24/09/09

Seven republican elected representatives from across the country today [September 24] released a joint statement calling on the electorate of the Twenty-Six Counties to reject the Lisbon Treaty again on October 2nd. (See full text of joint statement below.)

The seven councillors, Martin Connolly from Down, John Dwyer from Wexford, Louise Minihan from Dublin, Barry Monteith from Tyrone, Cieran Perry from Dublin, Thomas Pringle from Donegal and Bernice Swift from Fermanagh slammed both the Lisbon Treaty itself and the anti-democratic method by which it is being proposed to bring it into effect. At a press conference in Dublin city centre this morning six of the councillors outlined why they believe the Lisbon Treaty is a bad treaty for Ireland and for Europe.

Speaking at the press conference éirígí’s Barry Monteith said: “éirígí was delighted to participate in this initiative, particularly as one of the key points being made today related to the fact that 1.8 million people living in the Six Counties have been denied the right to vote on Lisbon.

“Regardless of the content of the Lisbon Treaty, and the content is appalling, the decision to accept or reject it should not be taken while the Six Counties remains occupied by a foreign power. All decisions on further integration into the EU, or otherwise, should only be taken after national sovereignty has been restored. To do otherwise is fundamentally anti-democratic.”

Barry concluded, “I would appeal to the people of the Twenty-Six Counties to remember their 1.8 million fellow citizens living under British rule when they go the polls on October 2nd. By voting No they can send a very powerful message to the Dublin government – ‘you might have forgotten about the Six Counties but we have not.’”

éirígí activist Councillor Louise Minihan echoed Barry’s appeal: “The Lisbon Treaty is designed to bring us one step closer to a federal united states of Europe. A Europe based on a foundation of neo-liberal capitalism. NAMA, savage cutbacks, the privatisation of healthcare and education and the introduction of water charges are just a few examples of what we can expect if the Lisbon Treaty is passed. On October 2nd we in the Twenty-Six Counties have the opportunity to lead a European wide fight-back against the ruling elite who created the current economic disaster. We need to take that opportunity and vote No to Lisbon”



Republican Councillors Against Lisbon Joint Statement
September 24, 2009

We, the undersigned, represent communities across Ireland.

Our collective constituencies in Donegal, Down, Dublin, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Wexford form a broad cross-section of urban and rural Irish society. We have come together to add our combined voice to the campaign to defeat the Lisbon Treaty.

It is our view that the Lisbon Treaty itself and the process by which it is proposed to bring it into effect are deeply anti-democratic. Of the 500 million people living in the EU, just 3 million people in the Twenty-Six counties have been allowed to vote on the Lisbon Treaty.

In the Irish context, this democratic deficit is further exacerbated by the fact that 1.8 million Irish citizens living in the British-occupied Six Counties have been denied a vote on the Lisbon Treaty.

In June 2008, the electorate of the Twenty-Six Counties voted by a substantial majority to reject the Lisbon Treaty. In forcing a second referendum, the Dublin government and the European political establishment have demonstrated their complete contempt for democracy.

We represent communities that are being devastated by the current economic crisis, a crisis which was created by the very same economic policies that are enshrined within the Lisbon Treaty. The administrations in Leinster House and Stormont continue to slavishly follow these failed and discredited neo-liberal policies that have led Ireland into economic ruin.

Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, IB

22/09/09

Dozens of éirígí activists and supporters participated in the first major protest organised by the Alliance Against Cuts in Dublin on Saturday last (September 19). An estimated 2,500 people assembled at the Garden of Remembrance before making their way to the headquarters of Anglo Irish Bank on St Stephens Green.

A wide range of community groups, political parties, trade unions and lobby groups took part in the demonstration which was called in opposition to both NAMA and cutbacks to public services. The many posters and banners carried by the protesters reflected the wide range of issues that had brought people onto the streets.

The demonstration was addressed by a number of speakers at both ends of the march route. Speaking after the demonstration éirígí chairperson Brian Leeson, who addressed the crowd outside of the Anglo-Irish building said, ‘Today’s demonstration represents a good starting point for the coming months, during which time it will be necessary for people to take to the streets in their tens of thousands.

Leeson continued ‘Next December the Dublin government will attempt to introduce the most savage cutbacks to public expenditure in the history of the state. Working class families, as ever, will be the ones to bear the brunt of these cutbacks. As a result of these cuts we can expect that hospital waiting lists, the dole queues and class sizes will all get bigger. The only thing that will stop these cutbacks are massive, frequent and militant protests by ever larger numbers of people. éirígí would encourage everyone to play their part in stopping the twin madness of NAMA and cutbacks to public services.

18/09/09

Assemble at 1pm, Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square.

Just over a year ago a panicked Dublin government stunned the rest of Europe when it announced its bank guarantee scheme. Three months later, in the December 2008 budget, Cowen and company introduced wide-ranging cutbacks to government expenditure and essential services. In April of this year an additional ‘emergency’ budget again focused on slashing government expenditure while simultaneously imposing higher rates of tax on ordinary workers.

Earlier this week the legislation enabling the greatest financial package in the history of the Twenty-Six County state, the National Asset Management Agency, was introduced to Leinster House. Under the NAMA proposals the ‘bad’ debts of the private banks will be nationalised by the state, leaving the banks with only the ‘good’ debts to worry about. Taxpayers for years, potentially generations to come, will pay for this insane version of Fianna Fáil nationalisation.

In December the Dublin government will announce yet further cuts to public expenditure, which will result in ever increasing hardship for working families from Donegal to Wexford. It is clear that the political establishment will stop at nothing to get the Twenty-Six counties’ capitalist system back on track – even if that includes the beggaring of a generation of Irish citizens, forced to repay the borrowings of Brian Cowen’s administration.

Tomorrow [Saturday, September 19] a coalition of political parties and organisations has organised a major protest in opposition to the ongoing cuts to public services and the bailing out of the private banks.

Speaking ahead of the protest, éirígí chairperson Brian Leeson said, “The time has come for the people to take to the streets. They alone have the power to stop the crazy policies of Fianna Fáil and the Greens. The only way that the anti-social plans of this government can be stopped is by building sufficient public pressure against them. If implemented, the Bord Snip cuts and the NAMA bailouts will wreck hundreds of working class communities and destroy the lives of hundreds of thousands of working class people, while protecting the profits of the business class.

“Throughout the years of economic boom, the Dublin government neglected the health service, the education system and every aspect of the state that is essential to the well being of working people. Now, in the economic crisis, the establishment is eager to strip away what little protections there are for those not lucky enough to possess an off-shore bank account or a seat in government buildings.

“It will take generations to recover from the damage that will be wrought on the fabric of Irish society if Colm McCarthy and his cronies get their way. The cuts must be vigorously opposed and, ultimately, the government brought down.”

Leeson continued: “For months now, people across the Twenty-Six Counties have been fighting back against creeping unemployment and the Dublin government’s complicity in the crimes of the business class with strikes, sit-ins and protests. Tomorrow’s march is the next step in that fight back.

“éirígí is calling for as many people as possible – those forced out of work, those whose jobs are under threat and the under paid – to converge on Dublin city centre tomorrow to give a strong message to the business class and their allies in Leinster House: we won’t do the time for your crimes.”