Sinn Fein
The Week in Review
05 – 12 June 2014

Opportunity to make progress in new talks must be seized
Speaking on 9 June, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD said the opportunity to deal with the issues of flags, parades and the past `must be seized by party leaders in the North’.
Gerry Adams was speaking after he and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness met with An Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore at Parliament Buildings, Stormont.
Gerry Adams said the meeting was `a useful engagement’ and `a working meeting [which] focused on the enormous challenges and difficulties facing the political process at this time’. He added, `No one should underestimate these challenges’.
Sinn Féin, Mr Adams said, believed there was `now an opportunity to resolve these matters and that it must be seized by the party leaders’.
He said `we have agreed to meet separately with An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and the British Prime Minister David Cameron as soon as that can be arranged’. He added that the party leaders in the Executive `have agreed an intensive round of talks and Sinn Féin will enter into those talks positively and in the same spirit that we did the Haass talks’.
Sinn Fein remained `totally committed to finding a way forward’. Mr Adams said, concluding `It’s vital the Irish and British governments are more engaged in the political process and that all the political parties put their shoulder to the wheel to make progress.’

Sinn Fein MP’s message in Westminster: `re-engage fully with the peace process’
On 11 June, Sinn Fein MP Francie Molloy, was in London for a series of meetings in Westminster, including Labour shadow Secretary of State, Ivan Lewis. He once again pressed the British government and all of the parties to `re-engage fully and positively to address outstanding issues in the Peace and Political process’.
Mr Molloy briefed MPs across the political spectrum on recent developments including the change in the political landscape following the recent European and local government elections, which saw Sinn Féin emerge as the largest party in Ireland.
Mr Molloy said the upcoming talks announced for later this month provided `a crucial window of opportunity to make progress on the serious issues of dealing with the past, flags and contentious parades’, adding `all of the outstanding issues arising from the Good Friday and subsequent agreements must also be addressed’.
He said that Sinn Fein believed that there was `an opportunity to make progress if all of the parties and the two governments fully engage in a spirit of positivity’.
On the recent elections and the wider economic challenges, including welfare reform, Mr Molloy said Sinn Fein believed `a change of direction is needed’. He added `those in government in London need to understand that their austerity and welfare cuts agenda is plunging more and more people into poverty’. Sinn Fein would be `using our enhanced electoral mandate to continue to fight to defend living standards for all of the people in the north, and across Ireland’ he added.
He concluded: `As the largest party on the island of Ireland, we will be bringing a strong and positive message to the British government and MPs that this short window of opportunity to resolve these crucial issues must not be squandered.’

* Sinn Fein MP Conor Murphy and newly re-elected Councillor Rose Conway Walsh will both address a Sinn Fein Public Meeting `Next steps after the elections’ next Tuesday 17 June, 7pm, Grimond Room, Portcullis House, SW1A OAA. All welcome. Entrance via public entrance on Victoria Embankment (Westminster tube – allow 20 mins to pass through House security). RSVP: fisherj@parliament.uk.

Recent elections mark `realignment of Irish politics’
Writing in the Belfast Telegraph on 12 June, Sinn Féin Chairperson Declan Kearney said that the recent election results across Ireland was unprecedented and represents a realignment of Irish politics.
Declan Kearney also pointed to a recent opinion poll in the Sunday Independent on June 8, which suggested Sinn Féin support had since increased to 26%, and `with 25% of the southern electorate considering the party’s economic policies to be the most credible, higher than all the other parties’.
He said that `at the heart of Sinn Fein’s analysis of, and strategy for addressing the economic and financial crisis is the position that stimulus measures, not austerity are needed to reduce the deficit, and achieve economic growth and recovery.’ This economic perspective was for `balanced economic development, instead of primacy for unregulated market forces, which only promote the interests of economic elites’.
He said Sinn Féin’s message `of economic recovery and opposing austerity, supporting equality, national democracy and defence of the Peace Process’ had `struck a chord with citizens throughout Ireland’.
He added that following the 2011 Presidential election, the Sinn Féin leadership set a goal `to build towards half a million votes by 2016’. The recent election saw Sinn Fein poll 483,000 votes, making Sinn Fein the largest party in Ireland.
He concluded that `the challenge now is to continue realigning Irish politics through strong Sinn Féin representation in Europe and Ireland; developing an economic model which guarantees recovery, promotes business and investment, and protects workers’ rights; maximises political and fiscal sovereignty north and south; and, successfully persuades all sections of society to support the creation of a multi-cultural, agreed and united Ireland’.
The article can be found in full here.

Sinn Fein condemn `appalling’ racist attack
On 10 June 2014 Sinn Fein West Belfast MP Paul Maskey condemned as `appalling’ a racist attack on a man in west Belfast. Paul Maskey said that the victim was making his way to work when a group of around 10 people started to make racist comments and then beat him.
Mr Maskey said `the alarm was raised by the local community who went to his aid and the man was later taken to hospital by councillor Steven Corr who, along with members of the community, assisted police with their investigation.’ He added that he was `glad that since then two men have been arrested.’
He said both he and the local community were `absolutely shocked and disgusted that this has happened, where a man has been beaten and victimised for nothing more than the colour of his skin.’
Mr Maskey said that Belfast had hosted two weekend anti-racism events, which Sinn Fein had fully supported. He added `On behalf of the community, I would like to make it clear that racism will not be tolerated in west Belfast.’

Sinn Fein demand government inquiry into mother and baby homes
Sinn Féin Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald has urged the government to accept Sinn Fein’s private members’ motion this week and to move swiftly to establish a judicial inquiry into mother and baby homes in Ireland. The move followed outrage at the shocking discovery of mass unmarked children’s graves in Tuam, County Galway.
Speaking last week Deputy McDonald said the government needed to `act swiftly and decisively on this issue. The people are outraged by this latest shameful episode’.
She added `We need to get to the truth of the matter and the Taoiseach should announce today that his government will accept Sinn Féin’s Dáil motion and move swiftly to establish a judicial inquiry. They should not have to be dragged kicking and screaming to that position.’
The full text of Sinn Fein’s motion is as follows:
That Dáil Éireann;

– Acknowledges the scandal that occurred at the Bon Secours Sisters institution in Tuam, County Galway, where almost 800 children died while in the ‘care’ of a religious order, in a state regulated institution, and were placed in a mass unmarked grave over a period of five decades, from the 1920s to the 1960s;
– Notes the Government’s intention to give early consideration on the best course of action to take into investigating the deaths of these children and the appalling manner of their interment;
– Recognises that the abusive practices which occurred at the Bon Secours Sisters Mother and Baby “care” home were not unique to that one institution and were replicated in similar institutions across the State including what occurred at Bethany Home;
– Calls on the Government to immediately initiate a fully independent judicial inquiry, with terms of reference agreed by the Houses of the Oireachtas, into this latest shameful episode involving a religious orders and the failure of the State in its duty of care to its most vulnerable and defenceless citizens; the inquiry to consider the so called ‘care’ regime in place, the infant mortality rates and the burial of children in unmarked graves at all mother and baby homes the State;
– That a date is set for the establishment of this inquiry before the Dáil summer recess and all of the Report’s findings be published.

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs. Email fisherj@parliament.uk to join the list. For further information visit www.sinnfein.ie or follow us on twitter @sinnfeinireland