a visit by some member of the British royal family; occasionally it’s from election results or opinion polls.
But the demand by unionist politicians for regular reminders of British support for the union is a constant. It is a measure of the insecurity of the unionist political elite, and the impact of a partitionist arrangement which many know makes no sense politically or economically, that this is a frequent feature of northern politics.
One reason why political unionism was opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, and even today seeks to change it, is that for the first time there is an international treaty, between the British and Irish governments, which accepts that there is an equivalence between the union and the desire for a united Ireland.
In the negotiations which led to the Good Friday Agreement Sinn Fein succeeded in getting the British to scrap the Government of Ireland Act through which it claimed jurisdiction over a part of Ireland. This was a significant development.
And the strength of the Agreement’s position on the constitutional question was exemplified two weeks ago when the British Prime Minister addressed the Assembly. David Cameron reminded the assembled MLAs that ‘as the Agreement makes very clear,’ the constitutional future of the north does not rest in his hands or those of his government but in the hands of the people.
As a unionist Mr. Cameron made his preference clear but he was equally frank in his public declaration that the British government will always back the democratic wishes of the people whether ‘to remain part of the United Kingdom, as is my strong wish…or whether it’s to be part of a united Ireland’.
Later when he was privately challenged on this by the leader of the UUP the British Prime Minister stuck by this position.
The reality is that contrary to Margaret Thatcher’s claim many years ago, the north is not as British as Finchley! And in their hearts unionists know this.
So, in this context what significance should be attached to the Life and Times survey?
As has often been said the only opinion poll that matters is the one in which people put their mark on a ballot paper and that into a ballot box for counting. Everything else is just so much speculation.
This blog remembers when Sinn Féin first put forward candidates for an Assembly election. It was 1982, the year after the hunger strike. The BBC organised an opinion poll. It concluded that Sinn Féin would win no seats and that we would take somewhere around 3% of the vote. Sinn Féin was dismissed as irrelevant.
In the end Sinn Féin won 5 seats, 10% of the vote, and our emergence as an electoral force in northern politics was the story of the election.
In the years since then the unionist vote has slipped. In 1982 the Ulster Unionists and the DUP between them picked up 52.7% of the vote and Alliance took an additional 9.3%. The combined unionist vote was regularly took around 60% of the total.
But in the last decade there has been a decline. The unionist vote share has dropped from roughly 60% to around 50%.
In 2005 the combined unionist vote was 55.3%. In 2007 it was 50.2% and a few months ago in the Assembly election the unionist vote was again 50.2%.
The combined Sinn Féin and SDLP vote in 2005 was 41.2%; in 2010 it was 42% and a few months ago it was 41.4%.
Given that both Sinn Fein and the SDLP are pro united Ireland parties the figure produced by the Life and Times survey is clearly at odds with what people actually do when presented with the opportunity to vote.
And this is the key.
Opinion polls are a standard feature of modern life. They are used by governments, political parties, the media, and business seeking to develop and sell new products.
They are useful guides. But that is all they are. Often they get it wrong, as companies whose products have failed to sell, or movie makers whose films have failed to light up the box office, or political parties whose real vote has crashed, will all testify to.
If Sinn Fein was to take the Life and Times opinion poll at face value we would be in crisis. According to it we have 11% of the vote, just one more than the Alliance Party!
But in May Sinn Féin took almost 27% of the vote!
And it is in this new situation that the opportunity for promoting Irish unity is greater than ever before.
Over 40% of the electorate vote for parties which are for a united Ireland. A small percentage of those identified as protestant say they want Irish unity. But interestingly 85% of those polled by Life and Times would live with and accept a united Ireland if it was achieved. When this was broken down on the basis of religion 80% of protestants could live with and accept Irish unity.
There was a time when it was claimed that any move toward a united Ireland would see unionists react violently. Life and Times suggests that this too has changed.
The Good Friday Agreement provides for a legislative road to Irish unity. There is a constitutional mechanism in place to end the union and partition.
If Life and Times has a message it is that this goal is more achievable than ever before.
Irish unity will not be won through opinion polls. It will be achieved by persuading citizens to vote in a referendum for that option and to do so in a way which ensures maximum support and political stability. This blog believes we can do this.
This blog wasn’t surprised by the unionist political reaction. Unionist politicians are continually seeking reassurance on the union. Usually it has to come from British Prime Ministers who must constantly declare at every opportunity their support for the union.
Sometimes it’s a visit by some member of the British royal family; occasionally it’s from election results or opinion polls.
But the demand by unionist politicians for regular reminders of British support for the union is a constant. It is a measure of the insecurity of the unionist political elite, and the impact of a partitionist arrangement which many know makes no sense politically or economically, that this is a frequent feature of northern politics.
One reason why political unionism was opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, and even today seeks to change it, is that for the first time there is an international treaty, between the British and Irish governments, which accepts that there is an equivalence between the union and the desire for a united Ireland.
In the negotiations which led to the Good Friday Agreement Sinn Fein succeeded in getting the British to scrap the Government of Ireland Act through which it claimed jurisdiction over a part of Ireland. This was a significant development.
And the strength of the Agreement’s position on the constitutional question was exemplified two weeks ago when the British Prime Minister addressed the Assembly. David Cameron reminded the assembled MLAs that ‘as the Agreement makes very clear,’ the constitutional future of the north does not rest in his hands or those of his government but in the hands of the people.
As a unionist Mr. Cameron made his preference clear but he was equally frank in his public declaration that the British government will always back the democratic wishes of the people whether ‘to remain part of the United Kingdom, as is my strong wish…or whether it’s to be part of a united Ireland’.
Later when he was privately challenged on this by the leader of the UUP the British Prime Minister stuck by this position.
The reality is that contrary to Margaret Thatcher’s claim many years ago, the north is not as British as Finchley! And in their hearts unionists know this.
So, in this context what significance should be attached to the Life and Times survey?
As has often been said the only opinion poll that matters is the one in which people put their mark on a ballot paper and that into a ballot box for counting. Everything else is just so much speculation.
This blog remembers when Sinn Féin first put forward candidates for an Assembly election. It was 1982, the year after the hunger strike. The BBC organised an opinion poll. It concluded that Sinn Féin would win no seats and that we would take somewhere around 3% of the vote. Sinn Féin was dismissed as irrelevant.
In the end Sinn Féin won 5 seats, 10% of the vote, and our emergence as an electoral force in northern politics was the story of the election.
In the years since then the unionist vote has slipped. In 1982 the Ulster Unionists and the DUP between them picked up 52.7% of the vote and Alliance took an additional 9.3%. The combined unionist vote was regularly took around 60% of the total.
But in the last decade there has been a decline. The unionist vote share has dropped from roughly 60% to around 50%.
In 2005 the combined unionist vote was 55.3%. In 2007 it was 50.2% and a few months ago in the Assembly election the unionist vote was again 50.2%.
The combined Sinn Féin and SDLP vote in 2005 was 41.2%; in 2010 it was 42% and a few months ago it was 41.4%.
Given that both Sinn Fein and the SDLP are pro united Ireland parties the figure produced by the Life and Times survey is clearly at odds with what people actually do when presented with the opportunity to vote.
And this is the key.
Opinion polls are a standard feature of modern life. They are used by governments, political parties, the media, and business seeking to develop and sell new products.
They are useful guides. But that is all they are. Often they get it wrong, as companies whose products have failed to sell, or movie makers whose films have failed to light up the box office, or political parties whose real vote has crashed, will all testify to.
If Sinn Fein was to take the Life and Times opinion poll at face value we would be in crisis. According to it we have 11% of the vote, just one more than the Alliance Party!
But in May Sinn Féin took almost 27% of the vote!
And it is in this new situation that the opportunity for promoting Irish unity is greater than ever before.
Over 40% of the electorate vote for parties which are for a united Ireland. A small percentage of those identified as protestant say they want Irish unity. But interestingly 85% of those polled by Life and Times would live with and accept a united Ireland if it was achieved. When this was broken down on the basis of religion 80% of protestants could live with and accept Irish unity.
There was a time when it was claimed that any move toward a united Ireland would see unionists react violently. Life and Times suggests that this too has changed.
The Good Friday Agreement provides for a legislative road to Irish unity. There is a constitutional mechanism in place to end the union and partition.
If Life and Times has a message it is that this goal is more achievable than ever before.
Irish unity will not be won through opinion polls. It will be achieved by persuading citizens to vote in a referendum for that option and to do so in a way which ensures maximum support and political stability. This blog believes we can do this.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Mapping out the Road to Irish Unity
Uniting Ireland Conference Dublin
Mapping out the Road to Irish Unity
On Saturday Sinn Féin held the first of a series of conferences this year on the theme of uniting Ireland.
Several hundred people attended the conference in Dublin’s Rotunda Pillar Room Complex in Parnell Square. A major focus of the conference was the economics of Irish unity. Speakers included, Dr. John Bradley, an economic consultant, who was formerly a Research Professor at the ESRI and regularly advises the European Commission, the World Bank and other international organisations and governments; Dr. Pádraic White, Former IDA Managing Director, Entrepreneur & Chairman Employers Services Board West Belfast and Greater Shankhill; and Michael D'Arcy, a Dublin-based economic and business consultant. Other speakers included Norah Gibbon of Barnardos, Director of Advocacy, and Geoffrey Shannon, Child Law expert; and Rev Gary Mason.
Next week there will be a conference in Cork and later in the year in October another in Galway. Plans are also advanced for a fourth in the north.
These conferences are part of a strategy by Sinn Féin to raise awareness and encourage a national conversation around the goal of a United Ireland and create inclusive platforms for an engagement on this crucially important issue.
In recent years Sinn Féin has held conferences in London, in the United States and in Canada.
These were part of a process of consciously reaching out to the millions who make up the Irish diaspora.
All of the conferences were well attended and have generated activity and momentum around the Uniting Ireland project.
Our friends in Irish America have been particularly successful and resolutions in support of Irish unity have been passed at State, County and City levels in many areas.
But of course, it is here on this island that the arguments and debates and persuasion must take place.
The Dublin conference, and the one in Monaghan last November, are a part of this process.
Partition created two states and two governments on this small island of six million people. As a consequence there there is a significant duplication of public and private services, two sets of currencies, and two tax systems, laws and regulations.
It makes no sense politically, economically or socially except as it was at that time – part of a counter revolution.
Much has changed since then and today, and at a time when every cent or pence is needed to rebuild the economy, this duplication of government and public services is wasteful and costly.
The most recent live register figures for this state show that there are at least 443,400 people unemployed while in the north the figure is around 60,000. At the same time 50,000, mainly young people, will emigrate this year – 1,000 each week.
There is an opportunity to change all of this.
It is inefficient that on an island this small there are two contending political systems; two health services; two education structures; and two economic systems competing with each other for jobs and investment.
The Good Friday Agreement provides a roadmap to build all-island approaches.
Already there are many who accept the logic of an all-island economy, in which all of our interests in health, the environment, education, agriculture, transport, job creation, taxation and strategic investment, are planned together.
Uniting Ireland makes sense. Together is better.
Sinn Féin seeks to erase the border and its adverse impact on the lives of citizens, through practical co-operation and imaginative policies, including the full utilization of the all-island institutions that were created by the Good Friday Agreement.
In the negotiations which led to the Good Friday Agreement Sinn Fein succeeded in getting the British to scrap the Government of Ireland Act through which it claimed jurisdiction over a part of Ireland.
This was a significant development.
Last week in his speech to the Assembly the British Prime Minister David Cameron repeated this position. He said, ‘as the Agreement makes very clear’, the constitutional future of the north does not rest in his hands or those of his government but in the hands of the people.
As a unionist Mr. Cameron made his preference clear but he was equally frank in his public declaration that the British government will always back the democratic wishes of the people whether ‘to remain part of the United Kingdom, as is my strong wish…or whether it’s to be part of a united Ireland’.
Later when he was privately challenged on this by the leader of the UUP the British Prime Minister stuck by this position.
The reality is that contrary to Margaret Thatcher’s claim many years ago, the north is not as British as Finchley!
We need to create a national – all-island – conversation about the kind of new Ireland citizens want to serve the common interest.
Sinn Féin wants a republic.
Our belief is that the interests of citizens and society on this island will be best served by a republican system of governance based on the rights of people. But that is a matter for the people to decide.
There are other models which can be considered, including federal arrangements. They could serve transitional measures or as governmental systems in their own right.
A key part of the debate about the future must be a discussion with unionists about what they mean by Britishness and how a new Ireland – whether or not it is a Republic - can accommodate this.
It also means mapping out the steps necessary in the time ahead to progress toward uniting Ireland.
For example:
• The Taoiseach commissioning a Green Paper on Irish unity which would address all aspects of this national and democratic project including its political, social, economic, cultural, legal, administrative and international dimensions.
• A Joint Committee of the Oireachtas on Irish Unity to monitor, assess and report progress on its implementation should be established.
• And a new constitution – discussed and debated and agreed by all sections of people on this island, which would enshrine citizens rights in law.
There is a yearning in Ireland today for a new way forward. Citizens north and south are looking for something new.
They want a society which is equitable and just. The 1916 Proclamation is the template for this. It used language that was appropriate for that time.
We need a new all-Ireland constitution that enshrines the principles and ideals of 1916 and gives expression to them for the 21st century.
Real social, economic and political change is not easily achieved but all those who have a genuine commitment towards building an Irish Republic worthy of the name must work together towards that end.
Mapping out the Road to Irish Unity
On Saturday Sinn Féin held the first of a series of conferences this year on the theme of uniting Ireland.
Several hundred people attended the conference in Dublin’s Rotunda Pillar Room Complex in Parnell Square. A major focus of the conference was the economics of Irish unity. Speakers included, Dr. John Bradley, an economic consultant, who was formerly a Research Professor at the ESRI and regularly advises the European Commission, the World Bank and other international organisations and governments; Dr. Pádraic White, Former IDA Managing Director, Entrepreneur & Chairman Employers Services Board West Belfast and Greater Shankhill; and Michael D'Arcy, a Dublin-based economic and business consultant. Other speakers included Norah Gibbon of Barnardos, Director of Advocacy, and Geoffrey Shannon, Child Law expert; and Rev Gary Mason.
Next week there will be a conference in Cork and later in the year in October another in Galway. Plans are also advanced for a fourth in the north.
These conferences are part of a strategy by Sinn Féin to raise awareness and encourage a national conversation around the goal of a United Ireland and create inclusive platforms for an engagement on this crucially important issue.
In recent years Sinn Féin has held conferences in London, in the United States and in Canada.
These were part of a process of consciously reaching out to the millions who make up the Irish diaspora.
All of the conferences were well attended and have generated activity and momentum around the Uniting Ireland project.
Our friends in Irish America have been particularly successful and resolutions in support of Irish unity have been passed at State, County and City levels in many areas.
But of course, it is here on this island that the arguments and debates and persuasion must take place.
The Dublin conference, and the one in Monaghan last November, are a part of this process.
Partition created two states and two governments on this small island of six million people. As a consequence there there is a significant duplication of public and private services, two sets of currencies, and two tax systems, laws and regulations.
It makes no sense politically, economically or socially except as it was at that time – part of a counter revolution.
Much has changed since then and today, and at a time when every cent or pence is needed to rebuild the economy, this duplication of government and public services is wasteful and costly.
The most recent live register figures for this state show that there are at least 443,400 people unemployed while in the north the figure is around 60,000. At the same time 50,000, mainly young people, will emigrate this year – 1,000 each week.
There is an opportunity to change all of this.
It is inefficient that on an island this small there are two contending political systems; two health services; two education structures; and two economic systems competing with each other for jobs and investment.
The Good Friday Agreement provides a roadmap to build all-island approaches.
Already there are many who accept the logic of an all-island economy, in which all of our interests in health, the environment, education, agriculture, transport, job creation, taxation and strategic investment, are planned together.
Uniting Ireland makes sense. Together is better.
Sinn Féin seeks to erase the border and its adverse impact on the lives of citizens, through practical co-operation and imaginative policies, including the full utilization of the all-island institutions that were created by the Good Friday Agreement.
In the negotiations which led to the Good Friday Agreement Sinn Fein succeeded in getting the British to scrap the Government of Ireland Act through which it claimed jurisdiction over a part of Ireland.
This was a significant development.
Last week in his speech to the Assembly the British Prime Minister David Cameron repeated this position. He said, ‘as the Agreement makes very clear’, the constitutional future of the north does not rest in his hands or those of his government but in the hands of the people.
As a unionist Mr. Cameron made his preference clear but he was equally frank in his public declaration that the British government will always back the democratic wishes of the people whether ‘to remain part of the United Kingdom, as is my strong wish…or whether it’s to be part of a united Ireland’.
Later when he was privately challenged on this by the leader of the UUP the British Prime Minister stuck by this position.
The reality is that contrary to Margaret Thatcher’s claim many years ago, the north is not as British as Finchley!
We need to create a national – all-island – conversation about the kind of new Ireland citizens want to serve the common interest.
Sinn Féin wants a republic.
Our belief is that the interests of citizens and society on this island will be best served by a republican system of governance based on the rights of people. But that is a matter for the people to decide.
There are other models which can be considered, including federal arrangements. They could serve transitional measures or as governmental systems in their own right.
A key part of the debate about the future must be a discussion with unionists about what they mean by Britishness and how a new Ireland – whether or not it is a Republic - can accommodate this.
It also means mapping out the steps necessary in the time ahead to progress toward uniting Ireland.
For example:
• The Taoiseach commissioning a Green Paper on Irish unity which would address all aspects of this national and democratic project including its political, social, economic, cultural, legal, administrative and international dimensions.
• A Joint Committee of the Oireachtas on Irish Unity to monitor, assess and report progress on its implementation should be established.
• And a new constitution – discussed and debated and agreed by all sections of people on this island, which would enshrine citizens rights in law.
There is a yearning in Ireland today for a new way forward. Citizens north and south are looking for something new.
They want a society which is equitable and just. The 1916 Proclamation is the template for this. It used language that was appropriate for that time.
We need a new all-Ireland constitution that enshrines the principles and ideals of 1916 and gives expression to them for the 21st century.
Real social, economic and political change is not easily achieved but all those who have a genuine commitment towards building an Irish Republic worthy of the name must work together towards that end.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Health service facing ‘worst ever crisis’
This blog has had occasion to visit the Accident and Emergency unit in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. Each visit was as depressing as the previous.
Patients, many of them elderly, were lying on hospital trolleys, others were sitting on chairs, and in one instance a patient was lying on the floor. Most had been there for two days or more.
The staff were doing their best but were simply overwhelmed by the numbers of patients and the inadequate resources available to them.
The collapse and subsequent death of Peter Sherlock several weeks ago in Drogheda, and the failure of the ambulance service to respond promptly to emergency calls, is additional evidence of the cracks in local health provision and in the state health system.
And then there is the slow destruction of Louth County Hospital through the withdrawal of key health services, including the children’s ward, the maternity ward and then the gynaecological unit. And last year the HSE closed the A&E and Acute Medical Services.
A media report last week revealed that a confidential internal HSE submission, which looked at health services in Dublin and Louth, Meath and Monaghan, was warning that it might be necessary as a result of budget cuts to close down some hospitals as well as a large number of wards.
These could include Louth County Hospital and Monaghan hospital.
An additional grave difficulty to that posed by financial cuts, and poor management and bad planning by the government and the HSE, is the severe shortage of junior doctors within the health system.
It is estimated that there are currently just over 100 vacancies for junior doctors but this figure will jump to at least 400 in July when current contracts come to an end and new ones have to be agreed.
While 500 to 600 graduates are produced in this state each year many of these are leaving for Australia and elsewhere in the world.
The health service is therefore dependent on hiring in junior doctors from India and Pakistan but the numbers needed this year far exceed those available.
As one consultant described it there is a ‘drought of non-consultant doctors.’
So, there is a major crisis looming in health provision, particularly front line services, which will probably be the worst ever experienced by that state.
The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM) which represents consultants who work in emergency medicine, warned on Monday that many emergency departments ‘face significant challenges in maintaining 24/7 cover.’
And the IAEM said that the ‘loss of medical staff both in emergency departments and front-line specialities, compounded by worsening ED overcrowding, will undoubtedly result in even more prolonged waiting for patients ... The IAEM fears that prolonged emergency department waiting times for patients will lead to delayed treatment and potential avoidable harm.’
The outworking of all of this is that some Accident and Emergency units are at risk of closing; some hospitals and hospital wards are also facing closure and the future of some essential services, including the maternity and infant scheme, are also under threat.
Having spoken to those working in the health service I believe that there are a number of hospitals which are especially at risk. These include, Drogheda, Cavan, Beaumont, Castelbar, Limerick, Letterkenny, the infirmary in Cork, Portiuncula, Tullamore, Roscommon, Portlaoise, Midwestern Regional Hospital in Limerick and Waterford.
I raised this matter during leaders questions in the Dáil yesterday morning and asked the Taoiseach ‘to take immediate action to assess what the impact on services will be on the 11 July.’
I also asked the Taoiseach to come back to make a statement to the House on what plans the Government will put in place to rectify this situation.
Regrettably, the Taoiseach did not answer my question. His response was vague and there is a clear absence of the kind of clarity and leadership that is urgently needed on this issue.
The Taoiseach tried to dismiss my concerns around the shortage of junior doctors as something that arises each summer. This is disingenuous. The reality is that this year’s short fall is significantly greater than ever before and the consequence of that for the Health Service will be profound.
Our public hospitals are completely dependent on Junior Doctors.
As I have noted earlier on July 11, following the changeover in job rotations, the number of vacant junior doctor posts will be at least 400.
This will be substantially worse situation than anything seen before and will have a devastating effect on the provision of services within the healthcare system.
I have been told that in the Louth and Meath area there are at least 50 junior doctors fewer than needed. The curtailment of emergency services and longer waiting lists will result.
Frontline services, including anaesthetics, emergency medicine and trauma paediatrics, are under so much pressure that they may not be able to maintain an emergency service.
One consultant described the scene in the Mater hospital in Dublin on Monday as like a ‘war zone’. This was because there were so many patients on trolleys and ambulances waiting to discard their patients into the A&E.
Failure by the government to get to grips with this crisis means that more and more of our hospitals are going to face similar scenes in the time ahead.
Patients, many of them elderly, were lying on hospital trolleys, others were sitting on chairs, and in one instance a patient was lying on the floor. Most had been there for two days or more.
The staff were doing their best but were simply overwhelmed by the numbers of patients and the inadequate resources available to them.
The collapse and subsequent death of Peter Sherlock several weeks ago in Drogheda, and the failure of the ambulance service to respond promptly to emergency calls, is additional evidence of the cracks in local health provision and in the state health system.
And then there is the slow destruction of Louth County Hospital through the withdrawal of key health services, including the children’s ward, the maternity ward and then the gynaecological unit. And last year the HSE closed the A&E and Acute Medical Services.
A media report last week revealed that a confidential internal HSE submission, which looked at health services in Dublin and Louth, Meath and Monaghan, was warning that it might be necessary as a result of budget cuts to close down some hospitals as well as a large number of wards.
These could include Louth County Hospital and Monaghan hospital.
An additional grave difficulty to that posed by financial cuts, and poor management and bad planning by the government and the HSE, is the severe shortage of junior doctors within the health system.
It is estimated that there are currently just over 100 vacancies for junior doctors but this figure will jump to at least 400 in July when current contracts come to an end and new ones have to be agreed.
While 500 to 600 graduates are produced in this state each year many of these are leaving for Australia and elsewhere in the world.
The health service is therefore dependent on hiring in junior doctors from India and Pakistan but the numbers needed this year far exceed those available.
As one consultant described it there is a ‘drought of non-consultant doctors.’
So, there is a major crisis looming in health provision, particularly front line services, which will probably be the worst ever experienced by that state.
The Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM) which represents consultants who work in emergency medicine, warned on Monday that many emergency departments ‘face significant challenges in maintaining 24/7 cover.’
And the IAEM said that the ‘loss of medical staff both in emergency departments and front-line specialities, compounded by worsening ED overcrowding, will undoubtedly result in even more prolonged waiting for patients ... The IAEM fears that prolonged emergency department waiting times for patients will lead to delayed treatment and potential avoidable harm.’
The outworking of all of this is that some Accident and Emergency units are at risk of closing; some hospitals and hospital wards are also facing closure and the future of some essential services, including the maternity and infant scheme, are also under threat.
Having spoken to those working in the health service I believe that there are a number of hospitals which are especially at risk. These include, Drogheda, Cavan, Beaumont, Castelbar, Limerick, Letterkenny, the infirmary in Cork, Portiuncula, Tullamore, Roscommon, Portlaoise, Midwestern Regional Hospital in Limerick and Waterford.
I raised this matter during leaders questions in the Dáil yesterday morning and asked the Taoiseach ‘to take immediate action to assess what the impact on services will be on the 11 July.’
I also asked the Taoiseach to come back to make a statement to the House on what plans the Government will put in place to rectify this situation.
Regrettably, the Taoiseach did not answer my question. His response was vague and there is a clear absence of the kind of clarity and leadership that is urgently needed on this issue.
The Taoiseach tried to dismiss my concerns around the shortage of junior doctors as something that arises each summer. This is disingenuous. The reality is that this year’s short fall is significantly greater than ever before and the consequence of that for the Health Service will be profound.
Our public hospitals are completely dependent on Junior Doctors.
As I have noted earlier on July 11, following the changeover in job rotations, the number of vacant junior doctor posts will be at least 400.
This will be substantially worse situation than anything seen before and will have a devastating effect on the provision of services within the healthcare system.
I have been told that in the Louth and Meath area there are at least 50 junior doctors fewer than needed. The curtailment of emergency services and longer waiting lists will result.
Frontline services, including anaesthetics, emergency medicine and trauma paediatrics, are under so much pressure that they may not be able to maintain an emergency service.
One consultant described the scene in the Mater hospital in Dublin on Monday as like a ‘war zone’. This was because there were so many patients on trolleys and ambulances waiting to discard their patients into the A&E.
Failure by the government to get to grips with this crisis means that more and more of our hospitals are going to face similar scenes in the time ahead.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
An Independent International Truth Commission
The legacy of the past is one of the big issues which remains to be resolved in the outworking of the peace process. This includes the truth about formal and informal collusion and the wider desire of many victims and families for an effective truth recovery process.
Ten years ago, in 2001, the British and Irish Governments committed, at peace process talks at Weston Park, to adopt the recommendations of an International Judge in relation to a number of specific cases of collusion.
Canadian Judge Peter Cory was asked to look at the killing of Pat Finucane; Robert Hamill; Rosemary Nelson; Billy Wright; Judge Gibson and his wife; and RUC Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and RUC Superintendent Robert Buchanan.
Cory worked diligently and in 2003 he handed his reports over to the two governments. The Canadian Judge concluded that there was no basis for an inquiry into the deaths of the Gibsons. He proposed that one should be held into the killing of the two RUC officers.
The Irish government published Cory’s recommendations in December 03 and announced that it would set up an inquiry, but the British stalled until April 04 before publishing his reports to them.
Seven years later of all the six cases investigated by Judge Cory only the Pat Finucane Inquiry has yet to commence. It is the opinion of this blog that the British government is deeply worried by the enormous political implications of the Finucane case which is known to involve substantial institutional collusion between British state forces and the UDA.
This concern was evident in the introduction by the British government in June 2005 of the Inquiries Act 2005. This legislation deliberately limits the scope of the inquiries proposed by Cory who criticised the British move saying it "...would make a meaningful inquiry impossible."
Meanwhile, the Smithwick Tribunal was established by Resolutions passed by Dáil and Seanad on the 23rd and 24th March 2005. It allows for immunity for witnesses.
Its purpose is to inquire “into suggestions that members of An Garda Síochána or other employees of the State colluded in the fatal shootings of RUC Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and RUC Superintendent Robert Buchanan on the 20th March, 1989.”
In May 2006 I was asked to meet the Smithwick Tribunal. This meeting took place a few weeks later in June.
The Tribunal asked if Sinn Féin could facilitate an engagement with the IRA about the killing of the two RUC men and claims that this action was possible because of collusion took place with members of the Gardaí.
We undertook to do our best. But we were mindful that the situation had changed significantly as a consequence of the IRA’s July 2005 statement in which the IRA leadership had “formally ordered an end to the armed campaign” and said that “all IRA units have been ordered to dump arms. All Volunteers have been instructed to assist the development of purely political and democratic programmes through exclusively peaceful means.”
The IRA restated its goal of achieving a united Ireland and in its statement it acknowledged that it believed that “there is now an alternative way to achieve this and to end British rule in our country. It is the responsibility of all Volunteers to show leadership, determination and courage.”
The consequence of this was that the IRA had left the stage and there could be no engagement with it. However, we were advised that former volunteers might be prepared to engage with the Smithwick Tribunal on a voluntary basis.
The Sinn Féin leadership spent some time putting in place a process which would facilitate this. When this was achieved Sinn Féin stepped back and the process moved forward.
This week the Smithwick Tribunal opened for its first substantive public hearings. In her opening remarks Maura Laverty SC, a member of the Tribunal’s legal team, revealed that the Tribunal had met with former IRA volunteers.
She described it as a ‘very significant development’ and as an ‘unprecedented development’ and described how three members of the Tribunal’s legal team had met with three former members of the IRA. She said: “Those former members included former leadership at both national and local (south Armagh) level. One of the three former personnel had first-hand knowledge of the IRA operation of March 20th, 1989, and had a command role in that operation. The former personnel gave a detailed account of the events leading to the deaths of Chief Supt Breen and Supt Buchanan and replied to questions posed by the three members of the Tribunal’s legal team.”
The Sinn Féin leadership helped to facilitate this engagement because we sincerely believe there is a responsibility to assist families bereaved in the conflict if and when we can, though this may not be possible in all cases.
Republicans are very conscious of the hurt and suffering which has been caused through conflict in our country.
Sinn Féin believes that there needs to be an effective process for dealing with all legacy issues. Weston Park only dealt with six cases. But there are many more families who seek truth and closure.
Therefore, the British and Irish governments should invite a reputable and independent international body to establish an Independent International Truth Commission.
Sinn Féin has been consistent on this issue. Our proposition would be independent of any state, combatant groups, political parties, civil society and economic interests.
It should have a remit to inquire into the extent and pattern of past violations as well as their causes and consequences and would be dependent on the full co-operation of all the relevant parties.
Of course, such a process would not be easy. There are vested interests who do not want the truth and who will oppose the creation of a meaningful truth recovery process.
It will also be a difficult and painful process and experience, particularly for bereaved families. It must therefore be conducted in a sensitive and generous way. And there can be no hierarchy of victims. All victims must be treated on the basis of equality.
The closure which victims, victim’s families and survivors deserve, demands that those who contributed to the conflict have to pledge ourselves to tell and to listen to the truth about the past. Over time this will contribute to genuine national reconciliation and an inclusive healing process.
For my part I would actively encourage republicans to co-operate with such a process.
Building a united harmonious society demands that these difficult issues are dealt with in an inclusive way as a necessary part of putting the past behind us. Looking after victims and victims’ families and survivors is a significant and important part of this.
Ten years ago, in 2001, the British and Irish Governments committed, at peace process talks at Weston Park, to adopt the recommendations of an International Judge in relation to a number of specific cases of collusion.
Canadian Judge Peter Cory was asked to look at the killing of Pat Finucane; Robert Hamill; Rosemary Nelson; Billy Wright; Judge Gibson and his wife; and RUC Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and RUC Superintendent Robert Buchanan.
Cory worked diligently and in 2003 he handed his reports over to the two governments. The Canadian Judge concluded that there was no basis for an inquiry into the deaths of the Gibsons. He proposed that one should be held into the killing of the two RUC officers.
The Irish government published Cory’s recommendations in December 03 and announced that it would set up an inquiry, but the British stalled until April 04 before publishing his reports to them.
Seven years later of all the six cases investigated by Judge Cory only the Pat Finucane Inquiry has yet to commence. It is the opinion of this blog that the British government is deeply worried by the enormous political implications of the Finucane case which is known to involve substantial institutional collusion between British state forces and the UDA.
This concern was evident in the introduction by the British government in June 2005 of the Inquiries Act 2005. This legislation deliberately limits the scope of the inquiries proposed by Cory who criticised the British move saying it "...would make a meaningful inquiry impossible."
Meanwhile, the Smithwick Tribunal was established by Resolutions passed by Dáil and Seanad on the 23rd and 24th March 2005. It allows for immunity for witnesses.
Its purpose is to inquire “into suggestions that members of An Garda Síochána or other employees of the State colluded in the fatal shootings of RUC Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and RUC Superintendent Robert Buchanan on the 20th March, 1989.”
In May 2006 I was asked to meet the Smithwick Tribunal. This meeting took place a few weeks later in June.
The Tribunal asked if Sinn Féin could facilitate an engagement with the IRA about the killing of the two RUC men and claims that this action was possible because of collusion took place with members of the Gardaí.
We undertook to do our best. But we were mindful that the situation had changed significantly as a consequence of the IRA’s July 2005 statement in which the IRA leadership had “formally ordered an end to the armed campaign” and said that “all IRA units have been ordered to dump arms. All Volunteers have been instructed to assist the development of purely political and democratic programmes through exclusively peaceful means.”
The IRA restated its goal of achieving a united Ireland and in its statement it acknowledged that it believed that “there is now an alternative way to achieve this and to end British rule in our country. It is the responsibility of all Volunteers to show leadership, determination and courage.”
The consequence of this was that the IRA had left the stage and there could be no engagement with it. However, we were advised that former volunteers might be prepared to engage with the Smithwick Tribunal on a voluntary basis.
The Sinn Féin leadership spent some time putting in place a process which would facilitate this. When this was achieved Sinn Féin stepped back and the process moved forward.
This week the Smithwick Tribunal opened for its first substantive public hearings. In her opening remarks Maura Laverty SC, a member of the Tribunal’s legal team, revealed that the Tribunal had met with former IRA volunteers.
She described it as a ‘very significant development’ and as an ‘unprecedented development’ and described how three members of the Tribunal’s legal team had met with three former members of the IRA. She said: “Those former members included former leadership at both national and local (south Armagh) level. One of the three former personnel had first-hand knowledge of the IRA operation of March 20th, 1989, and had a command role in that operation. The former personnel gave a detailed account of the events leading to the deaths of Chief Supt Breen and Supt Buchanan and replied to questions posed by the three members of the Tribunal’s legal team.”
The Sinn Féin leadership helped to facilitate this engagement because we sincerely believe there is a responsibility to assist families bereaved in the conflict if and when we can, though this may not be possible in all cases.
Republicans are very conscious of the hurt and suffering which has been caused through conflict in our country.
Sinn Féin believes that there needs to be an effective process for dealing with all legacy issues. Weston Park only dealt with six cases. But there are many more families who seek truth and closure.
Therefore, the British and Irish governments should invite a reputable and independent international body to establish an Independent International Truth Commission.
Sinn Féin has been consistent on this issue. Our proposition would be independent of any state, combatant groups, political parties, civil society and economic interests.
It should have a remit to inquire into the extent and pattern of past violations as well as their causes and consequences and would be dependent on the full co-operation of all the relevant parties.
Of course, such a process would not be easy. There are vested interests who do not want the truth and who will oppose the creation of a meaningful truth recovery process.
It will also be a difficult and painful process and experience, particularly for bereaved families. It must therefore be conducted in a sensitive and generous way. And there can be no hierarchy of victims. All victims must be treated on the basis of equality.
The closure which victims, victim’s families and survivors deserve, demands that those who contributed to the conflict have to pledge ourselves to tell and to listen to the truth about the past. Over time this will contribute to genuine national reconciliation and an inclusive healing process.
For my part I would actively encourage republicans to co-operate with such a process.
Building a united harmonious society demands that these difficult issues are dealt with in an inclusive way as a necessary part of putting the past behind us. Looking after victims and victims’ families and survivors is a significant and important part of this.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Vodafone Sackings - The unacceptable face of globalisation
The announcement by Vodafone that it plans to cut over 130 jobs from its workforce in the 26 counties and ‘outsource’ them to India and Egypt has outraged the Communications Workers Union and led to condemnation from Sinn Féin and others.
Meeting Vodafone workers in Dundalk
Most of the jobs are expected to go in Louth. The impact on those affected will be traumatic. The affect on the local economy, which is already reeling from the imposition of the Universal Social Charge and austerity cuts to government programmes and public services, will be incalculable.
Last week I met the Deputy General Secretary of the CWU Terry Delaney and on Friday four local workers from the call centre in Dundalk met me to explain their concerns and to express their determination to fight this decision by Vodafone.
The decision to axe these jobs is typical of the approach multi-national companies take toward local investments.
Multinationals primarily take decisions based on costs and profits. If they can produce the same service or product elsewhere in the world at a cheaper price and for a greater profit they will follow the money. It’s called globalisation.
They have no loyalty to the local community. They have no loyalty to their workforce.
A good case in point is the Visteon Corporation which was set up by the Ford Motor Corporation to run a number of factories previously directly owned by the Ford company. In March 2009 the directors of Visteon UK put their company into administration.
That day, 210 men and women employed at the Belfast plant of Visteon were told that their jobs ceased to exist. That information came by letter from the management of Visteon UK.
The statutory 90 day consultation was not afforded to the workers. No information was given to them about their rights and entitlements. They were denied any right of reply.
Moreover, their right to Ford terms and conditions, including the lifetime protection of their discretionary pension in payment increases, contained in the ‘Agreement governing the separation of the Ford Visteon organisation’, was binned by Visteon.
This was unacceptable and contemptible behaviour by the management of these two companies.
In light of this the workers rightly and courageously took over the plant and refused to leave until Ford and Visteon negotiated a satisfactory agreement on redundancy and pensions.
They refused to be cowed or intimidated by threat of legal action and lobbied and fought for their rights. And their actions encouraged their union colleagues in Britain.
Like Ford, Vodafone is a huge multi-national. Through its investments in Ireland it controls over 40% of the mobile phone market and has almost two and half million subscribers.
Last year Vodafone made profit here of €122.3 million and paid an additional €125 million in a dividend back to its parent company. In total Vodafone in Ireland has contributed over €2.2 billion to the profits of this multi-national.
So, Vodafone receives grants and tax breaks to set up in the south of Ireland – I am currently waiting the Minister coming back to me with detail of this – they make huge profits but then arbitrarily sack 130 workers and move their jobs to a cheaper location.
No loyalty to the workers who contributed to those profits. No loyalty to the Irish people who subscribe to Vodafone.
This attitude emerges clearly in the minute of a meeting the CWU had with Vodafone Management. The Union representatives questioned Vodafone about the jobs it plans to axe directly from Vodafone and those that will be lost from Rigney Dolphin which supplies employees to Vodafone.
The Union asked:
Q Why is Vodafone offshoring these jobs?
A Cost and Quality
Q Does Vodafone accept that customers currently receive an excellent customer service from employees in the area?
A Yes
Q What will happen to Rigney Dolphin employees who are loosing their jobs – will they be redeployed in Vodafone?
A No
Q What will be the terms of redundancy for Rigney Dolphin employees?
A This is noting to do with Vodafone. It is a matter for Rigney Dolphin.
Q Does Vodafone accept that they have a responsibility to Rigney Dolphin employees working in Vodafone?
A Vodafone only has a responsibility to the business contract between Rigney Dolphin and Vodafone.
Q The Union requests that Vodafone postpone this decision to enable all parties to engage in discussions with a view to finding alternatives that will save jobs
A No
Q Can Vodafone guarantee the Union that further work/jobs will not be outsourced?
A No
Q What are the cost savings involved in off shoring these jobs?
A Don’t know
This is the unacceptable face of globalisation. But it is not a new phenomena.
I’m sure readers can think of other businesses, for example, shipbuilding and breweries and shirt and clothes manufacturers and others which have over the years left this island and moved their base of production to other climes.
Those who support globalisation claim that this movement of capital and production benefits those poorer countries that can offer cheaper labour costs. But the facts suggest otherwise. The evidence thus far is of the income gap between the rich and poor countries widening in recent decades.
No state can grow economically without some measure of international investment. But every state has the right to ensure that such investment is responsible and that there are contractual agreements in place to ensure this.
Meeting Vodafone workers in Dundalk
Most of the jobs are expected to go in Louth. The impact on those affected will be traumatic. The affect on the local economy, which is already reeling from the imposition of the Universal Social Charge and austerity cuts to government programmes and public services, will be incalculable.
Last week I met the Deputy General Secretary of the CWU Terry Delaney and on Friday four local workers from the call centre in Dundalk met me to explain their concerns and to express their determination to fight this decision by Vodafone.
The decision to axe these jobs is typical of the approach multi-national companies take toward local investments.
Multinationals primarily take decisions based on costs and profits. If they can produce the same service or product elsewhere in the world at a cheaper price and for a greater profit they will follow the money. It’s called globalisation.
They have no loyalty to the local community. They have no loyalty to their workforce.
A good case in point is the Visteon Corporation which was set up by the Ford Motor Corporation to run a number of factories previously directly owned by the Ford company. In March 2009 the directors of Visteon UK put their company into administration.
That day, 210 men and women employed at the Belfast plant of Visteon were told that their jobs ceased to exist. That information came by letter from the management of Visteon UK.
The statutory 90 day consultation was not afforded to the workers. No information was given to them about their rights and entitlements. They were denied any right of reply.
Moreover, their right to Ford terms and conditions, including the lifetime protection of their discretionary pension in payment increases, contained in the ‘Agreement governing the separation of the Ford Visteon organisation’, was binned by Visteon.
This was unacceptable and contemptible behaviour by the management of these two companies.
In light of this the workers rightly and courageously took over the plant and refused to leave until Ford and Visteon negotiated a satisfactory agreement on redundancy and pensions.
They refused to be cowed or intimidated by threat of legal action and lobbied and fought for their rights. And their actions encouraged their union colleagues in Britain.
Like Ford, Vodafone is a huge multi-national. Through its investments in Ireland it controls over 40% of the mobile phone market and has almost two and half million subscribers.
Last year Vodafone made profit here of €122.3 million and paid an additional €125 million in a dividend back to its parent company. In total Vodafone in Ireland has contributed over €2.2 billion to the profits of this multi-national.
So, Vodafone receives grants and tax breaks to set up in the south of Ireland – I am currently waiting the Minister coming back to me with detail of this – they make huge profits but then arbitrarily sack 130 workers and move their jobs to a cheaper location.
No loyalty to the workers who contributed to those profits. No loyalty to the Irish people who subscribe to Vodafone.
This attitude emerges clearly in the minute of a meeting the CWU had with Vodafone Management. The Union representatives questioned Vodafone about the jobs it plans to axe directly from Vodafone and those that will be lost from Rigney Dolphin which supplies employees to Vodafone.
The Union asked:
Q Why is Vodafone offshoring these jobs?
A Cost and Quality
Q Does Vodafone accept that customers currently receive an excellent customer service from employees in the area?
A Yes
Q What will happen to Rigney Dolphin employees who are loosing their jobs – will they be redeployed in Vodafone?
A No
Q What will be the terms of redundancy for Rigney Dolphin employees?
A This is noting to do with Vodafone. It is a matter for Rigney Dolphin.
Q Does Vodafone accept that they have a responsibility to Rigney Dolphin employees working in Vodafone?
A Vodafone only has a responsibility to the business contract between Rigney Dolphin and Vodafone.
Q The Union requests that Vodafone postpone this decision to enable all parties to engage in discussions with a view to finding alternatives that will save jobs
A No
Q Can Vodafone guarantee the Union that further work/jobs will not be outsourced?
A No
Q What are the cost savings involved in off shoring these jobs?
A Don’t know
This is the unacceptable face of globalisation. But it is not a new phenomena.
I’m sure readers can think of other businesses, for example, shipbuilding and breweries and shirt and clothes manufacturers and others which have over the years left this island and moved their base of production to other climes.
Those who support globalisation claim that this movement of capital and production benefits those poorer countries that can offer cheaper labour costs. But the facts suggest otherwise. The evidence thus far is of the income gap between the rich and poor countries widening in recent decades.
No state can grow economically without some measure of international investment. But every state has the right to ensure that such investment is responsible and that there are contractual agreements in place to ensure this.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Controlling the ‘narrative’
It used to be all about ‘spin’. That is getting the message out and influencing, to the point of controlling, how the media covered a particular story.
Alaistair Campbell was credited with being the master of spin for the former Labour government in Britain.
‘Spin’ was the new word used in the 90’s to describe a very old aspect of politics and business – sell the message to the public in a believable and attractive manner; hammer the opposition, and win support for your position. And if you make mistakes? Limit the damage through briefings and more ‘spin’, which if necessary means dumping on whoever is responsible for the problem.
Governments have been spinning their way in and out of trouble for millennia.
The British never claimed they were invading Ireland to steal the land and impoverish and exploit its people – in their own words they came to civilise the barbarians!
The west claimed that it invaded Iraq to save us from Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction. They didn’t exist but the oil fields do.
Today ‘spin’ has given way to a new description. According to one journalist I listened to on RTE it’s now about ‘controlling the narrative’. A nice turn of phrase but the goal is the same.
This week Fine Gael is trying to limit the damage done to its credibility and economic strategy by the comments of Fine Gael Transport Minister Leo Varadkar. He spoke out of school and told the Sunday Times that the Irish state might not be able to return to the bond markets next year. And worse than that it may have to seek a second bailout.
The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Finance Minister all rushed to reject this position. Mr. Varadkar was contradicted and his remarks were described by his department as a ‘hypothetical answer’ to a ‘hypothetical question’. But of the Minister himself there has been no sign.
The importance of all this is that Fine Gael and Labour have spent all their short time in government claiming to know what they are doing, defending the EU/IMF deal and stating that the state is on target to meet the bailout requirements imposed by the EU and IMF and will be able to return to the bond markets next year. That’s the narrative.
Minister Varadkar’s remarks undermine this position. Hence, the rush by his boss and more senior colleagues to publicly deny him and retake control of their ‘spin’ the narrative around the bailout.
But this isn’t the first time Varadkar has put his foot in it. During the election campaign he declared that not another red cent would be given to the banks.
Within weeks of being in government the banks got more than a red cent – they got €24 billion.
But to be fair to Leo he isn’t the first coalition Minister to make a faux pas when it comes to the issue of the bailout. Two weeks ago Labour Minister Brendan Howlin spoke of the desirability of renegotiating the bailout loan and extending the period over which the state would pay it back.
The Minister of Finance immediately stepped forward, rubbished the suggestion and firmly stated that the only item of the agenda in negotiations with the EU/IMF and ECB is a reduction in the interest rate.
The ‘narrative’ for Fine Gael and Labour is to claim that the state is bound by the huge debts that have now been accumulated, and that it will pay all of these back.
Any claim or suggestion to the contrary must be stamped on quickly and ruthlessly.
The problem for the government is that the evidence of failure and of flawed economic policies is to be found in the daily experience and distress of citizens.
RTE’s Primetime on Monday night exposed the extent to which government cuts are driving carers further and further into debt and the enormous poverty that this is causing.
It has also emerged that 4604 elderly citizens are waiting for approval for nursing home places but that the government refuses to release the funds.
And to add to the misery of millions the Minister for the Environment has confirmed that an interim household charge – property tax – is to be introduced early next year, with water meters in place the following year.
The ‘narrative’ is that the money raised by the household charge will be ring-fenced to provide money for local services. You would almost think that the Minister is doing householders a favour by ensuring that the provision of local services is protected.
The truth is that the state is obliged under the EU/IMF deal to introduce both a property tax and water charges.
Moreover, the money raised by these taxes will not be additional to the money currently spent on local services.
The cuts will continue and the money saved will be used to pay off the EU/IMF bailout. So, in reality the property and water tax is being used to pay the EU/IMF bailout.
But that’s not the government’s ‘spin’, ‘line’, ‘narrative’, ‘story’.
Yesterday when I challenged the Taoiseach on all of this I reminded him that 100 years ago exactly – on May 31st 1911 – the unsinkable Titanic was launched in Belfast. She too had a Captain who steered straight for the iceberg. He at least had some excuse. It wasn’t spotted until the last minute. The bailout and debt mountain iceberg that this government has the state sailing straight for is clearly visible and the alarm has been sounded. But on the basis of the ‘narrative’ coming from Government Buildings this captain is not for turning.
Finally, a brief note on the launch and sinking of the Titanic. Over 1500 people lost their lives in April 1912 when it sank. In the years since much has been written and there have been two successful movies made about the event. Next year a £97 million Titanic Belfast Building will be opened to co-incide with the sinking.
But there is a part of the story that is rarely told and which it is important to remember. Harland and Wolff shipyard was a by-word for discrimination. Catholics were only ever employed in very small numbers. Frequently, during the frequent sectarian pogroms that afflicted Belfast they, and any progressive Protestant workers, were among the first to be forced from their jobs.
The Titanic was a human tragedy. So is generational sectarian discrimination.
Alaistair Campbell was credited with being the master of spin for the former Labour government in Britain.
‘Spin’ was the new word used in the 90’s to describe a very old aspect of politics and business – sell the message to the public in a believable and attractive manner; hammer the opposition, and win support for your position. And if you make mistakes? Limit the damage through briefings and more ‘spin’, which if necessary means dumping on whoever is responsible for the problem.
Governments have been spinning their way in and out of trouble for millennia.
The British never claimed they were invading Ireland to steal the land and impoverish and exploit its people – in their own words they came to civilise the barbarians!
The west claimed that it invaded Iraq to save us from Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction. They didn’t exist but the oil fields do.
Today ‘spin’ has given way to a new description. According to one journalist I listened to on RTE it’s now about ‘controlling the narrative’. A nice turn of phrase but the goal is the same.
This week Fine Gael is trying to limit the damage done to its credibility and economic strategy by the comments of Fine Gael Transport Minister Leo Varadkar. He spoke out of school and told the Sunday Times that the Irish state might not be able to return to the bond markets next year. And worse than that it may have to seek a second bailout.
The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Finance Minister all rushed to reject this position. Mr. Varadkar was contradicted and his remarks were described by his department as a ‘hypothetical answer’ to a ‘hypothetical question’. But of the Minister himself there has been no sign.
The importance of all this is that Fine Gael and Labour have spent all their short time in government claiming to know what they are doing, defending the EU/IMF deal and stating that the state is on target to meet the bailout requirements imposed by the EU and IMF and will be able to return to the bond markets next year. That’s the narrative.
Minister Varadkar’s remarks undermine this position. Hence, the rush by his boss and more senior colleagues to publicly deny him and retake control of their ‘spin’ the narrative around the bailout.
But this isn’t the first time Varadkar has put his foot in it. During the election campaign he declared that not another red cent would be given to the banks.
Within weeks of being in government the banks got more than a red cent – they got €24 billion.
But to be fair to Leo he isn’t the first coalition Minister to make a faux pas when it comes to the issue of the bailout. Two weeks ago Labour Minister Brendan Howlin spoke of the desirability of renegotiating the bailout loan and extending the period over which the state would pay it back.
The Minister of Finance immediately stepped forward, rubbished the suggestion and firmly stated that the only item of the agenda in negotiations with the EU/IMF and ECB is a reduction in the interest rate.
The ‘narrative’ for Fine Gael and Labour is to claim that the state is bound by the huge debts that have now been accumulated, and that it will pay all of these back.
Any claim or suggestion to the contrary must be stamped on quickly and ruthlessly.
The problem for the government is that the evidence of failure and of flawed economic policies is to be found in the daily experience and distress of citizens.
RTE’s Primetime on Monday night exposed the extent to which government cuts are driving carers further and further into debt and the enormous poverty that this is causing.
It has also emerged that 4604 elderly citizens are waiting for approval for nursing home places but that the government refuses to release the funds.
And to add to the misery of millions the Minister for the Environment has confirmed that an interim household charge – property tax – is to be introduced early next year, with water meters in place the following year.
The ‘narrative’ is that the money raised by the household charge will be ring-fenced to provide money for local services. You would almost think that the Minister is doing householders a favour by ensuring that the provision of local services is protected.
The truth is that the state is obliged under the EU/IMF deal to introduce both a property tax and water charges.
Moreover, the money raised by these taxes will not be additional to the money currently spent on local services.
The cuts will continue and the money saved will be used to pay off the EU/IMF bailout. So, in reality the property and water tax is being used to pay the EU/IMF bailout.
But that’s not the government’s ‘spin’, ‘line’, ‘narrative’, ‘story’.
Yesterday when I challenged the Taoiseach on all of this I reminded him that 100 years ago exactly – on May 31st 1911 – the unsinkable Titanic was launched in Belfast. She too had a Captain who steered straight for the iceberg. He at least had some excuse. It wasn’t spotted until the last minute. The bailout and debt mountain iceberg that this government has the state sailing straight for is clearly visible and the alarm has been sounded. But on the basis of the ‘narrative’ coming from Government Buildings this captain is not for turning.
Finally, a brief note on the launch and sinking of the Titanic. Over 1500 people lost their lives in April 1912 when it sank. In the years since much has been written and there have been two successful movies made about the event. Next year a £97 million Titanic Belfast Building will be opened to co-incide with the sinking.
But there is a part of the story that is rarely told and which it is important to remember. Harland and Wolff shipyard was a by-word for discrimination. Catholics were only ever employed in very small numbers. Frequently, during the frequent sectarian pogroms that afflicted Belfast they, and any progressive Protestant workers, were among the first to be forced from their jobs.
The Titanic was a human tragedy. So is generational sectarian discrimination.
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