Declan Kearney, Sinn Fein National Chairperson – An Phoblacht 19 February 2015

THE protracted stand-off between the new Greek Government and European Central Bank, European Community and EU Finance Ministers over their demand that Greece should fold and accept the terms of an extended IMF bail-out programme has nothing to do with that country’s economic recovery. Instead, it has everything to do with ideology and global politics.

Last week, Irish Times columnist Noel Whelan correctly observed that the response of EU governments (including the Irish and British) has to do with their domestic politics. The centre-right governments in charge of most of Europe have calculated that facilitating a positive outcome for the SYRIZA government will not assist their own prospects of re-election.

The simple fact is that Greece cannot pay its debts in full. Austerity and the bail-out has destroyed its economy. Despite that, Athens is already making payments to its creditors and is prepared to continue doing so. But the creditors want increased payments amounting to a real cost of 8% of GDP. This would mean higher government cutbacks, leading to a deeper depression, and the Greek deficit would decline even slower.

Nobel Laureate economist Paul Krugman has said that more austerity is the opposite of what Greece needs.

Its national debt has gone up, not down – the stated purpose of the Troika’s austerity framework. Overall unemployment is 26% and youth unemployment is almost 60%.

The response of the EU should not be to insist that the SYRIZA government backs off its anti-austerity policy. It should be helping Greece restructure its debt and renegotiate its loans. However, the centre-right governments of Europe have chosen the primacy of neo-liberal ideology over a fair recovery.

Fine Gael Minister Leo Varadkar was right to admit that Greece faces “a major humanitarian crisis”. The same day, Ashoka Mody, a former International Monetary Fund economist, criticised the Irish Government for taking too soft a line in talks with the EU/IMF Troika in 2011.

Perversely, another Fine Gael minister, Leo Varadkar, opined that Greece was still in a programme: “We’re out of a programme. Our economy is growing. There’s more people at work.” That’s where Varadkar has got it wrong.

The 26 Counties might well be out of the Troika programme but its ideological grip continues to control the state’s economy.

As the new TASC report, Cherishing All Equally: Economic Inequality in Ireland , demonstrates, inequality is growing. The 26 Counties is now the most unequal state in the OECD in terms of income distribution before taxes and social welfare. The gap between rich and poor is rising with more than one-third of all income concentrated with the top 10% of earners.

One in five workers is on low wages.

That inequality is set to deepen and will inevitably undermine the tax and welfare system, with a knock-on consequence for social cohesion and economic stability and growth.

The TASC report echoes the concerns of the recent G20 Finance Ministers’ summit in Istanbul that, following the 2008 financial crisis, the gap between rich and poor has dramatically widened and now threatens economic and political stability.

Inequality is back on the global political agenda.

International capitalism has become even more financially integrated, unstable and unfair. It has become a law onto itself. Geo-politics and international economies are in thrall to the hegemony of new global financial elites. This reality goes to the heart of the current Greece crisis and political flux in Ireland.

The fact is that austerity is an ideological choice and it creates inequality.

The alternative is equality. That is a different choice which embraces democratic control of the economy, sustainable investment, enterprise and growth strategies.

Making that choice applies equally to a fair recovery in both Greece and Ireland.

By Joe Dwyer

On 11 February, Sinn Féin MPs hosted a packed public meeting ‘Choices for 2015 and Beyond’ in Portcullis House, Westminster. The meeting heard first-hand Sinn Féin’s political perspectives across the breadth of Ireland. Speakers included Conor Murphy, MP and party negotiator in the recent talks; David Cullinane, Senator and Waterford Candidate for the next Dáil General Election; and Catherine Seeley, Deputy Mayor of Craigavon Council and Upper Bann Candidate for May’s Westminster Election.

The meeting drew a broad audience from the Irish community and wider progressive society, plus wide international media attention and diplomatic representatives. Also present were a group of Sixth Form students, studying the Irish Peace Process as part of their A-Levels. Steve Pound, Labour MP and shadow minister for the north of Ireland, and leading SRIZA member Stathis Kouvelakis, were also present.

The meeting was introduced by party London Office representative Jayne Fisher. Opening up for the speakers, Conor Murphy reported on the recent talks and the outcome of the Stormont House Agreement, and the need for the British and Irish government to actively live up to their responsibilities to drive forward the peace process and ensure the Good Friday and other agreements are fully implemented. He urged the Irish diaspora and wider progressive communities in England, Scotland and Wales to maximise their strength in the run up to the Westminster elections, and to press the political parties on their policies and commitments in relation to the peace process. He said that while there was much to continue to do, the recent Agreement had proved a step forward. He said that a future British government could not take the peace process for granted, in the way the current government had done, and had to positively engage in the spirit and letter of the Agreements made.

David Cullinane said that Sinn Féin stood for a new, progressive way forward. He said the party was already “on an election footing” and did not want to enter government for government’s sake; but was actively seeking to “lead an anti-austerity government”. He said the party recognised the distinct difference between being in government and being in power. He extended Sinn Féin’s solidarity to the new SYRIZA government and the Greek people. He condemned Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan for his recent rejection of a proposed European debt conference and the fact that the Irish Government had not even sought a debt write-down.

Cllr. Catherine Seeley focussed on the challenges of building a new Ireland. She spoke of her own experience of being the focus of a concerted sectarian campaign which forced her out of her job teaching in a local Protestant school. While this had been a difficult experience she spoke of how heartened she had been by the huge support received from her former pupils. She said that while Ireland has progressed significantly in recent times – there is still a distance yet to be travelled and that the next phase had to be driven forward. The reconciliation process could not be confined to the island of Ireland and the British state also “needs to reflect and discuss how to address its responsibilities for the adversity and conflict it perpetuated in Ireland, and between Britain and Ireland.” She summarised quoting Maya Angelou: “History despite its wrenching pain cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage need not be lived again.”

SYRIZA’s Stathis Kouvelakis, speaking from the floor, told the meeting how the new Greek Government had set about reversing the austerity measures of the Troika. He spoke of the “special bond for social and national emancipation” between Greece and Ireland adding that the best help for SYRIZA at the present time would be the victory of Podemos in Spain and of Sinn Féin in Ireland as it would show that “Greece is not an anomaly; that what happened in Greece can happen elsewhere.”

The wide range of discussion and questions from the floor demonstrated a growing interest in developments. Catherine Seeley underlined the need for positive action to ensure greater women’s representation at all levels of politics. The evident enthusiasm and optimism conveyed at the meeting was confirmed the following weekend when a Sunday Independent/Millward Brown opinion poll showed that Sinn Féin currently stands at 26% as the most popular party in the 26 Counties.

Sinn Fein

Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey has welcomed the decision to restore funding from St Mary’s and Stranmillis teaching training colleges.
The West Belfast MP said;
“This the right decision. There has been a tremendous campaign mounted since the removal of ‘premia’ funding from St Mary’s College and Stranmillis was first proposed by the DEL Minister.
I would like to acknowledge the support of Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson who brought this issue into the Executive.
I would also thank all those people who campaigned so vigorously to save St Mary’s, those who signed petitions and those who took part in protests in support of the college.
There was widespread support in the community of West Belfast for St Mary’s, from students, local businesses, the Mairead Farrell Republican Youth and the trade unions.
St Mary’s College is a first-class facility with 1,000 students and 160 staff.
My hope is that it can now continue to offer a first-class education for years to come and be an economic driver for West Belfast.”

By Catherine Seeley

First appeared on CatSeeley.WordPress, Friday 13 February 2015

See below the text of my speech to the “Choices for 2015 and Beyond” Event hosted in Westminster this week…

A chairde,

My name is Catherine Seeley and I am the Sinn Féin Westminster candidate for Upper Bann – a constituency that, since its creation in 1983, has never returned a Nationalist or Republican candidate.

This does not mean progress cannot be made, of course.

Irish politics North and South is undergoing the biggest shake-up since partition.

In May 2011 at the Assembly elections, my party colleague John O’Dowd MLA (now Minister of Education) became the first ever nationalist to top the poll in the constituency. In June of this year, I was elected the first ever republican Deputy Mayor of Craigavon Borough Council – a council in the Upper Bann constituency that, despite all our recent peace agreements, has remained a cold house for nationalists and republicans during its entire 40 plus year existence.

Just a few days later another of my party Colleagues, Pól Ó Gribín, was elected as the first ever Sinn Fein vice-chair of Banbridge District Council.

I believe all of this shows that the peace process can make a very real difference in ensuring fair, democratic representation right across the North and in spite of attempts by some to oppose Sinn Féin’s access to democratically entitled positions.

This time last year I was the victim of a sectarian campaign which forced me out of my teaching job in a school in Belfast. A minority group – The Protestant Coalition – did not want a Catholic teaching in what they deemed a Protestant school. They ignored the views of pupils and parents and progressed their campaign until I was left with no choice but to leave – 3 months before the boys I taught sat their GCSE and A-Level exams.

I will never forget the courage of the pupils of the Boy’s Model School who stood up for me as their teacher and against the sectarian bigots. Their bravery again shows me that a difference can and is being made in our society and this is in no small part thanks to the peace process.

More recently I stood in an election to the Seanad or Senate, the upper house in the Irish parliament in Dublin. I was proud to be a woman, a republican and someone from the Six Counties contesting that election – I am as much an Irish citizen as those other citizens from the South who ran against me. Yet to me it was no surprise that as a Northerner and as the Sinn Féin candidate, I suffered a media blackout.

Some of these things demonstrate the distance we have come, but also the distance we still have to travel to achieve a new Ireland, an Ireland based on inclusivity, equality and mutual respect.

Our Peace Process is quite rightly admired across the world, but it’s progress is one of constant need, care, attention and leadership.

This need of attention and leadership was glaringly obvious to us as we moved into the recent Stormont House negotiations.

Not only did Sinn Féin go to the table but when Prime Minister David Cameron and Taoiseach Enda Kenny upped and left – we stayed at the table, undeterred, continuing to engage in our search for a solution and, in my view, it was that very resilience that eventually forced the co-signatories of the Good Friday Agreement (the British and Irish Governments) back to the table.

The success and stability of the peace process is paramount. It and the political process are bigger than the British and Irish governments or any narrow party political agenda. If properly implemented, the Stormont House Agreement, as Conor has outlined, has huge potential to open a new phase of the peace process – a phase based on reconciliation.

So our work is far from complete.

A peace process has many stages, each new stage as important as the last and our most immediate challenge is developing and sustaining a reconciliation process which addresses the trans-generational division and hurt created by conflict.

Republicans, Unionists and Irish and British citizens share a deep collective pain. That realisation is key. We are all scarred and, to quote Queen Elizabeth , “with the benefit of historical hindsight we can all see things we would wish had been done differently or not at all” – that very realisation must be the driving force behind this new phase of our peace process.

And just as Republicans, Unionists, Irish and British citizens alike share pain, we also share the responsibility of driving forward this process of reconciliation; because although the conditions of conflict have been addressed, the legacy of division, hurt and fear has the potential to be passed on to future generations. Our children should have the opportunity to grow up in a better society than we did – and we all have a responsibility to ensure that.

That is why I stand here tonight doing as many of my party colleagues have tirelessly done – calling for dialogue to be opened on how all hurts caused can be equally acknowledged, salved, and if possible healed.

Our ambition is to achieve reconciliation in our time and the beginning of an era in which we all as Republican, Unionist, Irish and British citizens can become friends with one another: a time when our children learn to play and grow up together.

Party chair, Declan Kearney characterises the process of national reconciliation in Ireland as involving “uncomfortable conversations”.

Uncomfortable conversations within republicanism led to the IRA ceasefire, to Sinn Féin signing up to the Good Friday Agreement, taking their seats in the Assembly, accepting policing.

Uncomfortable conversations led to Martin McGuinness meeting the Queen and it was a series of uncomfortable conversations that returned me as the first ever Republican Deputy Mayor of Craigavon.

And we republicans continue to reach out and so, here tonight, I am repeating our sincere invite to talk – to those who do not see the world as we do, and who are fearful or suspicious of what we are about. We say clearly to them that there is nothing to fear and everything to gain from these conversations. They are the right thing to do. That is fundamentally what reconciliation must be about, doing the right thing; even when faced with impasse and opposition.

But these conversations cannot be limited to the island of Ireland, the British state needs to reflect and discuss how to address its responsibilities for the adversity and conflict it perpetuated in Ireland, and between Britain and Ireland.

And we do not need to reinvent the wheel to achieve this.

The Good Friday Agreement has already enshrined the principles of equality, parity of esteem, mutual respect and political coexistence. It provides a framework within which to find important common ground, if the political will exists to do so.

However, these possibilities will only ever be realised through the implementation of all elements of the Good Friday Agreement.

We need to continue the unfinished journey of our peace process, so that future generations are liberated to explore new possibilities, rather than burdened with legacies for which they carry no responsibility.

Maya Angelou put it well;

“History despite its wrenching pain cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage need not be lived again.”

By Mark Hennessy
Originally appeared in The Irish Times, Wednesday 11 February 2015

The rise of Sinn Féin in opinion polls in Ireland and a similar surge of support for Podemos in Spain is “the best help” that can be given to the newly-elected Syriza government in Greece, a leading member of Syriza has said.

Speaking at a Sinn Féin meeting in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Stathis Kouvelakis said: “This shows that the political landscape can change dramatically; that Greece is not an anomaly; that what happened in Greece can happen elsewhere.”

Tens of thousands of Greeks have gathered at rallies throughout the country in support of the “perfectly reasonable” demands made by the Greek minister for finance Yanis Varoufakis at today’s meetings with his EU counterparts in Brussels.
Meanwhile, Waterford-based Sinn Féin senator David Cullinane said that Sinn Féin, unlike some people involved in the anti-austerity movement in Ireland, is preparing to be part of the next government.

“We are on an election footing. The very clear message that we are articulating very clearly is that we are prepared for government. We are going to stand the maximum number of candidates that we can possibly stand to take advantage of our increasing popularity.

“We have to be prepared to want to go into government, to lead an anti-austerity government in the south. There are people on the left who won’t be part of that, but we are certainly organising,” he told the meeting.

Criticising Minister for Finance Michael Noonan’s refusal to support Greek calls for a debt conference, Mr Cullinane said:
“It is crazy that a country which was forced to put into place a banking guarantee that signed us up to billions [in] debt is afraid to agree to a debt conference.

“[Ireland] has not even asked for a debt write-down. If they are not prepared to show solidarity with their own citizens, I don’t see Irish government showing solidarity with the Greeks.”

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin MP for Newry and Armagh Conor Murphy rejected a call that Sinn Féin should take up its seats in the House of Commons after the May election in a bid to ensure that the Conservatives are denied power.
Mr Murphy said: “We stand on the mandate of not taking our seats.”

Sinn Fein

Sinn Féin Councillor Catherine Seeley will speak at a public meeting on the recent Stormont House Agreement in the House of Commons, London, tomorrow night.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Ms Seeley, Westminster candidate in Upper Bann, said;
“I will be addressing the public meeting at Portcullis House alongside my party colleagues Senator David Cullinane.
The meeting will discuss recent developments in the political process in North, including the Stormont House Agreement which protected the most vulnerable in society from the ravages of British government welfare cuts.
It will also look at the challenges in the year ahead as we face into the general election and its aftermath.
Regardless of the make-up of the next British government, Sinn Féin will be calling for the reversal of the failed policies of austerity.
We will also be challenging the next British government to live up to the commitments made in the Good Friday and subsequent agreements.
The meeting will be held in the Wilson Room, Portcullis House, House of Commons, on Wednesday, February 11 at 7pm.”

By Joe Dwyer

Originally appeared on Student Broad Left, Wednesday 04 February 2015
Also appeared on An Phoblacht, Thursday 05 February 2015

How Sinn Fein delivers for Students and Young people north and south & details for Sinn Fein’s upcoming London Public Briefing on the 11th February.

LAST Sunday I attended the Sinn Fein Republican Youth National Congress in Dundalk, County Louth. The day reaffirmed (if it ever needed to be) that radical left Youth and Student Politics is alive and well in Ireland.

Buoyed by Syriza’s ascension to power in Greece and Sinn Fein’s own steady rise in opinion polls, the day saw a wide range of debate and discussion on what a Sinn Fein Government would mean for the 26 Counties and how the party has delivered in the 6 Counties. The day paid particular attention to how Sinn Fein can best defend and appeal to the youth of Ireland.

Under the Troika’s austerity programme more than 300,000 people have left southern Ireland in pursuit of work or better life prospects. Roughly 41% of these people are aged between 15 and 24. This has been dubbed Ireland’s ‘Youth Exodus’. It is therefore little surprise that over a quarter of the population has been directly affected by the emigration of a close family member.

As evident across Europe austerity has hit young people hard. The Irish Third Level “Student Contribution” fee is set to rise from €2,750 to €3,000 for the 2015/2016 academic year. Youth unemployment currently stands at 21.60%. Motions passed at the Sinn Fein Youth Congress reflected how young people are struggling economically. These included: opposition to any raise in tuitions fees north or south; a call for the introduction of enhanced student schemes to reduce transport costs; support for the implementation of monthly student support payments; and a call upon insurance companies to cease the exploitation of young people with extortionate car insurance policies. The Congress also expressed solidarity with the NUI Galway lecturer Micheline Sheehy-Skeffington and her pursuit of gender equality within the University; and called for the extension of voting rights to 16 and 17 year olds.

In the north where Sinn Fein is in power, albeit within a power-sharing executive, the party has worked to protect the interests of young people. In the recently passed budget the Department of Education received an extra £500m in funding for the development of shared and integrated education projects for the next 10 years. The Department of Employment & Learning received £33.2m in additional funding; £20m of this is targeted towards the north’s universities and colleges and the remaining £13.2m tasked to develop a United Youth programme pilot and apprenticeship training schemes. Sinn Fein has also rallied, alongside the Irish National Teachers Organisation, to oppose any cut to the subsidiary received by St Mary’s and Stranmillis teacher training colleges in Belfast. A cut widely considered to be politically motivated and posing a threat to the very continuation of both valued institutions. The party has also called for the expansion of the Magee campus of the University of Ulster in Derry. The budget also saw the continuation of the £3,685 cap of on tuition fees as opposed to the £9000 sum inflicted by the Westminster Coalition Government. Through the Stormont House Agreement the party has also guaranteed that, under the Supplementary Benefits Fund, nobody on benefits will lose any money as a consequence of the Tory’s Welfare Reform programme. The Agreement concluded over Christmas demonstrated Sinn Fein’s commitment to protecting the vulnerable. Claims from some quarters that 20,000 public sector jobs will be cut are false as any redundancies will be voluntary as stipulated and no figure has been set to it.

Young people in the rest of Ireland could soon benefit from such protection and political representation, as Sinn Fein gears towards Government south of the border. Sinn Fein’s National Chairperson Declan Kearney has already reached out to other left-wing groupings to form a left-wing alliance before the next southern General Election. A move which has been endorsed by SIPTU President Jack O’Connor. As the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in his acceptance speech:
“Today is a new beginning. A victory by Syriza will be followed by Podemos in Spain and next year Sinn Fein in Ireland.”
It is imperative that radical students and young people of goodwill here in Britain build solidarity and forge contacts with young comrades in Ireland – there is much that can be learnt from each other.

For those interested in learning more about Sinn Fein’s choices coming into 2015, the party is hosting a Public Event titled ‘Choices for 2015 and beyond’ on Wednesday 11 February at 7pm. This takes place in the Wilson Room, Portcullis House, House of Commons, London SW1A OAA and will be addressed by Conor Murphy MP, MP for Newry & Armagh and senior party member; Senator David Cullinane, Workers Rights spokesperson in the south; and Cllr Catherine Seeley, Deputy Mayor of Craigavon Council & Upper Bann Westminster Candidate. The meeting will be chaired by political manager for the Sinn Fein MP Office Jayne Fisher. To register you attendance or for further details please email: fisherj@parliament.uk. Further details can also be found here.

Joe Dwyer at the Youth Congress with delegates from NUI Galway

Sinn Fein

Sinn Féin MPs Pat Doherty, Michelle Gildernew and Conor Murphy will be in Leinster House tomorrow for the Oireachtas Good Friday Agreement Committee meeting at which the A5 road and Narrow Water bridge projects will be on the Agenda for discussion.
Speaking before travelling to Dublin, West Tyrone MP Pat Doherty said:
“I welcome the fact that these two significant projects are on the agenda of the Oireachtas Committee. It will afford us the opportunity to press the Minister on assurances given by the Irish government at the recent Stormont House negotiations.
The A5 and Narrow Water Bridge are hugely important infrastructure projects that will provide much needed jobs for regions of the country starved of economic investment for generations.
Their construction will give a significant boost to the local economy and open up the Newry, Mourne and Louth district and the region from Monaghan to Derry/Donegal to both commercial investment and tourism potential. Every effort must be made to ensure that both these projects are progressed with the utmost urgency.”

Sinn Fein

Mid-Ulster MP Francie Molloy has welcomed the High Court decision granting a Judicial Review into a series of murders carried out by the Glenanne Gang
The Sinn Féin MP Francie Molloy said:
“This morning’s decision [02/02/15] will allow the challenge into the delay in completing an investigation into the murder of 13-year-old Patrick Barnard on St Patrick’s Day 1976 to proceed.
Patrick was one of four people killed at the Hillcrest Bar in Dungannon by a murder gang, run by British military intelligence services during the 1970s.”
The Mid Ulster MP said:
“I attended the High Court this morning in support of the victims of this British murder gang, which was made up of members of the RUC, UDR and loyalists and which was run by British military intelligence.
The so-called Glenanne Gang was responsible for more than 100 murders, mainly nationalist civilians, in counties Armagh and Tyrone as well as being involved in the Dublin/Monaghan bombings.
The inquiry into the activities of this British murder gang has effectively been closed down. The state is once again seeking to delay the truth about the central and pivotal role of its armed forces in running murder gangs over the period of the conflict.
The campaign of murder waged and directed by members of the British forces against nationalist and Catholic communities has been well-documented.
It’s unacceptable that the state continues to refuse to take responsibility for its actions and in doing so only adds to the pain and the anguish of the victims.
Today’s High Court decision is another step exposing the truth about the activities of this murder gang and compel the British government to take responsibility for the actions of its forces.”