The Mahon Tribunal

This evening and for the next three days the Dáil will hear statements from all parties and independents on the Mahon Tribunal which was published last week.

This evening I had to speak for Sinn Féin in our first contribution.

The 'Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments' was established almost 15 years ago in November 1997 and since then it has heard evidence from over 400 witnesses. It was the longest running public inquiry and produced four interim reports.

This is my contribution:

Bhí an fiosrúchán seo dírithe ar chaimiléireacht a bhí ceaptha a bheith ag dul ar aghaidh maidir leis an bpróiseas pleanála, sa chás mar shampla is go raibh íocaíochtaí á ndéanamh le polaiteoirí.

The Tribunals conclusions and its criticism of the political elite in this state are damning.

‘Corruption in Irish political life was both endemic and systemic. It affected every level of government, from some holders of top ministerial offices to some local councillors and its existence was widely known and widely tolerated.’

But these words of accusation and condemnation only touch on one aspect of the institutionalised sleaze and corruption that was rife in this state.

It wasn’t just political life that was corrupt.

So too was the business elite.

Together they formed golden circles of self-interest dedicated to preserving their wealth and privilege and power.

And this corruption did not just begin twenty years ago when the Beef Tribunal began its deliberations or later with the McCracken Tribunal or Flood/Mahon.

Institutionalised corruption and gombeenism were part and parcel of British colonial rule on this island and these practices survived and thrived in the post-colonial period.

Liam Mellows warned of this in the Treaty debates. He said:...`Men will get into positions, men will hold power, and men who get into positions and hold power will desire to remain undisturbed and will not want to be removed - or will not take a step that will mean removal in case of failure.'

Mellows was right.

Ní amháin a raibh an ceart aige ach bhí fís difriúl aige de Phoblacht agus rialú ina mbeadh an saoránach mar chroí láir tógáil stát nua.

Politicians and churchmen and business people did get into positions of power and abused that power in their self-interests and not in the interests of citizens.

Partition created not one but two conservative states on this island ruled by two conservative elites.

And the closed, narrow, post-civil war society that emerged out of partition in this part of the island was characterised by economic failure, by emigration, by backwardness on social issues, by inequality and by the failure to protect the most vulnerable of our citizens.

Those who built this state also turned their back on the people of the north.

They turned their backs on the ideals of independence and of a genuine republic; on the rights of citizens enshrined in the 1916 Proclamation.

And as it evolved the political elite in this state was increasingly in hock to the Catholic Hierarchy.

The system here for decades abdicated responsibility for the care of children and single women and allowed a regime in institutions that abused and criminalised and terrified those who found themselves locked in these places.

The political establishment and the business elite which emerged in the aftermath of partition — the senior civil servants, the bankers, the judges, big business, the politicians of Cumann na Gael, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, and the Ulster Unionist Party in the north, created systems that entrenched their own privilege.

Systemic corruption bred a culture of corruption. It was part of the way that we were.

Corruption and backhanders and brown envelopes became acceptable – a normal way of winning political favour, of rezoning land for profit, and of buying votes and influence.

Cronyism became endemic.

Who you knew was more important than ability or fairness or what was right.

The ‘golden circles’ of big business and speculators, of bankers and financiers and developers, allied to a corrupt political elite, grew rich on the exploitation of others.

Léiríonn an tuairisc seo do dhaoine an santachas a bhí i réim ag elite áirithe ins an sochaí seo a ndearnadh creachadh ar ár maoin inar raibh ar an mórlach íoc as le toradh turraingtheach.

Family dynasties, party connections and donations to political campaigns all entrenched this corruption.

This was made easier by the concentration of political power in the hands of a few.

Weak and ineffective legal checks and balances, and little oversight and enforcement of laws to challenge corruption, made dishonesty and corruption easy and acceptable.

And the arrogance of the ‘golden circles’ has seen powerful individuals consider themselves above the rules that apply to ordinary citizens.

That double standard was graphically demonstrated in the famous television broadcast by the then Taoiseach Charles Haughey who told citizens to tighten their belts, while he lived the highlife at the taxpayer’s expense.

Agus ní raibh an hasc ‘cosy’ seo idir pholaiteoirí agus fir ghnó, baincéirí, tógáilaithe i bhFianna Fáil amháin.

This wasn’t limited just to Fianna Fáil.

In a classic example of the double standards that have applied in the political culture, in 1993 former Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Garret Fitzgerald had debts of almost £200,000 which he owed to AIB and Ansbacher written off.

Just written off! Sin é. No explanation.

How many ordinary citizens, many now in negative equity and struggling to survive, will have the balance of their loans written off by AIB?

New rules and laws have to be put into place to end corrupt practices.

Too many of our citizens live each day with the consequences of corruption.

There are the many homeowners in mortgage distress because some politicians chose to facilitate developers and bankers and pursued an economic strategy which brought the state to its knees.

There are the growing numbers of elderly citizens who don’t know if they will have a public nursing bed when and if they need it.

Or the thousands of patients who languish on hospital trolleys because successive governments have failed to invest in public health services, choosing instead to promote privatisation.

And there’s the rub!

If you decide to privatise a public health service that’s the start of corrupting the service.

That’s the start of the process.

You run health for profit instead of as a right of a citizen that’s where the corruption starts and that’s where the corruption is currently ongoing at this time.

What of citizens living in sprawling, unfinished housing estates, with no shops, no youth facilities, no playing fields, no amenities and no place for elderly people to gather.

Each one of us have those across this island and in our constituencies.

While Mahon has revealed that politicians from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and Labour took bribes from developers perverting the planning process for profit, the upper echelons of Fianna Fáil in particular stands indicted.

And while the Fianna Fáil leader Deputy M
Will he take action against those current Fianna Fáil deputies who questioned not only the legality of the Tribunal, but also the integrity of its members?

The Mahon Report demands firm measures by this government to deal with corruption.

Citizens are demanding resolute action.

If we are to end corruption and ensure transparency and accountability more needs to be done to clean up politics and to restore public confidence in the political system.

For example, one suggestion is the introduction of legislation that would allow impeachment or removal from the Dáil or the Seanad of any Oireachtas member involved in corruption, deliberate misuse of public money or fraud.

Furthermore, and it’s so obvious, former politicians found guilty of corruption should have their public pensions taken from them.

Particularly so when it comes to former Government Ministers or Taoisigh who enjoy excessive annual pension pay outs.

The DPP needs to conduct a full and prompt investigation into the findings of the Mahon report working with the Gardaí to bring charges of corruption to the courts as soon as possible.

It’s quite possible that none of what has been revealed would have come to light were it not for the role of whistle-blowers like James Gogarty and Tom Gilmartin.

Whistleblowers such as these are key in exposing and preventing corruption.

It is imperative that legislation is brought forward to protect whistle-blowers.

I welcome the publication of the draft heads of the new whistle-blower legislation by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin.

If citizens are to regain their confidence in the political system, the government must implement the recommendations of Judge Mahon.

No excuses. No fudging.

Cronyism and privilege must be ended.

The Mahon tribunal investigated corruption in Dublin, but do we imagine for one second that this was all confined to the Pale?

Did it not happen elsewhere throughout the state?

I note that an internal review of planning decisions by a number of local authorities is underway but still not completed.

The previous Environment Minister John Gormley announced an independent investigation into six local authorities involved in controversial planning decisions.

However one of the first acts of the current Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan was to abandon plans for independent investigations dismissing them as mostly "spurious".

This includes an investigation into a relief road in Carlow, in his constituency, which was first highlighted in 2008 and led to a compensation case costing a total of €1.1 million.

The public need to have confidence that every decision taken is above reproach.

The internal investigation needs to be completed and the findings made public.

The Mahon report and its indictment of the political system, is a far cry from the ethos and high standards demonstrated by those whose bravery and courage and self-sacrifice we will commemorate and celebrate in 12 days time.

Or indeed to those who founded Fianna Fáil.

The Republic they fought and died for at Easter 1916 and in subsequent generations, is encapsulated in the words of the Proclamation of 1916.

For those who abandoned and corrupted its objectives the Proclamation is no more than a piece of paper to which they occasionally pay lip service.

But it is much more than that.

It is a charter of Liberty and Freedom and Rights as important as anywhere else in the modern world.

The Republic it envisages guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities for all its citizens.

The Proclamation contains a commitment to cherish all the children of the nation equally.

Not to exploit or abuse or steal from them but a promise to every Irish man, woman and child that they can share in the dignity of human kind and of this wonderful island that we live in.

Our party and I’m sure other parties and other representatives here are for a new Republic, a genuine republic, a republic fit for the 21st century.

A republic across this entire island where orange and green unite.

A republic based on citizenship and citizens’ rights; a republic that is accessible and responsive and inclusive to the needs of citizens and which upholds civil and human rights.

That republic must include rural Ireland and the protection of our uniquely rural way of life.

It must ensure that Gaeltacht communities thrive and the Irish language has the support required to flourish as a spoken language.

A republic that reaches out to and embraces our unionist brothers and sisters.

A new Ireland built on positive change, on equality and partnership.

A republic that is people centred, owned and responsible to the people and not to elites.

The people of Ireland deserve more than what we have at this time.

We deserve to be free of division, injustice and corruption.

Where wealth is invested creatively and fairly, and where poverty is a thing of the past.

So, that’s what I believe in. I’m sure many others share that belief and we should not let the revelations of corruption and graft put us off from building this new Ireland, this new republic.

The resources to build that – even at this time of great adversity - exist now.

This isn’t a pipe dream. This isn’t an aisling.

This is a real and achievable goal.

At Easter 1993, almost 20 years ago, John Hume and I issued our first joint statement.

We said that the ‘most pressing issue facing the people of Ireland and Britain today is the question of lasting peace and how it can best be achieved’ and we identified as our primary objecxtive ‘reaching agreement on a peaceful and democratic accord for all on this island’.

John Hume was vilified and our vision was attacked by all sides in this chamber. By all parties here.

But five years later the Good Friday Agreement was achieved.

So, nothing is impossible.

What is needed now is a vision of a different Ireland and more especially the political will to make this happen.

It can be done.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE WHITE HOUSE.

Briefing Congressional leaders

It was Joe Crawley who reminded me. Then the funny thing was nearly everyone else said more or less the same thing as we bumped into them on the way to the White House.

‘It’s hard to imagine that its seventeen years since you first came to the USA’. Joe said.
We were at a well attended briefing with Congress members on Capitol Hill. Myself, Richard, Rita O Hare and Jim Cullen.

Joe is a Congress member for New York. Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with Rita, our Representative in the USA and with Richard. Jim Cullen is the new recently appointed President of the Friends of Sinn Féin in the USA. He has big shoes to fill. The last and first person to hold that post was Larry Downes. Larry did a brilliant job setting up Friends of Sinn Féin and leading it in the States until recently. This blog thanks and commends him for his commitment, dedication and friendship.

Jim Cullen will bring his own special qualities to this vitally important work. We all wish him well and I look forward to working with Jim in the time ahead.

Which brings me back to the briefing on Capitol Hill. Some of those present have kept faith with the Irish cause for decades. They included Peter King and Richie Neil, Elliot Engel and other stalwarts. Rita and I gave them an update on the current situation in Ireland and raised a number of issues including the plight of the undocumented Irish.

‘A great deal of progress since the first time you came here.’ Richie said as we mapped out what needs to be done.

That’s when Joe reminded us that that was seventeen years ago when I first came to New York. Hardly seems like it.



Terry O Sullivan; mise and Jimmy Hoffa

The previous day at a Friends of Sinn Féin lunch with Labour leaders we were joined by Martin McGuinness. Terry O Sullivan who is President of the Labours International Union of North America and Joseph Smith, our hosts, uplifted us with their enthusiasm.

This year ten current and former Presidents and Secretary Treasurers of the biggest unions in the USA came along with others to be briefed on the situation in Ireland and to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Along with Terry were James Hoffa, President of the Teamsters union; Robert Scardelletti, National President of the Transport and Communications Union; Kinsey Robinson, President of the Roofers Union; Sean McGarvey, Secretary –Treasurer of BCT; A.L. Monroe retired President of the Painters Union; Barbara Easterling, retired Secretary-General of the Communication Workers of America; John Flynn, retired President of the Bricklayers Union; John Hegarty National President of the Postal Mail Handlers Union; and Larry Hanley, National President of the Amalgamated Transit Union.

I urged them to raise with the Irish government their participation in its planned Constitutional Convention.

The previous week the government acknowledged that voting rights for Irish passport holders in Presidential elections will be on the agenda for the constitutional convention. While this is a welcome development it doesn’t go far enough. The diaspora, especially Irish America, has played a crucial role in encouraging the peace process and in bringing jobs to the island of Ireland.

The government has consciously sought to reach out to the Global Irish through a number of initiatives and the Taoiseach has been in the USA several times in recent months seeking to woo business leaders to invest in the state.

The Global Irish want to support Ireland. The Irish government should go beyond platitudes and reciprocate the diaspora’s desire to help by connecting it back into Ireland in a practical way through, for example, the extension of Presidential voting rights to passport holders.

It is also sensible that any extension of President voting rights should extend to citizens living in the north.



Senator Pat Leahy

After the briefing with the congressional leaders I met Senator Pat Leahy in his office. He reminded us of the engagement with President Clinton which led to this column getting a visa all those years ago. And later in the White House Jean Kennedy Smith, who was US Ambassador to Dublin at the time, looking well and in great form, asked after Father Alec Reid.

By chance Father Alec and I spent an hour walking and singing songs of old Dublin in honour of our national saint the week before so I was able to bring Jean up to date on all these goings-ons.

Then to my great delight who swept into sight but Oscar winners Terry George and Oorlagh. I saw their film The Shore just before it won Oscar fame and I was captivated by it. Since then I have been encouraging everyone to watch it. The Shore is a great story and a beautifully made film. Well done to all involved.

The White House was packed. The Taoiseach and President Obama received a rapturous welcome.
The following morning I met Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. I told her that the Obama party might not go on as long into the wee hours as it did when she and her husband were the hosts but it is still mighty craic. And why not? The man from Moneygall is justifiably proud of his Irish roots. And so he should be.

Our discussions ranged across the state of the economies north and south, including the severe cuts to the block grant imposed by the British government; the transfer of fiscal powers from London to Belfast; outstanding issues arising from the Good Friday Agreement and the need for greater co-operation and harmonisation north and south.

We also spoke about the role of the Irish diaspora, voting in Irish Presidential elections for Irish passport holders living abroad, and the upcoming Constitutional Convention being organised by the Irish government.

I expressed to her my concerns at the failure of the British government to engage properly with the process and a number of specific failures by it to implement the Good Friday Agreement.

And then on Wednesday evening we were on our way back to Belfast. It was a short tiring couple of days during which my jet lag didn’t quite catch up with me.

St. Patrick’s week is an important opportunity to engage with Irish America, to take stock, to celebrate and to move on again. There is still a lot of work to do for Ireland and we will need the help of the Irish diaspora in the time ahead to complete that journey.

The Tiger Hunt mindset and Shoot-to-kill

The role of British forces in countless actions overseas after world war two were generally presented publicly by it as ‘policing actions’. The enemy was often presented as criminal or a terrorist or a communist and black propaganda served up by a largely compliant British media presented them as sub-human, subversive, cruel, ruthless and brutal.

In truth these military operations were desperate attempts by a dying imperial power to hang on to colonies which were demanding independence.

By the time of Operation Banner in 1969, the British Army name for its military involvement in the north of Ireland, the British Empire was part of history. It had fought and lost in countless political and military actions in Africa, the Middle East, India and South East Asia.

This colonial experience of war and politics was a fundamental part of the British military psyche. It generated several theoretical books on the role of counter-insurgency techniques with the most widely read, and the most influential being Kitson’s ‘Low Intensity Operations: Subversion, Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency’, which this blog has written about before.

Robert Taber in his book ‘War of the Flea’ argued that for a guerrilla movement to succeed it needed the support of the people or at the very least a significant proportion of the people.

Kitson understood this so his strategies were about subverting that support through reshaping government structures, the judiciary, the law, the police and the media all with the aim of defeating the enemy. He wrote: ‘The fundamental concept is the working of the triumvirate, civil, military and police, as a joint and integrated organisation from the highest to the lowest level of policy making, planning and administration.’

Kitson also defended the use of death squads and the corruption of the judicial process. Counter-gangs, which he formed and participated in while in Kenya, had been successful in helping defeat what was labelled as the ‘Mau Mau insurgency’ although Britain still had to lower the flag and leave in 1964.

Kitson wrote: ‘Everything done by a government and its agents in combating insurgency must be legitimate. But this does not mean that the government must work within exactly the same set of laws during an emergency as existed beforehand. The law should be used as just another weapon in the government’s arsenal, in which case it becomes little more than a propaganda cover for the disposal of unwanted members of the public.’

Kitson’s writings, based on his experiences in Kenya and Malaya and Aden and elsewhere became standard practice for British operational procedures in the north of Ireland, especially after he was appointed British Army Commander in Belfast in the summer of 1970.

Hiding behind the legitimacy of a law which its government moulded to fit its objectives, the British Army embarked on a range of covert and overt actions, tactics and strategies which were about defeating the IRA. This included, ‘the disposal of unwanted members of the public’.

The British military and political establishment’s only interest in the violence of unionist death squads was in how effectively the UDA (Ulster Defence Association), the Red Hand Commando, the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) and others could be used as counter gangs against those the British regarded as the real enemy – the republicans.

Structured formal and informal collusion between elements of the British military and intelligence agencies and organisations; shoot-to-kill operations by British units and the RUC; the use of plastic bullets as a means of community control; torture and ill-treatment of prisoners; special courts and special rules in the courts; and much more all became part of the British government’s counter-insurgency strategy in Ireland.

Recently some new material has become available which highlights the British military’s colonial approach to Ireland.

In June 1989 Lieutenant General Sir John Waters, who was then the General Officer Commanding (GOC) in the north wrote a lengthy detailed proposal to the Officer Commanding Armoured Infantry Training and Advisory Team about the preparation work that new British Army units, about to be deployed in the north, needed to undertake.

His ‘Concept of Operations’ paper is interesting because of the insight it gives into the mindset of the British Army general running the British Army in the north.

Waters wrote: “It is well established that the terrorists and their supporters use a mass of fabricated complaints against the Security Forces as a means of trying to discredit them and increase their alienation from the nationalist community...Some inconvenience – delays as a result of checkpoints and collateral damage during searches etc – is inescapable in any counter-insurgency operation. However we must recognise that if in the past and still today there were not some cases of real stupidity or wilful rudeness or careless damage by policemen and soldiers, the terrorists would have little prospect of success for their allegations of widespread insensitive behaviour.

I have looked very carefully into the whole matter of complaints. I entirely accept that the number of cases in which soldiers offend, almost invariably under some sort of provocation, is in the circumstances amazingly low. Nevertheless in the context of what has gone before in the Province and the heightened sensitivities that have resulted each ‘offfence’ is one too many and entirely unhelpful. Incidents which anywhere else would be seen as an innocent soldiers prank or just an expression of youthful high spirits can give real offence.”

Later in a section under “Discipline and Propaganda’ Waters wrote: “Most of what they say about bad behaviour by soldiers is lies. But it is believed by many, particularly in the nationalist community.”

 So there you have it. The truth according to Waters is that nationalists and many others around the world were all gullible. The thousands of wrecked homes; the communities oppressed by occupying British troops; the deaths of almost 400 people in disputed circumstances and over a thousand more in attacks by loyalist counter-gangs; the beatings and the terror were all just ‘youthful high spirits’ or the result of ‘some sort of provocation’ or a prank!

But Waters denial of reality doesn’t just stop there. He describes how the RUC and the British Army consist of ‘standard units’ and ‘specialist units (Special Forces)’. He wrote; “In very general terms the ‘standard units’ provide the constant present on the ground to give Reassurance and Deterrence. Attrition operations are usually carried out by the specialist units – but not always.’

And then the colonial mindset kicked in. The years of acting out the role of colonial overlord in India and elsewhere found voice. Waters reduces the killing and capture of the enemy to a tiger hunt!

“The way that the standard units and the specialist units should work together to get success can be compared with an old-fashioned tiger hunt. The most experienced hunters are placed in what is judged to be the very best position from which to get a shot. These are the specialist units. The beaters surround the area of the jungle where the tigers are expected to be and drive them on to the guns. These are the standard units. Beating requires great skill and co-ordination to prevent the tigers breaking out of the cordon, of killing some of the beaters. Frequently the tigers break back, make a mistakes and expose themselves to the beaters. This is the opportunity for the beaters, who also carry guns to get a tiger.

And there you have it - ‘the disposal of unwanted members of the public’. Shoot-to-kill operations were modelled on ‘tiger hunts’!

Is it any wonder that two months later Water’s boss, Major General Guthrie who was Assistant Chief of the General Staff wrote to him asking that he reword his paper. Guthrie admitted to ‘brooding and re-reading your tiger shoot’ letter’ following a visit to Waters in the north.

While he regarded the paper as excellent Guthrie was worried that the use of the ‘Tiger Hunt’ example would get out sooner or later and cause “you and the Army department and Ministers” embarrassment. He added: “I am convinced that you are running an unnecessary risk and you world achieve your aim – which I fully understand and applaud – just as well in another way.”

Waters was having none of it and told him no. He refused to temper his language and stuck to his guns – pardon the pun.

There is a danger in reading Waters language that you almost dismiss him as a pompous, jingoistic Colonel Blimp like character but he was the General in charge of the British Army in the north. He and those who held that post before him and others in a host of intelligence, policing and military agencies took decisions that had a profound impact on the lives of citizens in the north. And it is clear from Guthrie’s letter that he was not dissenting from the sentiment just the use of language.

It is no accident that those places and people which were the target of such tactics and strategies remain conflict zones to this day. The one significant exception in Ireland. And that has been achieved despite our military overlords and colonial tiger hunters.

For that we give thanks.

Symphysiotomy – righting a grievous wrong

The public gallery was abnormally packed for a Thursday morning in the Dáil. It’s not unusual to have groups of young people from schools visiting to watch proceedings but almost all of those present this morning were elderly women.

Another large group of women were in an adjacent room where they were watching proceedings on tv.

These are the survivors of a barbaric medical practice called symphysiotomy. I had never heard of symphysiotomy and pubiotomy until just over a year ago when this blog made the shift to Louth. It was brought to my attention by two very brave women Olivia Kearney and Catherine Naughton. Women of great grace and courage.

Since then I have met other victims and survivors, including the advocacy groups. They are all remarkable people. Last night a group of survivors, Matilda Behan, Ellen Moore, Helen Kennealy, and Anne Ward who spoke on behalf of her mother Mary MacDonogh’s, gave witness and harrowing testimony to the hurt and trauma of symphysiotomy.

Their accounts were deeply distressing and upsetting for those who gave them and for us who listened in silence.

Symphysiotomy amounts to institutional abuse. It involves acts of butchery against women citizens.

It is a painful, dangerous operation that unhinges the pelvis to facilitate childbirth or in the case of pubiotomy the sawing of the public bones.

Some have sought to claim that it was a standard practice internationally but the facts contradict this. The French medical profession abandoned its use in 1798, over 200 years ago. It was regarded as too dangerous to mother and child, many of whom died. The French opted for caesarean section. It took the British another 70 years to catch on to its dangers.

But in the Irish state symphysiotomy was the method of choice between the 1940’s and early 80’s.

During that time it is thought that up to 1500 women were victim of this procedure, mostly without their consent. It was also inflicted on women who were used as teaching aids for doctors and nurses and students. One hospital that used it extensively was Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda which was run by the Medical Missionaries of Mary who exported the use of this practice to Africa and India.

Those who have campaigned on this issue for many years attribute its use by the medical profession in the south to Catholic Church dogma. The Catholic Church vehemently opposed birth control methods and the use of caesarean sections limited the number of children a woman could have. It was generally accepted that the maximum number of these that could be used on a woman was four.

The use of symphysiotomy was one way of ensuring that women didn’t look to birth control.

Today there are probably no more than 200 or so survivors of symphysiotomy. They are elderly and frail citizens who carry the physical and emotional scars of this barbaric practice. Those courageous women who spoke to us last night have all suffered long term ill-health and disability as a consequence of what was done to them.

One woman who called to see me in Drogheda to tell me of her experience was Lilly McDonnell. Lilly was a victim of symphysiotomy 60 years ago. Lilly told me how her child was killed in the course of this procedure and of the physical damage done to her. She showed me the child’s birth certificate.

Like the other survivors Lilly lives daily with the harrowing consequences of what was done to her.

The state should be deeply ashamed of what it allowed to happen to these women in my view because of the influence of conservative religious fundamentalism.

It should also be ashamed about its inadequate and at times heartless response to the demands of the victims for redress and truth.

In their efforts to highlight what was done to them the victims frequently met a wall of disinformation and institutionalised obstruction. Records were destroyed or ‘lost’ and the aftercare which they deserve was denied if they could not prove, by the presentation of medical records, what had been done to them.

The Dáil and Seanad and the government has a duty to ensure that this deep wrong is finally brought to a conclusion and in a way that is acceptable to the victims.

In a real republic the rights of these citizens would have been protected and the survivors of symphysiotomy would have had justice many years ago.

The current Minister for Health Deputy James Reilly gave his full support to the demand for a public inquiry at an Oireachtas committee hearing in 2009. Now he’s the Minister with the responsibility and the power to finally make it happen.

He can authorise a full public inquiry into these events. Nothing else will suffice. Nothing else will do. Without this the campaigning but more importantly the hurt, the anguish, the grief, the bereavement for the victims will go on.

Looking up at the public gallery this morning the faces looking down were of women, grievously treated and ignored for decades and who are now mostly in their late 70s and early 80s. As each Teachta Dála stood and spoke during the debate they listened intently. Following the Ministers opening remarks Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, who is the leader of the all-party group on this issue, and who has championed this campaign for many years, was the first to speak.

There was a spontaneous applause from the public gallery when he finished. And he speaker after that was applauded. Those who have been marginalised and whose pain was ignored were responding warmly to their issue finally being debated in the Dáil.

And when it was all over Caoimhghín sought the indulgence of the Leas Ceann Comhairle and asked those TDs present to stand and applaud the women. It was a rare emotional moment of unanimity in a chamber normally given over to the cut and thrust of verbal political battle.

But it can’t end here. The Dáil and the government has to deliver for the victims and their families. I believe that with political will it can be done.

I am also convinced that a number of other justice campaigns can be resolved in this term of the Dáil.

They include Justice for the Maggies, for other victims of institutionalised abuse, including in Bethany Home, and in our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda, and victims of symphysiotomy.

All these causes are crying out for justice. We can do something about it. These women as citizens deserve our support, our love and they particularly deserve to have their wrong righted.

Standing up for Ireland

If you want to know who is taking the real decisions about the economy of the Irish state then you need look no further than EU Commissioner Olli Rehn.

Since Fianna Fáil crashed the economy and Fine Gael and Labour won last years election they have repeatedly asserted that there can be no deviation from the bailout conditions set down by the EU, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

At the same time in an effort to tackle Europe’s worsening economic recession and satisfy the ‘markets’ the EU has embarked on a series of measures which have mostly failed. The most recent, the European Fiscal Compact Treaty or more accurately the austerity treaty, is about imposing stringent fiscal control by the EU over state governments.

The Irish government was reluctantly forced to call a referendum on this austerity treaty because of its implications for the Irish constitution. Thus far the argument from the government has been that the treaty is necessary to impose what successive Ministers have described as greater fiscal discipline over EU member states.

The Treaty was signed two weeks ago but before the ink was dry on the page the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, fresh from signing it, told his European colleagues that Spain would defy the fiscal targets being set by the Treaty. The austerity measures were just too severe for the Spanish people and economy, he said.

So, the Finance Ministers found a compromise. Spain doesn’t have to cut as much as the EU was demanding and the Spanish state is allowed to breach the fiscal targets. Not an auspicious start for a treaty which is supposedly about strict discipline.

Meanwhile the Irish government, depending on which Minister is talking to the media, has been involved in some sort of negotiation with the EU over the payment of the promissory notes.

These notes are essentially IOUs which were entered into by the last Fianna Fáil government to plug the hole in the balance sheets of Anglo-Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide which arose as a result of the greed and bad practice of those banks.

This €31 billion debt requires that the government pay €3.1 billion to Anglo Irish Bank every year for the next 10 years. As this money is borrowed the state has additional payments to make accounting for up to at least another €18 billion.

It appears the government has been trying to negotiate an arrangement under which the €31 billion is still paid but over a longer period and with less interest.

Rescheduling will simply mean that our great grandchildren will have to pick up the tab.

And it is at this point that EU Commissioner Olli Rehn has stepped in. According to the EU Commissioner the motto "pacta sunt servanda" - respect your commitments and obligations – is a key tradition in EU law.

Asked about Ireland’s promissory note payment he arrogantly and patronisingly declared that each and every member state has to respect the commitments it has undertaken and this is valid in the case of Ireland.

Of course this is a nonsense. Respecting commitments and obligations within the EU was never a strong point for either France or Germany who both regularly breached the stability and growth rules.

Germany breached the deficit rules in 1994: 1996 and between 2003 and 2006 and in each year since 2009. It has broken the debt to GDP rule every year since 2003.

France has broken the deficit rule every year since 2003 and has breached the debt rule every year since 2003.

And other states have equally poor records of compliance. But according to Mr. Rehn and the EU Commission the law as applied to the Irish state is to be applied rigidly.

This bullying and belligerent stance by the EU is inevitable given the weak and obsequious attitude of the Irish government. How often has the Taoiseach asserted; ‘We never looked to a debt write down’ or ‘we are not going to have the name defaulter written across our foreheads’, or we will not impose losses on bondholders?

Why would the EU or IMF or European Central Bank take the government seriously in any negotiation when it begins every sentence by telling the Troika that it plans to do exactly what they want?

The Irish government should reject Mr. Rehn’s self-serving advice, look to the Spanish example, and do what is in the interests of the Irish state and of Irish citizens and declare its inability to pay the promissory note.

Finally, there is a US delegation in Ireland this week led by former Congressional Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. I met them on Tuesday afternoon and briefed them on the peace process and especially its outstanding issues, and on the current state of the economy north and south.



Congressional member Carolyn B Maloney; Congressional member Mike Doyle; this blog and Congressional member Nancy Pelosi.

Nuala Vallely

Anyone attending fixtures in Casement Park over the years will have noticed a tall dark haired woman steward amongst the cohort of mainly middle aged men who look after everything from collecting admission money, marshalling the crowds, minding the players and match officials and looking out for everyones’ safety. They – volunteers all - do a great job in foul and fair weather, for big fixtures as well as tiny little ones.

The tall dark haired woman is Nuala Vallely. She died last week. Suddenly. She was forty one years of age. Nuala collapsed at work in the Upper Springfield Development Trust last Tuesday. Her family and friends, the people of West Belfast, her workmates and especially Belfast Gaels are in deep shock at the suddenness of Nuala’s death.

She was a very active member of Gort Na Mona GAC and a founder member of Gort’s camogie team. She also had a longstanding grá for Saint Agnes.

This blog agrees entirely with the sentiments of the statement from Gort na Mona which described Nuala as someone who epitomised everything that is good about the GAA. She was the backbone of Cumann Luthcleas Ghael and worked extremely hard – though she enjoyed it – for our community.

That was evident at her funeral. Neighbours strung bunting in the Antrim colours along Nuala’s street in Dermott Hill. Me thought that was a wonderful gesture and when we reached the offices of the Upper Springfield Trust there was a loud and sustained round of applause for this much loved woman.

She was also a wonderful mother to Rachel and a daughter, an aunt and a sister. This blog extends condolences and solidarity to all Nuala’s family but particularly to Rachel.

Eight people had the gift of a better life because Nuala had the generosity and foresight to become an organ donor. The rest of us could learn a lot from her example. Go ndeanfaidh Dia trocaire uirthi.

There will be a border poll

Gulladuff is a small picturesque village in south County Derry. It’s home to an impressive Republican Garden of Remembrance, Lavey GAC grounds and one of the best Sinn Féin centres in Ireland.

I travelled there this morning for the Annual General Meeting of the party’s Cuige organisation. Scores of party activists came to discuss recent developments and strategise on party plans for the next year.

It was a very good meeting on the back of what has been a good year for the party. Since the Cuige last met the party has fought a general election in the south, as well as Seanad, Assembly, Local Government and Presidential elections and the Dublin West by-election.

Most political parties would fell stressed after fighting one election! But the Sinn Féin organisation rose to the challenge and by any standards we have had a good year electorally. And now we’re preparing for the referendum contest on the European austerity treaty.

We are also moving into the second phase of a new approach to party membership which is all about opening up our structures and facilitating a growth in membership and participation in Sinn Féin activities by ever greater numbers of people.

We have established new structures to manage the day-to-day running of party activity and have also re-organised our youth structures.

At the same time the last year has also held a series of major conferences promoting our united Ireland objective.

We are entering a period in which the anniversaries of a series of seminal events in Irish history that culminated in the partition of Ireland will be commemorated.



This provides a unique opportunty to examine the legacy of partition and to initiate a public debate on the desirablilty and viability of a new, united Ireland that can serve the interests of all our people.

During the week the British Secretary of State Owen Patterson entered that debate by dismissing the possibility of a border poll.

He has also blocked an enquiry into the killing of Human Rights lawyer Pat Finucane despite this being part of an inter-governmental agreement at Weston Park.
He is also blocking a Bill of Rights.

And he has been less than helpful on other matters like the Irish language.
And his imprisonment of Marion Price is entirely stupid and unjust.

But Mr. Patterson would not be one the most adroit or skillful British Secretaries of State to have been imposed on us. His remarks on the border poll have to be seen in this context.

Mr. Patterson is also a supporter of the Union. That is the position of his government at this time. Sinn Féin is not naive about this. The Tory party had to be pulled kicking and squealing into the peace process.

But now under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement the Tory/lib Dem government has specific obligations.

Despite the foot dragging that has characterised its attitude to this agreement and other agreements so far, Sinn Féin has no intention of acquiescing to British Tory game playing. Owen Patterson is but one of a long line of political overlords that Irish republicans have had to deal with, with great patience in the past.

Obviously there are elements of the Good Friday Agreement that Owen Patterson is unhappy about but he should not presume to arrogantly dictate to people here how we will conduct our affairs. Those days are over.

There will be a united Ireland. By definition that will come when the people of our island have formed a cordial union of Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter.

When a border poll is held Owen Patterson will have no vote on that issue. That is as it should be, entirely a matter for the people of Ireland.

The political landscape in the North has been transformed in recent years and there is growing support for a united Ireland.

A border poll is inevitable. Mr Patterson knows this. It is only a matter of timing. The united Ireland that Sinn Féin seeks is inclusive.

All elements of society on the island of Ireland must be comfortable and secure in the system of governance that is agreed.

It is essential that everyone has the fullest expression of their identity without intruding on the rights and entitlements of others. Diversity, equality and tolerance is the key to this.

Sinn Féin wants a united Ireland. Both governments are obliged to legislate for this. And as we continue building towards a united Ireland, Sinn Féin must also offer solutions to the problems faced by citizens in the here and now.

We want a New Republic rooted in citizens rights and people centred.

That also means the right to a decent quality of life, a job and social protections.

Ní neart go cur le chéile - Unity is strength

In Vita Cortex Factory

This blog travelled to Cork to meet with workers from the Vita Cortex company early on Thursday morning. Thirty two workers were paid off just before Christmas. They have occupied the factory since then. Eighty four days in all. Some of the workers showed me around. It’s an old plant. Cold and drafty and very basic but for some of the workers it was their livelihood for 40 years.

The owner Jack Ronan and the management committed to paying a redundancy package of 2.9 weeks, that is, two weeks statutory and 0.9 gratis per year of employment.



Other Vita Cortex workers in Navan in 2007 and Dublin in 2008 and workers laid off in Cork previously were paid this amount. But not this group of workers. The owner claims he can’t afford it. The workers don’t believe him. Neither do I.

The workers sit-in has attracted widespread support in Cork, across the island and from overseas.

There have been efforts to resolve the dispute, including with the Labour Relations Commission, but thus far without success.

The state has paid the two weeks statutory payment. But Labour Minister Joan Burton has warned that what money the workers get will be clawed back by her department as part payment of the two weeks redundancy that has been paid.



Last week the workers were offered half of the outstanding money due them from Vita Cortex. They rejected that, and discussions between their union and the shareholders continues.

Regular readers of this blog will be reminded of the Visteon dispute in west Belfast in March 2009. At that time Visteon, which was established by Ford and supplied parts to the company, closed its west Belfast and two others in Britain with the loss of hundreds of jobs.

Visteon workers in west Belfast, with the support of the local community, successfully took a stand against the injustice of the closure and the efforts of a huge multi-national company to steal from them many of the pension and other rights they were entitled to under hard fought for agreements.

Six weeks after they began their occupation the workers marched out of the plant united and proud. They understood the importance of - Ní neart go cur le chéile - Unity is strength. Because of that they secured from the Visteon Corporation a compensation package, which while not as fair as it should have been was much, much better than Visteon intended it to be.

Serious questions still remain about the behaviour of the Ford Motor Company and of the Visteon Management about the transfer of pension schemes and company assets. The campaign for justice for Visteon workers, and the effort to uncover the full facts surrounding the decisions taken by the company which led to the closure of the plant, goes on.

So there was a sense of déjà vu when I sat down with the Vita Cortex workers and listened to their account of years of dedicated service to the company and then the manner in which the company then treated them.




One worker – Helen Crowley – proudly showed me the large piece of foam which she sleeps on each night she stays in the factory. I told her it reminded me of the mattresses the men in the H Blocks slept on during the protest.

The local shinners have been hugely supportive of the workers and they acknowledge that. I was there to extend our solidarity and support.

It is shameful the way the Vita Cortex workers are being treated and what they and their families are going through to get what are very modest entitlements.

At the same time it’s very uplifting to see the spirit of the workers and to know that they have significant support in Cork, across the island and abroad.

Vita Cortex owner Jack Ronan is behaving in a most unpatriotic way. He should honour his pledge to these workers. I don’t begrudge him his wealth but it was created by people like those who are in occupation of the Vita Cortex factory. And they deserve their rights and entitlements.

I also think it is vitally important that what is happening here never happens again to any other workforce. It is very clear that there is not sufficient legislative protection for workers in this state.

While Sinn Féin TDs Jonathon O Brien and Peadar Toibin are looking at bringing in legislation this is really a matter for the government. And we intend to press them on that.

In the meantime if you have a minute write a letter of support to the workers. They will put it up on the walls of their temporary canteen to join the many other messages of solidarity they have received.

Send it to Protesting Workers, Vita Cortex factory, Kinsale Road. Cork.

lá na Gaeilge sa Dáil

Seo muid ag caint tré ghaeilge inniu agus fáiltíom roimh an t-am atá againn ins an Dáil agus molaim an Teachta Dála, Aengus Ó Snodaigh de bharr an rún seo a mholadh mar chuid de Sheachtain na Gaeilge.

Bhí an chuid is mó d’imeachtaí den Chéad Dáil tré mheán na Gaeilge agus ba chóir dúinn leanúint le seo mar ábhar nádúrtha agus rialta.

Buíochas ar son iad siúd a d’oibrigh in amannta deacra agus teaghlaigh a chur an Ghaeilge chun cinn. Molaim Raidio na Gaeltachta, TG4, Raidio Fáilte agus Raidió na Life ina measc.

Beatha teanga í a labhairt. Caitear seod nuair atá muid ag iarraidh an seod sin a thaispeáint ach caithfear an seod sin a chaomhnú mar sheod chultúrtha agus é a chaitheamh go bródúil.

Dúirt mise:
“Mar is eol don Aire, is ábhar suim faoi leithe í an Ghaeilge agam.
Beatha teanga í a labhairt agus cuireann sé an-sásaimh orm an borradh atá tagtha i líon na Gaeilgeoirí sa tír, cuid mhaith dó sin de dheascadh gluaiseacht na gaeilscoileanna, na naoinraí agus tuismitheoirí dílis.

Cuireann sé gliondair croí orm amharc ar an méid daoine óga go háirithe atá suim acu sa ghaeilge, agus atá páirteach in eagraíochtaí ar nós Conradh na Gaeilge.

Ach ní mór dúinn a bheith airdeallach nach dtiocfaidh meathú ar bhfás an teanga, ach go háirithe leis an mhéid sin duine atá ina ndeoraí thar sáile.

Beidh impleachtaí ollmhóra ag na ciorruithe oideachas a bhí sa bhuiséad ar ghlúnta de pháistí gaeltachta, is todhchaí an teanga má chailltear múinteoirí iontu.

Tá ról tabhachtach ó thaobh cur chun cinn an Ghaeilge, agus ó thaobh maoirseacht An Acht na dTeangacha Oifigúla ag an gCoimisinéir Teanga.

Níl aon fianaise go mbeadh aon sábhail airgead ann idir ann chomhnascadh le h-oifig an Ombudsman.

Iarraim ar an t-Aire, an bhfuil sé d’intinn aon aird a thabhairt ar na h-aighneachtaí ar athbhreithniú acht na teangacha oifigiúla go gcoimeadfar oifig an choimisinéira mar oifig neamhspleách?

Ni mór dom a rá freisin, go bhfuil tabhacht faoi leith ag na Gaeltachtaí ó thaobh caomhnú agus ó thaobh blas agus saibhreas na teanga.

Ar an ábhar sin, ba mhaith liom iarraidh ar an tAire, cathain a bheidh na “Heads of Bill” do Bille na Gaeltachta aontaithe ag an rialtas, agus cathain a bheidh sé á fhoilsiú?

Tuigim go bhfuil post príomhfheidhmeannach an Údarás fógraithe faoi dheireadh, ach tá go leor imní ar phobail an Ghaeltacht nach mbeidh an seans acu Boird an Údarás a thoghadh go daonlathach arís, mar a mba chóir go mbeadh i ndán dóibh.

An mbeadh an t-Aire sásta ráiteas a dheánamh ar conas mar a thoghfar, nó a roghnófar an bhoird as seo amach?

Tá a fhios agam gur ábhar imní é chomh maith go bhfuil go leor ciorraithe ar bhuiseád capiteal an údarás.

De bharr ciorraithe ar bhuiséad caipteal an údarás d’fhéadfadh go mbeadh an tionchar aige sin ag feidhmiúcháin an údaráis mar eagraíocht fiontair. Tá gá le h-ionadaí don Údarás a bheith tofa go daonlathach i dtoghcháin seachas a bheith ceaptha.

Ar ábhar an samhail nua maoinithe dona heagraíochtaí bun mhaoinithe Gaeilge is léir gur gá don Aire oibriú i gcomhpháirtaíocht leis an Aire Cultúr agus Fóillíochta sa gchomhthionóil, Caral Ní Chuilin, chun an imní atá orthu siúd in earnáil phobail na gaeilge agus an taithí atá ag cuid mhaith acu a thogáil ar boird.

Chomh maith le sin iarraim ar an t-Aire tacaíocht a thabhairt don obair atá á dheánamh sa gchomhthionóil chun an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn. Tá Feachtas Líofa 2015 a fógraíodh le tamall anuas ina measc agus molaim Clár Líofa 2015 a scaipeadh trasna an stat seo fosta. Is cuis áthais é dom go bhfuil daoine ón dá thraidisiún tar éis síniú suas don feachtas Líofa 2015.

Iarraim ar an rialtas anseo a fhógru go seasóidh siad le geallúint Rialtas na Breataine leis an gheallúint Acht Teanga iomlán-mhaoinithe agus ceartbhunaithe a thabhairt isteach.

Chomh maith le tacaíocht substantiúil a thaispeáint i dtreo aitheantas oifigiúil agus stádas a thabhairt don Ghaeilge i gcúirteanna na sé chontae.

Glacaim an tseans seo le Bród.ie a mholadh ina bhfuil Bernard Dunne agus daoine ón earnáil poiblí a tabhairt dea shampla dúinn uile.

Tá straitéis 20 bliain ag Sinn Féin don Ghaeilge. Oibreoimid go dícheallach chun é a chuir i bhfeidhm i réimsí Turasóireachta, Cultúir, Spórt, Pobail, Oideachas agus Gaeltachta.

Tacaíonn Sinn Féin le Cultúrlann, atá mar ‘Hubanma Gaelacha’ a bheith ar fáil i mBaile Átha Cliath, agus áiteacha eile ina measc mar ionaid lárnach le h-imeachtaí sóisialta a bheith ar fail d’achan aois.”

Stand together. Stand united. Rural Ireland fighting back

This blog is coming to you today from Castlebar in Mayo. We travelled over yesterday evening. It was a long journey from Dublin. Once off the motorway we travelled through one deserted small town and village after another.

At a time when rural Ireland is under attack Sinn Féin has decided that it’s time for a fightback. But it can’t be a fightback dictated by people in Dublin or Belfast. It must have its roots firmly in rural Ireland.

So that’s what we have decided to do – to go into rural Ireland and speak to those most affected by the policies of austerity which are stripping local communities of essential services – of schools, of guidance counsellors, hospitals, post-offices and Garda stations. The government is also adding new stealth taxes like the Universal Social Charge, the Household Charge, VAT increases, motor tax increases and septic tank charges.

Businesses, shops and pubs in rural towns and villages are closing. Small indigenous businesses, including small farmers, with no real support from the government or credit from the banks, are going under. Our fishing communities are devastated.

All of this and the absence of equality of access to public services threatens the quality of life of people living in rural Ireland.

Castlebar is the first of a series of meetings Sinn Féin will be holding across the state as part of a consultation process with rural Ireland. This morning this blog, Martin Ferris TD and Senators Trevor Ó Clochartaigh and Kathryn Reilly launched the party’s “Love Rural Ireland” campaign. Michael Colreavy TD from Leitrim also came along to add his voice to the campaign.


The room was packed. It was standing room only. Over a hundred people came out on a Friday morning to listen to our contributions and to ask questions and make suggestions.

Martin and Trevor have been appointed the parties spokespersons on rural Ireland and they will be travelling the length and breadth of the state getting the views, opinions, suggestions and ideas of rural communities.

We thought Mayo was an appropriate place to launch this campaign. It is the Taoiseach’s county. It is his policies, as well as those of the last Fianna Fáil one, which are contributing to the crisis in rural Ireland. It is also timely in that this morning the Taoiseach is in Brussels signing up to the austerity treaty.

But Mayo is also Michael Davitt’s county. He founded the Land League in this town in 1879.The Land League led the fightback against the exploitation of rural Ireland and the eviction of farmers and their families.

Davitt’s slogan was: ‘the land of Ireland for the people of Ireland.’ He believed that if people stand together there is nothing they cannot accomplish. That lesson is as relevant and necessary today as it was 130 years ago. So, Mayo the birthplace of Michael Davitt is a good place to start the fightback for rural communities which have been betrayed by the government.

Rural Ireland is under attack. Especially here in the west. A whole generation of young people are forced to leave. This GAA generation is playing our gaelic games in Brisbane, Birmingham and Baltimore instead of their own parish. As the social fabric of rural Ireland is undermined there is a growth in isolation, loneliness and suicide.

And this will worsen if the austerity treaty is ratified in the referendum. The Taoiseach signed that Treaty this morning. He wants to hand significant new powers over to the European Court of Justice and the European Commission.

Mr. Kenny is allowing these institutions to impose Thatcherite economic policies on democratically elected governments and to impose heavy fines where they believe these policies have not been adhered to.

And as part of this the Government plans to cut a further €8.6 Billion from the economy in the next three years to meet the Troika Deficit target of 3%. Enda Kenny’s and Eamonn Gilmore’s austerity treaty demands that this deficit be reduced to a 0.5% target.



This means that up to a further €6 billion in cuts and new taxes will be imposed! But thankfully the Irish people will have their say. The Irish people cannot afford this Treaty. Sinn Féin will campaign for a No vote. That is the democratic option.
The septic tank issue is one example of the indifference of the government and of policy makers to the needs of rural communities. The Government’s septic tank proposals are unfair to rural householders.

This mess belongs to Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour. They have all been in power over the last 35 years and did nothing to resolve it. Rural dwellers funded their own septic tanks while urban dwellers have a state funded service.

Now to add to this unfairness and in the midst of a recession the government demands that septic tank owners bear the potentially huge cost for upgrading these tanks.



Sinn Féin supports the upgrading of septic tanks. Ground water and the environment must be protected. But to be fair to rural families they cannot bear the cost of this. Grants up to the full cost of upgrading must be available to the households affected.

Enda Kenny gave his word that no citizen would be denied access to public services because of where they live. Then he closed the A&E at Roscommon Hospital. Health services everywhere and public nursing beds are being cut.

Older people and those living on their own or in isolated areas do not feel secure in their homes as gardaí become less visible in rural areas. Poor public transport has always been a problem but the increase in the price of petrol and diesel have made matters worse. Rural roads are getting worse as the funding to local authorities is cut.

There is no doubt that the €30 million being cut from the rural transport scheme will impact on services which many people in rural Ireland, especially our older citizens, depend on.

School transport is being slashed and the cost almost doubled. The small local school is at the heart of most local communities. Rural schools and schools in Gaeltacht areas and Gaeltachtai those specialising in the teaching of the Irish language should be protected and our children’s educational future guaranteed. They also are under threat from government policy.

In many ways this is history repeating itself. The Dublin establishment abandoned the people of the north at the time of partition. They also abandoned the people west of the Shannon. Gerry Murray lent me John Healy’s ‘Nobody shouted stop’ book which chronicles that betrayal.



But people here were not broken by that policy. They survived. In 2012 in the run in to 2016 the Irish people deserve better. This is not the Ireland Davitt envisioned. This is not the Ireland proclaimed in the 1916 Proclamation.

This blog wants to commend the people of Mayo and the west who have taken to the streets in defense of their rights. Sinn Féin will stand with them. Sinn Féin will stand up for rural Ireland.

Our vision for our countryside and its people is inseparable from our vision for a new Ireland that embraces all of our people, in all parts of this island, and on the basis of equality.

Republicans are for a new Republic in which citizens have rights – the right to a job; to a home; to a decent standard of education and of health care; the right to live in a safe environment; to equality in the Irish language; and to participate fully in the democratic process.

Many of the values which shape our national character – community, heritage, culture – are drawn from our rural roots.

The Irish republican concept of Comhar na gComharsan, which is based on native Irish traditions going back many centuries, was given expression in the 20th century by a Mayo man, Seamus Ó Mongain of Doohoma, a life long republican and social activist and his friend and comrade Cathal Quinn from Killala. Comhar na gComharsan is about co-operation. It’s about people working together in common purpose for a better life.

An older tradition – Meitheal – captures this spirit of good neighbours, especially those in farming communities, coming together in support of each other to cut the hay, or turf, or bring in the crops.

As the seanfhocal says, ‘Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireas na daoine’ – People live in one another’s shelter. Thinking people value this way of life that is unique to rural Ireland.



Everyone who loves Ireland needs to stand together in defense of rural Ireland and of your right to equal access to health, education and public services.

Sinn Féin believes that sustainable rural economies, that can offer employment to young people, can be built. We want to ensure that emigration should not be the future for your children.

There needs to be:
• A fair deal for rural households.
• Job opportunities in rural Ireland.
• Protection for rural schools.
• Equal access to health services
• Support for Gaeltacht areas.

In the last Dáil Sinn Féin produced three major Oireachtas reports focusing on rural Ireland:

• Awakening the West – Overcoming Social and Economic Inequality;
• A Report on the Future of Farming and Fishing in the West;
• and a report on Creating Greater Employment in the Agri-food Sector.

In the North we have taken responsibility for the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry on two occasions.

That is the measure of our commitment to rural Ireland.

So, while it is a time of adversity it is also a time of opportunity.

A lesser people confronted by centuries of colonization, of hardship and occupation, of division and emigration, would have collapsed under the weight of this burden.
The Irish people are made of sterner stuff. We have risen above all of that. And we will not allow this current crisis to break us. We will not allow the golden circle of bankers and bondholders, of developers and corrupt politicians to break us.

We are no mean people. There is a genius in the Irish people. And standing together – like Michael Davitt and the land league before us – we will prevail.

Stand together. Stand united. And there is nothing we cannot achieve.