Sinn Fein
The Week in Review
08-14 May 2014

Adams thanks Sinn Féin candidates representing ‘progressive message of equality and Irish unity’
On 9 May Sinn Féin Leader Gerry Adams TD paid tribute to Sinn Féin’s 18 candidates in the Westminster elections who he said represented a `progressive message of equality and Irish unity’.
Gerry Adams said the party had run `a positive, forward looking campaign’ and that the 18 candidates across the north of Ireland `represented the progressive politics of Irish unity and equality for all citizens’.
He added, `we are, of course disappointed with the loss of the Fermanagh/South Tyrone seat’, and paid particular tribute to Michelle Gildernew `for her service to Sinn Féin and to the people of Fermanagh/South Tyrone’.
He praised all of the Sinn Féin candidates who `performed extremely well and the party is confident and energised as we face into the Carlow/Kilkenny by-election, the Marriage Equality referendum at the end of the month and then Dáil and Assembly elections next year’.
He said the newly re-elected Tory Government in London `is wedded to austerity and this presents severe challenges for society and citizens in the North’, which include `the threat of more destructive cuts to the North’s budget and to the social welfare system as well as a referendum that could remove the North from the EU against the wishes and the interests of citizens here’.
He concluded that it was `now clearer than ever that austerity is the price of the Union’ and reiterated that Sinn Féin’s immediate focus `is to work with others to confront these challenges.’
In the election Sinn Fein saw its vote increase by just under 4,000 votes overall. Despite the loss of the seat in Fermanagh South Tyrone, Michelle Gildernew increased the vote in the area by almost 2,000. Sinn Fein MPs Pat Doherty, Paul Maskey and Francie Molloy were all re-elected in West Tyrone, West Belfast and Mid Ulster respectively, and Mickey Brady was also elected in Newry Armagh, replacing Conor Murphy who now returns to the Assembly. Sinn Fein candidates in North Belfast, South Belfast and Upper Bann also saw particularly strong support increasing the votes there on 2010.

After Westminster election: ‘parties must act together to deliver change’ – McGuinness
On 8 May Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness urged local parties to develop a common approach to address the challenges presented by the new Tory government.
Speaking after the Westminster election results, Martin McGuinness said that the election of a majority Tory government presented `a huge challenge to all our parties and society’.
He said the actions of the Tory party over the last five years had had a `negative impact on the management of the political process and has been disastrous in terms of our budget, our economy and our people’. The Tories were `now threatening further savage cuts to our budget and to welfare, as well as a referendum on EU membership’, he added.
He said the referendum would put `our farming and rural communities at risk’ and `would remove key support from communities engaged in peace-building and cross-border regeneration, and it would damage the work we are doing to encourage investment and in particular our success in attracting Foreign Direct Investment.’
He said that the Tory polices `undermine the Executive’s ability to deliver public services and look after the most vulnerable in society’ and would `continue to fail all of our people and our economy’.
He urged `all of the local parties to work together on behalf of all the people and public services particularly in health, education and welfare’ and said the parties in The Executive and Assembly `need to urgently develop a common approach to address the challenges presented by the new Tory government’.
He concluded: `We have demonstrated that when all of the Executive parties act together we can deliver real change. We must now act to avert five more years of cuts to public services and attacks on the vulnerable.’

Tory assault on Human Rights Act is an attack on the Good Friday Agreement – Adams
On 12 May Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD warned that the British Conservative government’s plans to repeal the Human Rights Act was a `direct attack on the Good Friday Agreement and the international Treaty that gives effect to it in law’.
Speaking in the Dáil, the Sinn Féin leader urged the Taoiseach Enda Kenna, as co-guarantor of the Agreement along with the British government, to urgently raise this matter with the British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said that following their election victory last week, the Conservatives had said that they plan a fundamental change to human rights legislation, including repealing the current Human Rights Act and replacing it with a new Act.
He said `part of their focus was to end what they describe as the “excessive influence of the European Convention on Human Rights”.’
Under the Tory’s plan, the ECHR would no longer be able to make binding decisions over the British Supreme Court or force the government to introduce laws to bring them into line with Europe, Mr Adams said. He went on to warn `the implications of the Tory plans to repeal the Human Rights Act and reject the current oversight role of the European Convention on Human Rights are enormous for the administration of government, for justice, policing, and equality in the north.’
He said it was also `a direct and scandalous attack on the Good Friday Agreement and the international treaty signed by the British and Irish governments which gives legal affect to the Agreement’ which would be a `grievous breach’.
He said that under the terms of the treaty between Ireland and the Britain, which incorporates the Good Friday Agreement into law, and is lodged with the United Nations, the British government is obliged to complete the incorporation into law in the north of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Agreement also commits to safeguards to ensure that the Assembly and public authorities in the north cannot infringe the European Convention on Human Rights, he said, adding `these safeguards also apply to policing’.
He concluded: `the Tory government proposal is a clear and significant breach of the Good Friday Agreement and of the International Treaty that underpins it. There is an onus on the Irish government as a co-guarantor of the Agreement to raise this matter as a matter of urgency with the British government.’

Sinn Féin committed to full implementation of Stormont House Agreement
On 12 May Sinn Féin MLA Daithí McKay said Sinn Féin was `committed to the full implementation of the Stormont House Agreement’.
Mr McKay said this included `achieving the full implementation of all the outstanding issues of the Stormont House Agreement, including welfare, to ensure the agreed protections are in place for children with disabilities, adults with severe disabilities, the long-term sick and large families’.
He said work was continuing on all of these issues. He said that there was a `much greater challenge to the Executive’ from the £25 billion in further cuts `promised by the Tories which would result in a huge hole in the budget’.
He urged all of the Executive parties `to work together to develop a common approach to deal with the challenges presented by the British government’s austerity agenda.’

Advance the cause of equality – vote yes 22 May
On 11 May Sinn Féin Carlow Kilkenny by-election candidate Kathleen Funchion urged voters to seize the opportunity to advance the cause of equality by showing up and voting yes on 22 May.
Cllr Funchion said the marriage equality referendum presented `a once in a generation chance to do something really special at the voting booth’.
She urged people who support marriage equality to `show up and cast their vote on the day’, adding `we have a unique opportunity to advance the cause of equality on this island. We must seize it.’
Sinn Fein was `campaigning hard for a yes vote because we believe in equality for all our citizens’ she said and urged people `to get involved in the campaign for a yes vote’.
She reiterated calls for people to `talk to your friends, to your workmates, to your family and neighbours and ask them to vote Yes’, adding `it is crucial that such conversations are had over the next number of days’.
She said the energy of the yes campaign `must be matched with a determination to get to the polling stations to vote yes on Friday week’ and concluded: `we cannot be complacent, we must grasp this opportunity. Let’s make sure that history is made on May 22nd.’

British government must end refusal to hold Finucane inquiry
On 12 May Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly said the British government must end its refusal to hold a full inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane.
Speaking after the start of a judicial review into the British government’s failure to hold an inquiry, Mr Kelly said that in 2001 at Weston Park the British and Irish governments agreed to an inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane, but `to date the British government has failed to implement the Weston Park agreement.’
He said that British prime ministers had `continually refused to hold an inquiry into the murder, despite extensive negotiations between the Finucane family and the British government’.
He accused the British government of being `afraid of what will emerge during such an inquiry and that’s why it’s continuing to deny the Finucane family their basic human rights by refusing an inquiry’.
This was, he added `reinforced by the fact, which emerged during this judicial review, that senior British civil servants consider there is no basis for reneging on the commitment to the Finucane family. British government papers described Pat Finucane’s murder as worse than any event from the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.’
He concluded that `hopefully this judicial review will be successful and the British government will finally fulfil its responsibility to the Finucane family.’

Week in Review is circulated by the Sinn Fein London office. Until May 7, you can reach us at irishunityconference@yahoo.com or follow the news on Twitter @sinnfeinireland or at www.sinnfein.ie.