Sinn Fein
Week in Review
19-26 March 2015

Sinn Fein election message: `We stand for equality – a clear alternative to austerity’
Writing on 20 March, Sinn Féin Chairperson and South Antrim Westminster candidate, Declan Kearney said increased austerity offered `nothing more than a political and economic race to the bottom’.
Speaking at the launch of his election campaign Mr Kearney labelled the `cruel age of austerity’ as a `result of the policies of the Tory-led British government in London’.
He said Sinn Fein opposed austerity `throughout the length and breadth of Ireland’ and were `standing up for equality’. He said there was an alternative to austerity, and urged people to `stand together, republicans, nationalists, unionists, loyalists and everyone in society and face outwards’.
This, he argued, was the way to `create a better society for all our people, a society which cherishes all the children of the nation equally’. Sinn Fein stood for `creating a society where there is no place for bigotry, intolerance, sectarianism, homophobia or inequality towards everyone’.
He concluded: `that is the vision Sinn Féin is taking forward into this election.’
* Declan Kearney can now be followed on twitter: @DeclanKearneySF

Sinn Fein launch election campaigns
Last week saw the launch of a number of election campaigns for Sinn Fein Westminster candidates across the north of Ireland. Michelle Gildernew was among them, launching her campaign to retain the seat for Fermanagh South Tyrone.
Speaking at the launch, alongside Party President Gerry Adams, and MEP Martina Anderson, Ms Gildernew said the election was `about the future of our children and grandchildren’ and `about the future of this island, which in our lifetime, will be united’.
She said she had held this seat since 2001 and had `worked very effectively as a proud abstentionist MP’. She said the election was a chance to send `a clear, unambiguous message that Fermanagh and South Tyrone is staying Sinn Féin’, and retaining an MP `that fights against austerity’.
She said that unionist opponents `would like to turn this election into a sectarian headcount’ but, she said `Sinn Féin don’t do sectarianism, I don’t do sectarianism and I will continue to represent everyone regardless of creed, colour or sexual orientation’.
She said Sinn Féin’s three Senators, four MEPs, five MPs, 14 TDs, 29 MLAs, 264 councillors, over 10 thousand members and half a million votes across this island `make us the largest party in Ireland’, adding `Let us in Fermanagh and Tyrone make that even bigger’.
Elsewhere, Sinn Féin North Belfast candidate Gerry Kelly appealed to voters in North Belfast to `vote for equality and change’ in the upcoming Westminster elections.
He said that his constituency of North Belfast `has often been described as a microcosm of the conflict. It suffered more casualties and fatalities than any other constituency’.
He added `Time moves on and we are well into a post conflict situation. Demographics have changed. The Nationalist potential vote has moved marginally past the Unionist vote for the firsttime since partition. That is why the DUP went for a Unionist pact with other unionists in this constituency.’
He said it was `the first time in generations we have the opportunity to have a Nationalist elected as MP’, but added `the SDLP has refused point-blank to discuss an alignment of Nationalists to maximise that progressive political strength. So I am appealing above the heads of the SDLP leadership to the voters to come out and vote for equality, to vote for power sharing, to vote for change.’
He concluded: `Sinn Fein can bring that change about as we have repeatedly demonstrated over the years.’

British government `part of the problem, not a neutral broker’
On 19 March Sinn Féin MP Conor Murphy said it was the austerity policies of David Cameron’s Tory-led government which caused the current difficulties at Stormont.
Speaking after British Secretary of State Theresa Villiers called on the political parties to work together, Mr Murphy said Villiers would be `better employed acknowledging that her government’s cuts to the block grant and their proposed welfare cuts have caused the difficulties we are facing’.
He said the the budget announced that week would `only serve to deepen those difficulties in the years ahead’.
On the talks, Mr Murphy said the British Secretary of State was `not an independent honest broker in these talks’ but was `part of the problem’.
He said Sinn Fein were trying to resolve the current difficulties and `working constructively’, concluding: `we are making progress on the schemes required to protect children with disabilities, adults with severe disabilities, the long-term sick and large families.’

St Patrick’s Day events take place at `vital time for political process’
On 18 March Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey was in London to attend the Labour Party’s Irish Society’s St Patricks event in the House of Commons, bringing the parties St Patrick’s Day engagements in London and other cities to a close.
Mr Maskey said it had been `a full week of St Patrick’s celebrations across London, and indeed in cities and towns across England’. He added, `Sinn Féin has over many years travelled to Britain to join events here to mark and acknowledge the vast contribution the Irish diaspora have made to the social, economic and political life of London and across this island.’
Sinn Fein TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD had earlier joined the all-party Irish in Britain group of MPs and Irish in Britain umbrella group for their annual reception at Westminster, where he outlined Sinn Fein’s support for extending the vote to Irish citizens overseas.
The previous weekend MPs Pat Doherty and Francie Molloy joined large St Patrick’s parades in London and Manchester respectively. Mr Maskey said the events `not only celebrate being Irish, but also the diversity and inclusivity of those cities’. Pat Doherty, had he said `paid tribute to the role of Irish businesses in London, attending the annual St Patrick’s Ball, hosted by key Irish business organisations, many who literally built the city’.
Mr Maskey said the visit came `at an important time politically when we are working to resolve the current difficulties in the political process in the North’. He said the visit would be an opportunity `to also brief MPs here, before parliament is dissolved for the election, on that progress, and the need for current and future British governments to also fulfill their obligations in this regard’.
He said the upcoming election `will give voters here and the diaspora community in particular, the chance to put some pressure on the parties in Britain to do this.’
Earlier on 15 March, Francie Molloy MP was in Manchester for the annual ‘Manchester Irish Festival’ and the traditional ‘An t-Aifreann Lá Fhéile Padraig’ in the Irish World Heritage Centre, after which he was a special dignitary in the Manchester St Patrick’s Parade. The Sinn Féin MP said it was `good to meet with the Irish community in Manchester’ adding `the Parade had a great turnout and I was delighted to meet people from Altmore, Donaghmore, Dungannon and Coalisland.’ He reiterated Sinn Féin’s commitment to the diaspora and the extension of voting rights to them

Sinn Fein repeats diaspora voting rights pledge
Sinn Fein Diaspora spokesperson Senator Trevor O Clochartaigh was in London this week, where he reiterated the party’s commitment to support voting rights for the diaspora in Britain, and around the world, for the presidential elections, and also for representation in the Dail.
Senator O Clochartaigh said it was the first of many trips to London to engage with Irish community groups and organisations across the spectrum. His meetings included with the Votes for Irish Citizens Campaign, with the Aisling return to Ireland project, the Irish in Britain organisation, the new Irish networking, listings and blogging site Craic-it London and politicians from the British Irish Parliamentary Association and All-Party Irish in Britain Parliamentary group.
The Sinn Fein Senator said it was a `very positive’ visit, and that he would be following up on a range of issues raised, and had invited some of the groups to Ireland, to help raise some of the issues including with the Irish government.
Sinn Fein’s diaspora document can be found here.

‘On the runs’ report politically driven by opponents of Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly has said the report by a Westminster select committee into the ‘on the run’ scheme was politically driven and drawn up by opponents of Sinn Féin.
Mr Kelly said that the previous Hallet report into the administration of the ‘on the run’ scheme, published in July of last year, `found that the scheme was both legal and in the public domain’.
He added, `The British government themselves identified that extraordinary measures were required to deal with the issue of on the runs. It was a key component of the Weston Park agreement announced by both the British and Irish governments.’
He concluded: `The report also reflects the fact the clear political bias of this committee against Sinn Féin’.

Vote YES to marriage equality
Sinn Féin Senator Kathryn Reilly this week delivered a powerful speech in the Seanad urging people to support the upcoming Marriage Equality Referendum.
Senator Reilly said that a YES vote would allow `our fellow citizens across Ireland to marry the person they love.’
She said the starting point for Sinn Féin `on all issues of human and civil rights and equality is the Proclamation of 1916’, which was `the mission statement for every generation of Irish citizens.’. She said this meant achieving `one of its most noble aspirations, that of cherishing all the children of the nation equally.’
She said that Sinn Fein believed in `a real republic… where all citizens are equal, regardless of the colour of their skin, religious belief, sexual orientation, where they live or what they do. To only offer same-sex couples civil partnership is to only offer them a second-class right. This is absolutely and entirely unacceptable in the Ireland of 2015.’
She concluded: `Sinn Féin has always campaigned on issues that can bring about positive change for all the people living on this island, and for that precise reason we will be actively campaigning for a YES vote in the upcoming referendum. This May the Irish people have an exciting opportunity to say that we value all of our relationships equally, that we value all of our citizens equally.’

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