Sinn Fein

Two leading Sinn Féin representatives, Francie Molloy MP and the Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald TD will be engaging in a speaking tour across Australia from August 30 to September 7 2014, visiting Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane.
Francie Molloy said:
“Sinn Féin has emerged from the local government and European elections held in May as the largest political party on an all-Ireland basis, with the surge in popular support resulting from the party’s strong opposition to austerity, north and south.
There is a clear message that we will be taking to Australian political representatives, trade unionists and community leaders of promoting a united Ireland and the need to call on the British and Irish governments to hold a referendum on Irish reunification under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
Already dozens of Australian MPs, trade unionists and community leaders have added their names to an Irish Unity Motion.”
Mary Lou McDonald TD continued:
“Further to this we will also be continuing to promote awareness among Irish workers on temporary visas in Australia of their rights in the workplace, and promoting trade union membership among the Irish community.
The tour will aim to engage not only with the thousands of young Irish people who’ve been forced to emigrate as a result of austerity policies, but also to build connections with progressive parties and unions fighting against austerity in Australia.”

Sinn Fein

Sinn Féin’s MP for West Belfast Paul Maskey has taken part along with several local groups in a series of engagements with the MEP Martina Anderson on how Europe can deliver at a local level.
The Sinn Féin MEP visited Springvale Employment & Learning Solutions where she was shown the crucial work undertaken at the complex and met with young people attending the programmes.
Mr Maskey said:
“Martina Anderson has spent a productive day in West Belfast.
With four MEPs now in Brussels Sinn Féin is intent on delivering for the people throughout Ireland and being a strong voice for the country in the European Parliament.
After Martina saw at first hand the excellent work being carried out at Springvale she met with representatives of social enterprises throughout West Belfast in what was an informative session.
These engagements are essential in terms of bringing Europe to local people and explaining how groups and businesses can in Belfast can benefit from greater links and knowledge of how the European parliament can work.”

Gerry Adams TD – An Phoblact News – 27th August

Sunday marks 20th anniversary of historic and groundbreaking IRA cessation of 1994
The Irish and British governments should refocus their efforts to defend the political process in the North and to ensure the full implementation of the Good Friday and subsequent agreements as we approach this Sunday’s 20th anniversary of the historic and groundbreaking IRA cessation of 1994, Gerry Adams has said.
Speaking at the Dáil, the Sinn Féin leader noted that that decision by the IRA leadership opened up the potential of the peace process, eventually leading to the Good Friday Agreement.
“The direct involvement of the Irish and British Governments and the support of the US Administration was crucial to that achievement,” the former MP for West Belfast recalled.
Now a TD for Louth, Gerry Adams said:
“The same level of engagement is now required to deal with those outstanding issues which have bedeviled the political process and which threaten the progress that has been made since.
However, neither the British Government or unionist political leaders have shown any commitment to substantive negotiations on these issues.
There is now a strongly anti-Agreement axis within political unionism.
This negative axis has been encouraged by the refusal of the British Government to honour its own obligations and its efforts to impose draconian cuts in the welfare system.
The North’s political institutions now face their most serious challenge for many years.
Regrettably, the Irish Government has been far too passive in pursuing a pro-Agreement agenda.
The Irish and British governments, as co-equal guarantors of the Agreement, must ensure that outstanding issues are implemented.
I am calling on both governments to urgently refocus their efforts to defend the political process and ensure the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements.”

Sinn Fein

Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey has slammed the failure of unionist leaders Peter Robinson, Mike Nesbitt and Jim Allister to condemn the brutal sectarian assault of a Catholic man in Ballygomartin by the UDA.
The West Belfast MP said:
“The sectarian attack on a Catholic man in the Ballygomartin area of West Belfast was vicious and brutal. Ten men armed with metal bars and a hatchet entered the man’s home and set about attacking him and his family.
During the attack the men called him a ‘Fenian’, claimed they were from the Highfield UDA, sprayed UDA slogans on the house and told the victim not to return to the area.
What we need now is clear political leadership from Peter Robinson, Mike Nesbitt and Jim Allister whose silence on this attack has been deafening.
Only a few weeks ago ago unionist leaders walked out of talks to join representatives of the UVF and the UDA in demanding an Orange Order parade through Ardoyne, Mountainview and the Dales.
Twenty years after the first ceasefires the UDA and the UVF are still in existence and active. The question is why?
Political unionism needs to face these paramilitary organisations down instead of cosying up to them for short-term political expediency.”

Sinn Fein

Sinn Féin MP Conor Murphy has questioned health minister Edwin Poots’ ability to manage his department’s budget.
The Newry and Armagh MP said;
“While there are obvious challenges for the health service in an era of Tory cuts to public services, it is becoming increasingly clear that Edwin Poots is incapable of managing his department’s budget.
After years of berating the previous health minister for demanding more money, Edwin Poots has been unable to control his department’s finances, despite an increased budget.
He has been given more than £200 million in additional funding in successive monitoring rounds, on top of an increased budget, but still he is demanding £160 million more.
His own party colleague, finance minister Simon Hamilton, has publicly criticised Edwin Poots’ budget handling after an overspend of £13 million in the last monitoring round. And an underspend of £10 million which he declared too late for it to be reallocated.
At the same time Minister Poots pays out millions in bonuses and in fees to private companies.
Clearly Simon Hamilton is unconvinced by Edwin Poots’ figures as he allocated his department £33 million rather than the £40 million bid for.
The DUP is obviously divided on their minister’s mismanagement of the health service.
Health is a hugely important issues and must not be hostage to the internal problems of the DUP.”

Sinn Fein

Sinn Féin MP for West Belfast Paul Maskey has said that it is unacceptable that up to 40 people remain on trolleys over 12 hours after going to the Accident and Emergency wards of the Royal Victoria and Mater hospitals.

Mr Maskey said,
“The length of time patients presenting themselves to the Accident and Emergency wards is totally unacceptable and the Minister must take full responsibility.
At the start of the year a major incident had to be declared in the RVH in order to deal with the backlog of patients and the Minister promised us that the service would be improved.
Despite a Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) inquiry into the incident it is clear that no improvement has been made and the Minister now has major questions to answer.”

Sinn Féin MLA for North Belfast Carál Ní Chuilín added,
“The medical practitioners at both hospitals have previously expressed their fears for the safety of the patients if something is not done to relieve the pressure yet we are faced with another crisis today.
It is becoming clear that the crisis within A&E is continuing and despite the Minister’s department getting over 50% of the block grant in the budget and £200m in monitoring rounds since taking office it is becoming abundantly clear he has failed to get a grip of his brief.”

Sinn Fein

“We want to give people the opportunity to register their opposition to the cuts agenda being peddled by a cabinet of millionaires and being supported by their allies in unionism.
The Stop Tory Cuts petition, which will be available online and in hard copy, is the first in a series of initiatives being organised throughout the North to allow people from all sections of the community to show the deep opposition to these devastating cuts.” – Daithí McKay MLA

Sign the Petition now.

Daithí McKay MLA – An Phoblact News – 18th August

Four Assembly ministers backing the Tory-led welfare cuts have been challenged by Sinn Féin MLA Daithí McKay to spend a week living on the low income they expect others to survive on.
Throwing down the gauntlet to Finance Minister Simon Hamilton (DUP), Justice Minister David Ford (Alliance), Employment Minister Stephen Farry (Alliance) and Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy (UUP), Daithí McKay said:
“UUP, DUP and Alliance ministers are quick to demand we implement Tory cuts to the benefits of those on low incomes, the disabled and the unemployed.
Would they be so enthusiastic if they were facing reductions to their own incomes or had to live on the pittance allocated to the poorest and most vulnerable in our society?”
The Sinn Féin MLA pointed out that welfare cuts have forced tens of thousands of people in England into increased poverty, homelessness, desperation and, in some cases, suicide.
“Could any of these politicians advocating welfare cuts survive on the income they want to give to the disabled and the unemployed?
I am challenging, Simon Hamilton, David Ford, Stephen Farry and Danny Kennedy to spend just one week on the incomes they expect others to live on.
I doubt very much they could do so but perhaps this experience would open their eyes to the real impact of welfare cuts.”

By Declan Kearney – Sinn Fein National Chairperson

First published via The Belfast Telegraph – DebateNI, Thursday 14 August 2014

According to the right wing narrative running alongside the economic crisis across Europe, citizens and governments should accept the consequences of the crash.

That, despite its cause being the multi- billion euro scams between the business and banking elites, and the failure of the European Central Bank and governments such as the Irish, to intervene and stop what was happening.

That’s why the British and Irish governments are now unquestioningly using austerity to manage budget deficits. The welfare cuts introduced in Britain and which the Tories want to impose in the north are one result of the austerity model used by both the Irish and British coalitions.

When Peter Robinson spoke last week about economic realities, he conveniently forgot the biggest economic and social reality of all. British Tory cuts are designed to destroy the Welfare State. Now the DUP has been sucked into that position.

The Welfare State was first proposed by William Beveridge’s report in 1942. The British Labour Party then established it after WW2. Its ethos was, and is, that when citizens fall on hard times, the state should help them.

The current Tory government is ideologically opposed to the Welfare State, and state support for its citizens. Welfare cuts are fundamentally about rolling back the Welfare State.

Sinn Fein believe that economic growth depends upon thriving business and industry, investment, innovation and job creation. However, the economy must also support workers’ rights and protect the working poor, and jobless.

Enforced austerity is not the way to rebalance damaged economies. There are alternative strategies based upon economic stimulus measures. That is why welfare cuts are exactly the opposite of what is needed here.

Welfare cuts formed no part of the northern Executive’s Programme for Government.

The DUP claim no alternative exists. That is a bogus position to justify their choice to embrace a Tory agenda and the slash and burn economic policies being pursued by British millionaires in the conservative cabinet against the working poor and disadvantaged from all sections of the community here.

The DUP should change its decision.

Sinn Fein chooses to stand in defence of the Welfare State. The trade union movement in the north and across Ireland should now declare unanimous and unambiguous opposition to the proposed cuts.

Trade union activists should join together with other political parties and Sinn Fein, to defend the Welfare State. That is a non-sectarian and cross community agenda. It is common ground for orange and green, the churches, business and civic society.

Sinn Fein

Sinn Féin MP Conor Murphy has said that a decision by DRD minister Danny Kennedy to axe jobs and sub contractors providing frontline road services as politically motivated and incompetent.
Conor Murphy said:
“Danny Kennedy has chosen to make low-paid workers carrying out maintenance on the roads redundant rather than trying to find other savings within his budget.
If other ministers can find ways of protecting jobs and services in their departments then the question has to be asked is Danny Kennedy’s decision politically motivated, incompetent or both.
Danny Kennedy didn’t even take a position on the last budget allocations, he abstained from the vote but has acted immediately to cut jobs.
This follows hard on the heels of his threats to bus passes for the elderly. Maybe his party leader Mike Nesbitt should be asking is his minister up to the task.”