Category Archives: Sinn Féin

Gerry Adams on the Loyalist Flag Protests

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Ireland, Sinn Féin, Six Counties

by Gerry Adams

Belfast 2013 is not the City I grew up in. In my youth and for much of my adult life Belfast was a place in which nationalists had no rights; a place where sectarianism and discrimination, injustice and inequality were commonplace and exercised as a matter of institutional and political practice.

Tens of thousands of nationalists were denied the vote in local and Stormont elections. They were denied jobs and housing. Any sense of Irishness was prohibited or frowned upon. The Irish language, music and culture were marginalised and the political representatives of northern nationalists had no influence and no power.

Elsewhere in the north the gerrymandering or manipulation of electoral boundaries ensured that local councils, even in those areas like Derry which had clear nationalist majorities, were run in unionist interests by unionist controlled councils. And Belfast was among the worst.

The northern state was an orange state. The Orange Order was the cement that held the political, economic and institutional structures of the state together. Most business people were members of the Order. If you were a unionist and wanted to be a senior RUC officer – you had to be an Orangeman. A judge? You had to be an Orangeman. A successful politician? You had to be an Orangeman.

The legacy of those decades still haunts the north. Sectarianism remains a scourge. The scars of discrimination can be found in the disproportionate numbers of citizens on the housing waiting lists in nationalist areas; in the employment patterns across the six counties where nationalist areas experience the highest levels of unemployment; and in the depth of deprivation. 36 out of the 40 most deprived wards in the north are nationalist.

For unionism the northern state was their state. It didn’t matter that some unionists also lived in appalling housing or worked in terrible conditions. The northern state – the Orange state – belonged to them. It gave them a sense of belonging, of cohesion and superiority.

The Peace Process and the Good Friday Agreement have changed all of that.It is a process which has been good for everyone on this island. It is also a process which is irreversible.

The underlying ethos of the Good Friday Agreement is parity of esteem, mutual respect and equality.It is also about change. Any process of change present big challenges. There are those who fear change.They see equality for all citizens as a threat.

Equality is not about one side dominating the other – nor is it about anyone attacking what some describe as unionist culture – it is about all citizens – unionist and nationalist – for the first time since partition being treated with mutual respect and on the basis of equality.

It is about nationalists and unionists, and others, living in a society in which decisions are taken democratically and peacefully.It is about tolerance and inclusivity- not hatred and bitterness.

Symbols, including flags, can be divisive but only if the debate is seen in its narrowest context.

So, Belfast is no longer a unionist city. It is a shared city.It wants to be a modern city. The vast majority of citizens don’t want the old Belfast – they want a new Belfast.

The decision taken by Belfast City Council is part of this. It was a compromise position democratically arrived at. Sinn Féin wanted either no flags, or equality of symbols with both the Union flag and Tricolour flying side by side. Sinn Féin Councillors supported the compromise position of the union flag being flown on a set number of designated days a year.

This compromise position was based on Flags legislation brought forward by the British government and which unionist leaders at the time recommended

This April the Good Friday Agreement will be 15 years old.It too was a compromise between conflicting political positions.

It’s success is to be found in the lives saved; the peace that has been achieved; the power sharing arrangements that are working; and the numbers of young people, who unlike their parents or grandparents, have had no experience of conflict.

So, where do we go from here?

It is clear that there are some among unionism who want to turn the clock back. Who believe that mutual respect means nationalists accepting that the unionist ethos must dominate.

That’s not mutual respect or equality. Nor does it reflect the political and demographic realities of today. 90 years ago the northern state was carved out of the rest of the island on the basis that it provided unionists with what was then believed to be a permanent in-built two thirds majority

In the most recent census figures published just before Christmas less than half of the population designated themselves as being British. 40% said they had a British only identity.

A quarter of citizens stated that they had an Irish only identity while 21% said they had a northern Irish only identity. That’s 46% of the population rejecting a British identity and seeing themselves as Irish.

So, the north is not as British as Finchley – as Margaret Thatcher once claimed – and unionists have to accept that almost half of citizens in the north have a different identity.

Could this gradual change in demographics and in peoples’ opinions be part of the motivation of those who seek to stoke the sectarian fires?

Could the decline in the unionist vote be part of the rational for the response of some unionists to the changes that are taking place?

Playing the orange card – fuelling sectarian divisions – is an old unionist and British tactic used to mobilise unionist opinion and put nationalists in their place.

It is a dangerous tactic which in the past brought pogroms and partition and decades of violence.

The vast majority of the protests taking place around the flag issue are illegal. Most are being organised by BNP, UVF and criminal elements, some of whom are well known drug pushers. They are seeking to exploit this situation for their own ends.

There is an expectation across the community that those who are organising these protests will be subjected to due process and that the protests will be policed in a fair way.

As political leaders on this island reflect on the events of recent weeks it is important to understand that the Good Friday Agreement must not be taken for granted. It requires constant attention and work.

There are important parts of the Agreement still not implemented – for example a Bill of Rights and legacy issues. These matters must be addressed.

After the Massereene attack in 2009 in which two British soldiers were killed Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson brought together all of the political leaders, church and civic leaders to map out a way forward and to ensure that the tiny minority of voices who want to undermine the progress that has been made do not succeed.

That approach is needed again. The Unionist Forum established by the DUP and UUP may have a role to play but it is limited. Stability and inclusivity and progress are not in the gift of one section of people. Everyone has to be involved.

We need an all-party, cross community response to the flag protests and the violence which has accompanied them. It also needs to address all of the other outstanding issues.

This will be a huge challenge. Republicans do not underestimate the problems involved and in particular the difficulties facing unionism. But there can be no going back. The tiny minorities who want to cling to the past must be rejected. Sectarianism must be tackled and ended. The promise of the Good Friday Agreement for a new society in which all citizens are respected, and where fairness and justice and equality are the guiding principles, has to be advanced.

Sinn Fein Leaders Join St Patrick Celebrations in Britain

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Sinn Féin

Sinn Fein leaders are joining with the Irish diaspora at a number of locations across Britain for St Patrick’s celebrations.

The programme kicked off earlier this week when the Sinn Fein Assembly Deputy Speaker, Francie Molloy MLA, travelled to London on 12 March, to participate in a reception hosted by cross Party Members of the House of Lords, where an Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD was a guest. Other celebrations in Deputy Speaker, Molloy’s itinerary was a reception in the House of Commons, of the all-party Group on the Irish in Britain on 13 March, and later a St Patrick’s event hosted by the Irish Ambassador to London, Bobby McDonagh, at the Irish Embassy.

Francie Molloy commenting on his attendance at these important events said: While other parties have traditionally placed their emphasis on crossing the Atlantic and further afield to celebrate St Patrick’s Day, Sinn Féin has always ensured that we did not lose focus on the importance of reaching out and connecting with the diaspora in Britain. While it is important to establish and develop relations with the diaspora wherever they can be found we must not forget the contribution that the Irish in Britain made to society in Ireland during testing times.

`I am delighted to continue that tradition this year in London by attending these important events in the social and political calendar of the Irish in Britain.’

The engagement will continue this weekend when Pat Doherty MP,MLA will take part in London’s annual St Patrick’s Parade while Sinn Féin Senator David Cullinane represented the Party at the Manchester Parade on Sunday 11th March.

Sinn Fein Public Meeting

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Ireland, Sinn Féin

The latest Irish Times Poll is showing SF support at 25 per cent, an unprecedented level in the 26 counties, so tomorrow’s public meeting is timely

`Economic crisis — lessons from Ireland, Tues 28 February 8pm

Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House, House of Commons, SW1A OAA

Speakers: Sinn Fein Vice President Mary Lou McDonald TD and Pat Doherty MP

The meeting will be an important opportunity to discuss the deepening economic crisis affecting both Ireland and Britain, which has seen people face swingeing cuts and austerity. Sinn Fein’s leading figures will explain the party’s position, in particular that austerity is making the crisis worse, and that investment to stimulate the economy rather than cuts is what is necessary; and in the context of the party’s all-Ireland perspective. Sinn Fein have been at the forefront of challenging cuts across Ireland, north and south, and including by the Tory government cuts imposed from Westminster.

For further information about Sinn Fein’s economic policy visit http://www.sinnfein.ie/economy  and http://www.sinnfein.ie/budget2012
For further details of the meeting  sign up on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/224411747652266/

All welcome.

There is an Alternative

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economy, Ireland, Sinn Féin

by Gerry Adams

Since it came to power last February the Fine Gael/Labour government has blamed every bad decision, every u-turn in pre-election promises on the last government. Everything is Fianna Fáil’s fault.

It is a fact that the current economic mess in the south is primarily a result of the bad policies of the last coalition government, but this government has chosen to implement the same austerity strategy.

Last week it produced its medium-term fiscal report which sets out its financial outlook for the next four years. It cleared up one important issue would the cuts to the budget be €3.6 billion or €4 billion? They opted for €3.8 billion. It also revealed that government predictions of a 2.5% growth next year have now been revised downwards to 1.6%.

Spending cuts will make up €2.2 billion. This includes a €750 million reduction in capital spending which is the equivalent of at least 7,500 jobs lost. New taxation measures will see increases in VAT (up from 21% to 23%), excise duties, carbon tax and a property tax.

All of these will hit low and middle income families hardest.

This blog found the government’s acknowledgement that unemployment levels in four years time will be almost equivalent to where they are today – and that after four years of four austerity budgets – to be the most revealing fact in the report. The Government’s plan will mean that 382,000 people will still on the live register in 2015, at a minimum.

Where is the hope for citizens? If emigration were not taking place at the rate of up to 50,000 a year unemployment levels would in fact be significantly higher in four years time. As a measure of the success or failure of government policy that adds up to a big F.

The negative impact of current government policy is evident in the fact that this time last year the Fianna Fáil/Green Party government told the people that there would have to be a budget adjustment of €9.8 billion over the next four years.
Earlier in the year, the Fine Gael/Labour government increased that adjustment figure by €2 billion. Last week they added €600 million to this. The state now needs an adjustment of €12.4 billion.

The reason this keeps going up is because the government’s deflationary policies are not working. Flat taxes are not working. Not investing in the economy and expecting exports to lift all our boats is not working. As unemployment rises and wages shrink, and people have less money to spend, then money raised through consumption taxes, like VAT, are collapsing.

There is an arrogance about this Government, as there was with the last. They talk and think like right wing economists. They don’t look at the impact of their policies on citizens, on families, the young and elderly and the sick.

People are being squeezed. The accumulation of three years of austerity has not fixed the economy but more importantly, it has pushed many families into poverty. And this Government says it plans four more years of the same.

That’s why Sinn Féin puts people front and centre in our Pre-budget submission – ‘The Route to Recovery’ which we published earlier this week.

Sinn Féin has repeatedly argued that there is an alternative to the politics of Fine Gael and Labour, and of Fianna Fáil and our pre-budget submission spells that alternative out.

We believe that the deficit caused by the disastrous policies of the last Government and of this one has to be reduced and the state can’t continue borrowing large sums indefinitely.

But the plan to reduce it by 2015 by imposing savage cuts to frontline services and levying flat taxes on struggling households will be hugely damaging socially. There is no real difference between the tweedledee policies of this government and the tweedledum politics of the last.

After the general election in March Labour asserted that reform begins with the banks and it committed to ‘tearing up the blank cheque policy on banking that has undermined our very sovereignty’.

Yet three weeks ago the government gave more than €700 million to unguaranteed bondholders in Anglo and plans to hand over another €1.2 billion in January.

The government promised to prioritise Job creation yet unemployment is higher today than it was when it came to power. And according to its own medium term fiscal report last week there will still be almost as many people unemployed after 4 years of their austerity budget.

The government also promised an end to cronyism but reports this week confirm that it’s still jobs for the boys at the top as Fine Gael and Labour appoint over 20 people with connections to both to senior positions on state bodies and within the judiciary.

And Labour specifically pledged that the choices it made would be fair. Tell that to the thousands of students who protested in Dublin last week over broken promises by Eamon Gilmore and Ruairi Quinn; or the families in mortgage distress; or those who have lost their jobs and see no hope of employment because of the policies of this government.

Sinn Féin’s pre-budget submission is a costed, effective alternative to the policies of the government which is focussed on economic recovery based on fair taxes, investing in jobs, debt restructuring and growing the all-Ireland economy.

We are for a fairer tax system that targets wealth and lifts the burden of the least well o0ff, for example by abolishing the Universal Social Charge. We are for investing in jobs (which will increase state revenue and reduce the social welfare bill) and the elimination of wasteful public spending. And we are against paying out billions in the promissory notes to Anglo Irish and would restructure the remaining unguaranteed, unsecured bonds.

Sinn Féin’s pre-budget submission is about protecting public services and those on low and middle incomes. We have shown that this can be done through taxing wealth, eliminating wasteful public spending, stimulating the economy, and tackling exorbitant salaries in the public sector.

We have put forward effective proposals that would create new jobs and retain existing ones and puts the needs of the Irish people above the needs of banks and bondholders.

For any of you who wish to know more about our pre-budget submission go to www.sinnfein.ie. It’s all there.

But be assured there is a viable alternative to the policies of Fine Gael and Labour and there is hope.

GET BEHIND MARTIN McGUINESS – THE PEOPLES’ PRESIDENT

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Ireland, Sinn Féin

By Jayne Fisher

In just under three week’s time voters in the south of Ireland will take to the polls for the Irish Presidential election. What had begun as a fairly pedestrian affair was suddenly significantly changed by the entry into the race of Martin McGuinness. Indeed the impact of Martin McGuinness’ candidacy has shaken the right wing conservative political establishment to its core and provoked one of the most hostile, vitriolic campaigns against a political candidate anywhere in recent times. However, this tirade by the media and opponents does not appear to have had the desired impact and may even have backfired, as support for Martin McGuinness continues to grow.

Currently Martin McGuinness is polling around 19 per cent, as shown in a recent Irish Times Poll, a close third out of the seven candidates.

The Irish Labour Party-backed Michael D Higgins remains in the lead on around 23 per cent, with `independent’ businessman, and Fianna Fail member, Sean Gallagher on around 20 per cent. Meanwhile Fine Gael’s Gay Mitchell, the most virulently hostile to McGuinness, is trailing way behind on 9 per cent, with only Dana Rosemary Scallon behind him. Support for another independent, David Norris, who re-entered the race and was initially a front-runner, has also plummeted to 11 per cent, behind Mary Davis on 12 per cent. Higgins has been helped by having an almost entirely soft-gloved ride in the media and is now being built as the favourite. He has been able to distance his candidacy from Labour’s position in a right-wing coalition government carrying out austerity measures. Gallagher has also had a fairly neutral press, however his sudden rise in the polls may see a renewed focus on his Fianna Fail links – something deeply unpopular with the electorate, which annihilated FF at the general election.

So, by standing in the election under the slogan `The People’s President’, Martin McGuinness has created a high profile platform to advocate a progressive alternative at a time of dire economic crisis, and to provide an alternative national leadership.

His candidacy has flushed out the contradictions and hypocrisy in the deeply conservative political establishment. Whist claiming to uphold the Republic, the blatant hostility to a northerner (and in particular a Republican) standing in for the presidency is barely veiled. This is despite the fact that the current President is herself from the north.

Most notably, the frenzied focus on Martin McGuinness’ past and his suitability as a candidate have seemed ludicrous when set against his record in the peace process and his widely-respected position as Deputy First Minister in an historic power sharing government with unionists in the north of Ireland. Indeed, many politicians including Labour’s former Secretary of State Shaun Woodward have pointed out it makes no sense that someone can be a legitimate part of government in the north, but are deemed not fit to stand in the south. Moreover, the obsession with what Martin McGuinness did in 1974 seems incongruous when set against the vast economic crisis and hardships faced by an electorate who, as the polls appear to bear out, are not willing to be convinced that this is the pressing election issue.

Claims that Martin McGuinness would damage the ability to attract investment have been easily dismissed when set against his actual record of promoting investment around the world in relation to the north. The regard with which Martin McGuinness is held at an international level (where none of the other candidates are likely to register recognition) is a reflection of his extraordinary role in the peace process, creating an irreversible process of change out of a seemingly intractable conflict. Such a proven position in the real world cannot easily be erased. It has unsurprisingly won him international backing in this election.

Other ridiculous arguments (or straw clutching) have included notions that, whilst he’s not suitable for election in the south, he is at the same time being irresponsible by leaving his post in the northern Assembly, possibly undermining unionist confidence. This absurd point was argued in at least one editorial. It is hard to have it both ways.

Standing in his own right, although backed by Sinn Fein, it is envisaged that Martin McGuinness will reach out to a wider section of the electorate than Sinn Fein normally polls, a fact apparently born out in the opinion polls. However, equally remarkable has been a recent Irish Times Poll showing a surge in support for Sinn Fein itself, now for the first time polling second place, on 19 per cent, ahead of both Labour and Fianna Fail.

Earlier this year, in the general election in the south, Sinn Fein made a substantial breakthrough winning 10 per cent of the vote and 14 TDs (significantly up from their previous four). This has propelled the party into a qualitatively stronger position, with an increased number of elected representatives (including three new senators). The party has used this new strength to argue a forceful and coherent opposition stance to cuts and austerity. Indeed, this, alongside the prominence and success of Martin McGuinness’ candidacy, is a key reason for the party’s advance in the polls.

Sinn Fein are one of the few significant parties in Europe who are advancing a clear economic policy of investment, and particularly state investment, to stimulate growth in the economy as an alternative to austerity and swingeing cuts. They point out with that austerity is not working and that cutting savagely to get a deficit reduction is only making the deficit and debt worse. It sounds obvious, but very few are really grasping the nettle and saying this. The conviction and clarity with which its representatives and leadership are advancing this position is streets ahead of anything put forward in Britain on the left, and is gaining stronger resonance within Ireland where people are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the new government, and particularly Labour who won votes on promises of an alternative.

The continuation of the same right wing policies of Fianna Fail by the Fine Gael/Labour coalition government is resulting in people looking for something better. Sinn Fein are the party who increasingly are seen to offer that: the most committed to defending living standards, social provision, jobs, workers rights and wages, and opposing the ludicrous position of ever-deepening debt to bail out the banks. As Sinn Fein Senator David Cullinane correctly argued at the recent European Conference Against Austerity in London, the government is in the ludicrous position of nationalising the debt to bail out the banks, whilst selling off valuable state assets. He also made the correct point that this didn’t have to be the case. Last year when Labour were riding high in the polls they could have chosen to form progressive left alliances with Sinn Fein and other independents and small parties. Instead they ended up as junior coalition partners with a right wing party – Fine Gael.

And so, Sinn Fein’s position has been immensely strengthened as result of this current election campaign and their stance on the economy in particular. Coupled with the party’s core fundamental position for Irish unity (without which Ireland cannot truly determine its own national economic and social destiny), and continuing to be the only all-Ireland party (with growing strength also in the north), Sinn Fein look set to continue to gain electoral support. Indeed, in the north they are the most steadfast party in resisting Tory cuts. This current election with Martin McGuinness is an opportunity to significantly advance again and one which the left in Britain (and more widely) should wholeheartedly support. In the next three weeks, get behind The People’s President.

Polling Shows Sinn FÉin As Second Party

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Ireland, Sinn Féin

SINN FÉIN is now the second most popular party in the Republic, according to the latest Irish Times /Ipsos MRBI poll.

Sinn Féin is now narrowly ahead of the Labour Party and Fianna Fáil, with the party attracting almost the same support as Mr McGuinness.

When people were asked who they would vote for if a general election were to be held tomorrow, the figures for party support – when undecided voters are excluded – compared with the last Irish Times poll on July 20th were: Fine Gael, 35 per cent (down three points); Labour, 17 per cent (down one point); Fianna Fáil, 16 per cent (down two points); Sinn Féin, 18 per cent (up eight points); Green Party, 2 per cent (no change); and Independents/Others, 12 per cent (down two points).