Sinn Fein
The Week in Review
18-25 February 2016

Friday’s election can be the people’s rising – Gerry Adams TD
On 24 February, with two days until polling day, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams told the party’s final press conference of the election campaign there was `no difference between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour’, and urged people to `Come out and vote for hope, vote for change, vote for Sinn Féin.’ He said Friday’s election could be `the people’s rising’.
Mr Adams said there were `two Irelands out there – one for the privileged and one for the rest of us’. He said Sinn Féin was `clear in our vision – unlike Labour, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil we will not give tax breaks to the wealthy’ but would `use the tax revenue to build a universal health care system, to build homes, to invest in education and protect the vulnerable’.
Sinn Fein would `end water charges, and the family home tax, reduce class sizes, recruit more doctors, nurses, GPs, midwifes and teachers, end prescriptions charges, end student fees and cap child care costs at €150 a week’, he said.
He said the election was about `political choices – a choice between tax breaks for the wealthy or investment in services and jobs’. Friday `can be our 1916 Rising, an entirely peaceful one’, he said, urging people to `reclaim the republic’.
He concluded that Friday was the chance to `seize this opportunity, to elect a new progressive government led by Sinn Féin under the Right2Change Principles’.
You can read Sinn Fein’s election manifesto in full here.

For the vast majority of people there is no recovery
Earlier, on 21 February, Gerry Adams said that `the vast majority of people are not experiencing any recovery’. Speaking after some tens of thousands took to the streets to protest as part of the Right2Water protest, he said that it was clear many knew it was `wrong that elderly people are languishing on hospital trolleys… that children are growing up in hotel rooms [and] that families cannot make ends meet’.
He condemned this as `consequences of the policies of Enda Kenny, Joan Burton and Micheál Martin’. He said that `if €4 billion is taken out of the tax system, the consequences will be more elderly people on hospital trolleys, more children in emergency accommodation, and more families struggling to survive’. Sinn Féin, he said, believed that `instead of taking €4 billion out of the tax net, Sinn Féin will fix the chaos in our hospitals, will end homelessness, and will ease the burden on families.’ He concluded: `We don’t need to live in an unequal society. Every family has a right to share in the recovery. That is what Sinn Fein will fight for.’

Election `opportunity to change things for the better’ – McGuinness
On 21 February Martin McGuinness was speaking in Dublin where he joined the party’s election campaign. He said that the election have people `the opportunity to change things for the better, and Sinn Féin want to be part of that change.’
He said that for the first time `in all our lifetimes’ there was the opportunity `to have Sinn Féin in government north and south’. Sinn Fein Governments would, he said `stand up for equality’ and `deliver a fair recovery’. They would be `governments with a plan for unity and reconciliation… to sustain the peace process [and] act in the national interest’.
He said events of the last year had seen, `during critical talks, the leader of Fine Gael reduced his role to that of a by-stander and the Fianna Fáil leader intervened to call for the suspension of the institutions’. This, Mr McGuinness said, was `highly reckless and clearly done for short term political opportunism’, adding `the peace process is far too important for that to happen ever again’.
Sinn Fein was `now delivering on the Fresh Start agreement and making progress’. He said the electorate `now has the choice’ either to `stick with the parties of boom, bust and broken promises or seize this moment in time, to elect a progressive republican government’.

Right2Change candidates `can change the face of politics in Ireland’
On 19 February Dublin Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan urged all those supporting the Right2Change principles to attend the Right2Water march the following day in Dublin. Ms. Boylan said the demonstration was an opportunity to show the government their continued opposition to the domestic water tax and to Irish Water.
She said it was also the opportunity for people to `show their support for over 100 Right2Change candidates running in the general election’. She said `for eighty eight years the right-wing parties in this state, occasionally propped up by their sister party Labour, have been in government’, adding `we now have a real chance to elect a progressive left government next week. We should seize it’.
She concluded: ‘Let’s mobilise tomorrow and show this government that people are ready to make the change and end the status quo.’

Sinn Féin will campaign vigorously to stay in the EU – McGuinness
On 20 February, Sinn Féin MLA Martin McGuinness said the island of Ireland had `benefited greatly as a result of membership of the European Union’ and that this could be felt `daily across all sections of our society and many organisations and groups have directly benefited from EU funding’.
He said the agriculture and agri-food industry `have gone from strength to strength with the help of EU Single Farm Payments’ and that the EU `has also supported key infrastructure projects and boosted our economy through peace and structural funds’.
He said it had been `a key supporter of the progress made in the peace and political processes over the last two decades’. Businesses, industry, the agricultural sector and community and voluntary organisations `have made it clear that they want to continue to avail of the huge opportunities that exist as a result of our EU membership’, he added.
He concluded: `the future of Ireland north and south is within the European Union and Sinn Fein will be campaigning vigorously to stay in’

Sinn Fein chair urges `Civic and political platform’ for campaign to remain in EU
On 22 February, Sinn Féin National Chairperson Declan Kearney called for a wide civic and political platform `to make the case for the North to remain in the European Union’.
Mr Kearney said there was `a positive case which needs to be made and heard about our future relationship with the EU which side lines the negative arguments of those who have nothing but fear to offer’. He said it was `clear’ Ireland’s place was in Europe and the case for a British exit from Europe is being driven by a “little Englander” isolationist agenda which has everything to do with internal divisions in the British Tory party and nothing to do with the interests of the business and farming sectors and working people in the north of Ireland’.
He said the EU represents `a market of 500 million citizens in which to promote our exports and encourage investment’ and that the North of Ireland was `a strategic gateway for north American foreign direct investment and our EU membership is key to maximising that investment’.
He concluded: `the collective focus of all of those who recognise the importance of winning the case for remaining in Europe should be to build a civic and political platform on that positive agenda.’

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs. Visit www.sinnfein.ie or follow us on twitter @sinnfeinireland

Sinn Fein
The Week in Review
28 January-04 February 2016

Election `offers opportunity for real change’
On 3 February, Taoiseach Enda Kenny confirmed the dissolution of the Dáil.
Sinn Féin Leader, Gerry Adams TD, said the election provided `an opportunity for real change’ with a `choice is between two visions for Irish society’.
Current Fine Gael and Labour government had `presided over some of the most reprehensible policy decisions ever made by a Government in this State, and they have brought chaos to the lives of ordinary citizens’.
He said they had `cut child benefit, the back to school allowance, the respite care grant, 1.5 million home help hours, and they abolished the bereavement grant’. He said they had `promised a new health service’ but instead, `last year we saw the highest number of patients on trolleys since records began and we have the worst A&E waiting times in Europe’. The aim of the Government, if re-elected, would be to privatise healthcare, he warned.
Mr Adams said wages had been cut `and another generation forced into emigration’, while many were facing `excessive mortgages, Water Charges and a Family Home Tax’ whilst taxes were reduced for the wealthy.
He said the government had `refused to invest in house building, abdicating responsibility to developers and taking the side of landlords against tenants’.
However he said the election provided `an opportunity for real change’ whith a `choice is between two visions for Irish society’. This was between a Fine Gael led Government ‘that will deliver more of the same unfairness and inequality’, or a Sinn Féin led Government `that has a plan to deliver a fair recovery for all citizens, and put stability back into the lives of the average family’.
He said that Sinn Fein’s `first priority in Government will be to abolish Water Charges and the Property Tax, and take more than a quarter of a million people out of the USC net’.
He concluded: `Polling day is the citizens’ day, and the people have choices to make. I hope they choose for fairness and for genuine Republican politics. I hope they vote for Sinn Féin.’

‘We must move beyond recrimination’ – McGuinness
On 30 January Martin McGuinness said Irish society must learn to move beyond the politics of recrimination if the potential of peace is to be fully realised. The North’s Deputy First Minister was speaking at the Kinsale Peace Project today where he insisted that political maturity is needed across the island if our people are to be truly reconciled.
Mr McGuinness said the Irish peace process was `rightly held up as a beacon of hope for conflict situations across the globe’ and that he was `very proud of the role that my party has played in the success of that peace process’.
He said `Politics on this island and between Ireland and Britain have been transformed. We are in a far better place now than at any time in our painful history. However, we are still on a journey and I have long argued that the next phase of the peace process needs to be the reconciliation phase. That requires leadership and political maturity from all parties, right across the island.
`There needs to be an end to the politics of recrimination because that leads us nowhere. I have been in government with the DUP for eight years now, serving with Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson and now Arlene Foster as First Minister. There was a time when the prospect of Sinn Féin and the DUP in government together was unthinkable but we have achieved that. We have shared power for almost nine years and the institutions have remained in place. The sky didn’t fall in.
He added `During all that time there hasn’t been one word of recrimination about the past between myself, Ian, Peter or Arlene. That is because we know that, in order to realise the potential of peace, in order to govern for the mutual benefit of our people, we must look to the future. Of course we can never forget the past but neither can we become prisoners to it. We have all suffered in the conflict and if we allow ourselves to get dragged into constant recrimination about the past, the only people that serves is those who would wish to drag us back there.
He said `I think all of us on the island need to learn that lesson. It’s ironic that much of the political and media recrimination today originates in this part of the island. It saddens me to say that and I often wonder what happened to the political maturity shown by people like Albert Reynolds and Bertie Ahern who put peace before party politics.
He concluded: `There needs to be a return to that kind of mature and responsible leadership. The prize of peace and a reconciled people on this island is far more important than the petty party politiciking that has become the primary feature of politics in this state over recent times.’

Irish Unity would remove barriers to economic growth – McElduff
On 30 January Sinn Féin MLA Barry McElduff said Irish Unity would result in `significant long-term improvement in Ireland’s economy by removing currency, trade and tax barriers that currently impede economic growth,.
Barry McElduff was speaking at a panel debate held in the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh this morning on a United Ireland. Other speakers included Tom Buchanan, DUP MLA, Solicitor Pat Fahy, Irish Language activists Linda Ervine and Sinéad Ní Mhearnóg, Independent Unionist MLA John McCallister and economist Michael Burke.
Barry McElduff said `These are important times in politics. We are facing into two elections north and south and the people want real change. Sinn Féin remains committed to delivering a new and better Ireland for all, to move beyond partition and disunity and to create a just, fair, prosperous and equal society.
`Irish Unity would result in significant long-term improvement in Ireland’s economy by removing currency, trade and tax barriers that currently impede economic growth. Sinn Féin is committed to ensuring all the people of Ireland can exercise their vote in a referendum on Irish Unity. A referendum on Irish Unity is not a threat to anyone. It is great opportunity for all of us irrespective of our opinions to carve out our future. This is about placing the future of Ireland in the hands of the people. We are stronger together than we can ever be apart.’

Representations of 1916 – Sinn Fein MP visits major photographic collection in London
Last week Sinn Fein Mid Ulster MP Francie Molloy visited `Easter Rising 1916: Sean Sexton Collection’ at London’s Photographers’ Gallery. Curator Luke Dodd and the owner of the extensive collection of photographs, Sean Sexton, accompanied Mr Molloy around the exhibition.
The impressive collection investigates the role played by photography in informing the national consciousness that led to the rising, and examines the economic, social and political situation leading up to the rebellion and developments afterwards. The broad range of photographic documents mark the key events between the 1840s and 1930s. Particularly striking are the images of the devastation following the bombardment of O’Connell street, and the contribution of women as both photographers and active participants in the Rising and supporting accompanying struggles.


Large crowds have been packing into the Central London gallery since the exhibition’s opening last month – reflecting the interest around the centenary of the Easter Rising, provoking a broader interest in political developments in Ireland up to the present day. Sinn Fein MPs will be participating in a range of events to mark the Centenary throughout the year and across England, Scotland and Wales.
The Exhibition runs until 3 April, Photographers Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies Street, W1F 7LW.

Joint approach required to oppose Brexit – Kearney
On 29 January, Sinn Féin National Chairperson Declan Kearney said a joint approach from political parties and civic society was required to oppose a British exit from Europe.
Speaking at a conference on the issue, organised by Martina Anderson in Belfast, Mr Kearney said;
`The simple fact is that a Brexit is the opposite to the interests of local people. Those of us who recognise the dangers inherent in a Brexit now need to bring increased momentum to our arguments. Opposition to a Brexit needs to be expanded into widespread and representative common ground.’
He added `Those political parties, social partners and civic stakeholders who are of one mind on this issue across Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England should coalesce and speak with one voice against Brexit. A joint civic and political platform opposing Brexit is required.’
`Here in the north, local political, business, trade union and other leaders should put a concentrated focus on creating such an alliance to inform public opinion, and begin a positive pro-active campaign highlighting the dangers of Brexit. An effectively mobilised body of popular opinion against Brexit particularly in the north of Ireland, Scotland and Wales could have a very decisive influence on the outcome of a British referendum.’
He concluded `Sinn Fein stands ready to play its part in taking forward this agenda with others in society.’

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs. Visit www.sinnfein.ie or follow us on twitter @sinnfeinireland

Sinn Fein
Week in Review
14-21 January 2016

Sinn Féin wants to `lead the next Government’
On 14 February Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD was in Cork at one of a series of general election campaign launches.
Deputy Adams said that Sinn Féin `will make no promises we will not keep’. He said Sinn Fein were `the only party going into the upcoming election with a fully costed plan to deliver a universal healthcare system that treats citizens with the dignity and respect they deserve’. He added that the party also had a `costed plan to deliver 100,000 new homes’ and were `the only serious political party to give a commitment that we will abolish water charges and the local property tax’.
He added that `under the leadership of Martin McGuinness, Sinn Féin is in Government in the North where we are promoting partnership, reconciliation, equality and inclusion’. Sinn Fein were `defending the rights of citizens, protecting the most vulnerable and building prosperity and jobs’ and wanted to `be in Government in this part of the island as well’.
He concluded: `the time has come to elect a progressive republican Government led by Sinn Féin that will deliver a society based on equality and fairness, and build a Fair Recovery for all.’

Adams urges support for Right2Water event
This week Sinn Féin produced a billboard in advance of Saturday’s state-wide local Right2Water demonstrations. Gerry Adams TD urged citizens to join the protest and reiterated Sinn Fein’s commitment to `abolishing water charges, ending the current metering project and redirecting remaining funding into direct investment in water infrastructure. Our water supply must be kept in public ownership’.
He said water was a `human right’, adding `while water services must be paid for, this must not be done through a double tax on hard pressed citizens’. He said that Irish Water was `mired in scandal’ and was `a toxic entity, which has become synonymous with everything that is wrong with this Government, namely, cronyism, political manipulation of State boards, threats to citizens and escalating taxes on struggling families’. It `cannot be left with responsibility for the delivery of water services in this State’, Mr Adams said.
He said only a Sinn Féin-led government would abolish the charges and was `committed to holding a referendum to ensure that the public ownership of our water services is enshrined in the Constitution’.

British government urged to release information on conflict deaths
On 14 January Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly urged the British Government to release information on the deaths of victims of the conflict to their families.
Speaking after a party delegation, led by Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, met British Secretary of State Theresa Villiers Mr Kelly said they had `made it clear that the British government’s blanket veto on providing information to the families of victims of the conflict is unacceptable and remains the biggest single obstacle in dealing with the legacy of the past’.
The British Government could `resolve this issue easily by providing the information demanded by families on the deaths of their loved ones during the conflict’, he said, adding `the British government committed at the Stormont House Agreement of December 2014 to provide maximum disclosure of information to the families.’
He said they had `a responsibility to do this not only for the families of the victims of British state violence and collusion with loyalists death squads but for all victims of the conflict.’
He also called upon the Irish government `to live up to its responsibility too as a co-guarantor of the Good Friday and other international agreements and indeed to the victims of the Dublin/Monaghan bombings to ensure that the British government honours its commitments to truth and disclosure.’
Later in the week Mr Kelly underlined the `onus on the British government to provide resources for the coronial process and to disclose information on deaths from the conflict’.
He said that Sinn Féin would `oppose any attempt to replace or undermine the inquest process’. He said recent comments by the PSNI that it would take decades to work through legacy cases were `unacceptable as many families have already waited decades for an inquest’.
He concluded: `the British government, the judiciary and the PSNI have a statutory duty to come forward with proposals and solutions to meet the needs of the families of victims.’

Legacy of 1916 belongs to every citizen
On 21 January Sinn Fein councillor Sarah Holland described the `welcome conversations’ taking place on doorsteps around the country on the legacy of 1916.
She said people were `embracing the celebrations and re-enactments of this centenary year of commemorations, which belong to the people of Ireland’ and the party was `hearing stories of relatives who fought in 1916, and we are delighted to be having these conversations’.
However, she said that the idea, enshrined in the 1916 Proclamation of `cherishing all of the children of this nation equally’ was `shamefully lacking’ in the policy and practices of the current Dublin government.
Cllr Holland went on to say that `no one party or group owns these celebrations – the people do’, but added `given the Government’s sad lack of planning last year, and its determination to dilute the sentiments of the Rising, we are not surprised that it is attacking Sinn Féin’.
Sinn Féin had `commemorated the Rising every year’ and were `proud to do so’. She ended by encouraging ` every other party to do so and not allow Ireland’s history to be whitewashed over.’

BREXIT `would have serious implications for Ireland’
On 21 January Sinn Féin MEP Martina Anderson announced details of a major conference she will be hosting in Belfast at the end of February on the implications of `BREXIT’ for Ireland. She said that partial disengagement or even full withdrawal by the British state from the EU (and formal repeal or significant erosion of human rights protections) would have hugely negative implications for Ireland, North and South.
Martina Anderson said that issues including the Peace Process, human rights protections, agriculture, jobs, infrastructure and energy, cross-Border trade and travel `would be directly affected by a BREXIT’.
She it could also see `the re-emergence of passport checkpoints and customs controls along the border, hindering free movement and disrupting the lives of nearly a million people living in the Border region’.
She said `It would mean no more Single Farm Payment or Rural Development Fund, no Structural Funds, and no PEACE Funding, with high human, social and economic costs. It is highly unlikely that the British government would be willing to replace the direct funding currently received from the EU which between 2007/13 was worth £2.4billion to the North.’
However, she added `Europe does need serious and radical democratic reform but Sinn Féin believes this should be achieved through increased accountability and transparency of the European institutions. So while there is no question that the North of Ireland would be hardest-hit by a Brexit with huge setbacks for political and economic progress and continued democratic transformation, the adverse effects would be felt across every aspect of trade throughout the island.’
She said the full implications would be discussed at the conference ‘BREXIT’- Rights and Wrongs, at the Balmoral Hotel Belfast on Friday 29 January. A range of speakers will comment from differing perspectives.

Week in Review is circulated by Sinn Fein MPs. Visit www.sinnfein.ie or follow us on twitter @sinnfeinireland

Sinn Fein
Week in Review
1-7 January 2016

2016 ‘a year for national renewal, hope and political progress’ – Adams
On New Year’s Eve Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams published a New Year message in the January issue of An Phoblacht. We reproduce his message in full below:
`The year ahead marks the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising. This should be a time for national renewal, hope, and political progress across Ireland. The 1916 Proclamation is a clear statement of intent for an all-Ireland republic built on foundations of civil and religious liberty, social justice and equality for all citizens. It remains the guiding template for modern republicanism.
The promise of the Proclamation has yet to be realised. Ireland remains partitioned and a real republic, built on equality for all citizens, remains to be constructed. The Centenary year is a unique opportunity to begin the work of positively transforming Irish politics and society, to reflect the revolutionary vision of Easter Week.
2016 is also an election year, North and South. Sinn Féin will stand candidates on a progressive republican and anti-austerity platform across this island. In the South, citizens will have an important opportunity to get rid of this bad Fine Gael/Labour Government whose tenure has been marked by destructive austerity policies which have deepened social inequality. Sinn Féin is committed to delivering a fair recovery by working towards a progressive, republican government.
In the North, we will continue to stand up for working families, vulnerable citizens and the development of the economy and public services. The recent Fresh Start Agreement allows the political process and institutions to proceed on a new and stable basis. Sinn Féin is committed to resolving the issues of the past, supporting victims of the conflict and promoting reconciliation and healing.
We will continue to campaign for the return of more political powers and economic levers from London to the island of Ireland. However, the greatest safeguard against Tory misrule in the North is the peaceful ending of Partition and the building of an agreed, united Ireland a real republic. In this important year, working together, the people of Ireland can make important steps towards a genuine republic and a citizen-centred, rights based society. I wish you all a Happy and Peaceful New Year. Bliain úr faoi mhaise daoibh go léir.’

2016 offers `hope of a fresh start for everyone’
On 1 January, Sinn Féin MLA Martin McGuinness said 2016 offers `hope of a fresh start for everyone across Ireland’.
Speaking after a launch of the year of commemoration of the centenary of the Easter Rising in Dublin Castle, Mr McGuinness said 2016 was `an important year of commemoration as we mark the centenaries of the Easter Rising and the Battle of the Somme’.
He said both events were `landmarks in our history and marking these anniversaries respectfully and inclusively would display a real sense of political maturity’.
Mr McGuinness said that 2016 offered `hope of a new beginning to everyone across the island of Ireland’. He said `the men and women of Easter 1916 struck to achieve an all-Ireland republic built on civil and religious liberty, social justice and equality for all citizens’ and that their vision `remains hugely significant and precious to nationalists in the north’.
The centenary year was, he said `an opportunity to build on the vision of the Proclamation to cherish the children of the nation equally, including those who have fled wars and famine to find sanctuary here in Ireland’.
He said the recent agreement made offered `a fresh start for the political institutions in the North and we must build on that to ensure they deliver for everyone in the community’, concluding `there will be a lot of work to do and many challenges to face in the year ahead but I am committed to working constructively with others to ensure a positive year for all our people.’

Adams comments on released British government papers and Thatcher threat to Dundalk
On 30 December, Sinn Féin Louth TD and leader Gerry Adams commented on the release of government files in which British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher asked the then Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald, `what would you say if Dundalk were bombed?’.
Mr Adams said that as British Prime Minister, Mrs Thatcher `knew intimately of the involvement of the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) and its Special Branch, the UDR (Ulster Defence Regiment) and of British military and intelligence involvement in illegal and covert actions which killed Irish citizens.’
He said `collusion involving British state forces and unionist paramilitaries led to the deaths of hundreds of citizens on the island of Ireland. Eleven years prior to the meeting between Thatcher and Fitzgerald in Europe the British had already participated in the Dublin Monaghan bombings which killed 33. Almost exactly ten years before Thatcher’s query about bombing Dundalk, British state collusion had already led to the attack on Kay’s Tavern in Dundalk which killed Jack Rooney and Hugh Watters and wounded scores of others. Local man Seamus Ludlow was another victim of this British policy.’
Mr Adams went on to say `within two years of the meeting between Thatcher and Fitzgerald, the British government helped unionist paramilitary groups bring in hundreds of rifles, handguns, hand grenades and some rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) which resulted in a significant escalation in the sectarian murder campaign of the UDA, UVF, Red Hand Commando, and Ulster Resistance. Hundreds died, including members of Sinn Féin.’
He said the papers `make it clear that British government policy was primarily security driven. The Anglo Irish Agreement was essentially about securing greater Irish government support for this policy. On the back of a decision that the Ulster Defence Regiment would in future be accompanied by the RUC – a decision that was received with scorn from nationalists in the north – the Taoiseach announced that the ‘nationalist nightmare’ was over.’
He said the Irish government’s `short sighted policy helped sustain violence for years to come. It wasn’t until the Hume/Adams negotiations and the emergence of the Irish peace process that a new dynamic and a new opportunity was created to end violence.’
The Louth TD added: `The British government’s refusal to properly address the legacy of the past stems largely from its concern that the illegal actions of its military, intelligence and political leadership will be exposed. The Cameron government’s refusal to hold the Pat Finucane Inquiry or provide information in its possession on the Kay’s Tavern and other attacks in this jurisdiction, is to protect those who killed on its behalf and with its sanction.’

Time for action to combat discrimination and violence against women
On 6 January Sinn Féin MEP Liadh Ní Riada addressing law students in Kerry said, `securing full equality for women and girls means closing the gender pay gap, seriously tackling domestic and gender-based violence, and rolling back on austerity measures, which disproportionately affect women’.
The Sinn Fein MEP said that latest figures from the European Commission showed that women in Ireland were paid 14% less than men. The pay gap had in fact `widened over the last number of years, which must be seen as a failure of government policy’, she said, adding `while other EU countries have developed and implemented strategies to tackle this issue, successive Irish government has presided over a worsening situation’.
She said that `services and supports for women experiencing domestic and gender-based violence have been cut over the past number of years. Rape crisis centres and women’s refuges are struggling to survive due to funding cuts, despite seeing an increase in demand. The recruitment embargo has effectively stalled our social care and family support services.’
Further cuts in the health service and welfare system had `disproportionately affected women, and the ever-growing housing crisis is hurting families’, she added.
She concluded: `slow progress towards equality and fairness made by Irish women is being rolled back under this Government as with the previous one. For all its talk of quality and recovery, it has little interest in improving the lot of women. The coming general election will give the Irish people an opportunity to bring about political change, and elect a fresh government, that will prioritise social services, fairness and equality. Sinn Féin is ready to lead such a Government.’

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

Sinn Fein MPs and London Office wish Week in Review readers a very happy New Year

Sinn Fein
Week in Review
10-17 December 2015

Governments must live up to their responsibilities on legacy issues
On 14 December Sinn Féin MLA Martin McGuinness urged the British and Irish governments to `live up to their responsibilities’ on dealing with the legacy of the past.
Mr McGuinness was speaking after meeting members of the Justice For the Forgotten campaign group in Dublin to update them on the recent negotiations and the refusal by the British government to live up to its responsibilities on dealing with the past. He said there was `an onus’ on the British government `to address the legacy of the past’.
He said the `blanket veto’ of ‘national’ security `on releasing files to the families of victims about the activities of British state forces, agents and their proxies in unionist death squads’ must end.
Sinn Féin had, he said, brought forward two proposals `that would allow maximum disclosure based on three basic principles including the right to life’. He added, `the creation of an independent international panel of three judges to adjudicate on disputes around disclosure or to give full discretionary powers similar to those of the Police Ombudsman to the director of the HIU about the release of information.’ However, he said `the only thing the British Secretary of State has offered families is the right to an appeal, which they already have’. This fell `way short of what is required from the British government to deal with the issue of legacy of the past’.
He said the Irish government also `has a responsibility as co-guarantors of the Good Friday and subsequent agreements to challenge the British government over its continual failures to live up to its commitments on dealing with the past’.
Elsewhere on 15 December, Sinn Féin MLA Chris Hazzard also called upon Theresa Villiers to `bring forward genuine proposals on how the British government will meet its responsibilities on dealing with the past’.

PSNI must be free to investigate Bloody Sunday killings
On 17 December Sinn Féin Assembly Member Raymond McCartney said that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) needed to be `free to carry out a full and thorough investigation into the murders of Bloody Sunday’.
Mr McCartney said it had been `established that people shot and killed on Bloody Sunday were murdered and PSNI have a statutory duty to investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice’. He said the decision by the High Court in Britain that morning `to stop suspects being brought to the North for questioning is the latest in a long line of impediments put in the way of this investigation’.
He said the decision `doesn’t inspire confidence in the justice system and the PSNI need to be free to investigate these murders in the same way as they would with every other killing’ and concluded: `Sinn Féin will continue to support the families in their quest for truth and justice.’

Political institutions should work together to oppose austerity
On 10 December Sinn Féin National Chairperson Declan Kearney said the Executive in the north of Ireland should work with counterparts in Scotland and Wales `to provide political leadership to oppose Tory austerity’.
Mr Kearney made his comments, noting a Scottish Trades Union Congress event expressing `anti-austerity unity and support for workers’ rights at a public rally in Glasgow, involving Nicola Sturgeon, Jeremy Corbyn and Yanis Varoufakis’.
He said this example set by the STUC `could be replicated with a similar initiative in Belfast’. He said the `regional executives of Scotland, Wales and north of Ireland should now provide joint political leadership on the importance of maximum solidarity and coordinated opposition to Tory austerity by the Trades Union Congresses, churches, and regional business, employers and voluntary organisations’.
Declan Kearney said that a `fair recovery agenda’ should be `common ground for civic society and progressive parties across Britain and Ireland’, adding `a positive axis against austerity, spearheaded by the regional executives of Scotland, Wales and the north, supported by the British Labour Party, the TUCs in Britain, ICTU, Right2Change, and other civic stakeholders would be a game changer.’
He concluded: `this would represent a powerful challenge to the negative status quo which is ascendant in Britain and Ireland.’

Sinn Féin `can deliver universal health care’ – Adams
On 15 December Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams and party colleagues launched the party’s Universal Healthcare policy: Better4Health – A Sinn Féin Plan for Universal Healthcare.
Sinn Féin Health spokesperson, Caoimhghin Ó Caoláin TD, said Sinn Féin had a plan for its vision for quality, accessible, public healthcare system, a world-class system of universal healthcare, accessed on the basis of need, free at the point of delivery and funded by the available fiscal space.
He said the launch took place `against a backdrop of multiple crises across our hospital network and in our health services generally.’ He said the crisis for health services was `spelt out in clear and unequivocal terms by the Director General of the Health Service Executive (HSE) Tony O’Brien in an interview published at the weekend. The frustration, the exasperation of Tony O’Brien is clear in every sentence’.
He said `The HSE, he told us, has been on ‘death row’ since the current government took up office in 2011. And the headline summed it all up – there is ‘no plan’, there is ‘no money’ and there is ‘no vision for health’ where this and previous governments have been concerned. Frontline staff in our health services see it no differently.’
He urged Health Minister Leo Varadkar `to commit to a realistic recruitment and retention plan for nurses, not only in our Emergency Departments but across the health services generally’.
He condemned as a `disgrace’ the level of dependency on trolleys in Emergency Departments and on hospital wards and corridors, adding `the Minister for Health needs to move into a higher gear, if such exists, and have this shameful situation comprehensively addressed’.
He said the `crises and the unacceptable waiting lists for access to consultants, access to procedures, access to treatments, access to day case attendances, are all products of a public health system that is under-resourced, under-staffed and, sadly, poorly perceived’. The health system was, he said, `built on inequalities, fostered by the political interests of those parties that have overseen health budgets through the years’, adding `they have commended and nurtured the two tier system of access that allows those who can pay buy their way to the front of the queue, time after time after time, while those dependant on the public system languish in pain and wait and wait and wait’.
He said the `shameful’ and `immoral’ system had to end, adding `the private healthcare industry, for that is what it is, has piggy backed and sucked our public healthcare system dry as it seeks to feed its insatiable appetite for profits’.
He said Sinn Fein’s vision was `of a quality, accessible, public healthcare system, a world-class system of universal healthcare, accessed on the basis of need, free at the point of delivery and funded by progressive taxation’.
He concluded: `We have set out a pathway to universal healthcare. This is a carefully researched and costed plan and one, I believe, that will have the support and welcome of all who truly believe in equality, of all who are truly republican. I commend our new health policy proposals to wider scrutiny and to the wider and necessary debate that I anticipate will inform and convince more and more healthcare professionals and the wider public of not just the merits of our plan but of how essential it is for all our healths sake.’
Details of Sinn Fein’s universal healthcare plan can be found at www.sinnfein.ie

Sinn Féin will continue to oppose fracking – McMullan
On 16 December Sinn Féin MLA Oliver McMullan has said Sinn Féin will continue to oppose fracking anywhere on the island of Ireland.
Mr McMullan said the party had `been to the fore in opposing fracking throughout Ireland’. He said the party’s representatives `have opposed fracking in the Assembly, in the Dáil and in the European Parliament and will continue to do so’.
He said that as British MPs vote to allowing fracking under national parks and world heritage sites `it is important that we send out a clear and united message that this controversial method will not be used in Ireland’. He concluded: `not only do the Tories have a total disregard for the welfare of communities as evidenced by their austerity policies, it is clear that they also have a complete lack of regard for the environment’.
Elsewhere, Sinn Féin MEPs reiterated their opposition to hydraulic fracturing during a vote in the plenary session in Strasbourg. Speaking after the vote, Martina Anderson MEP said the resolution during the debate on the Energy Union re-emphasised `that the use ofhydraulic fracturing entails risks and negative consequences for the climate, the environment and public health, and threatens the achievement of the EU’s long-term decarbonisation goal’.
She added `The report went on to state that hydraulic fracturing is not a promising technology and urges the Member States to refrain from any shale gas exploration and exploitation activities.’
She said that Sinn Féin had `been front and centre of the anti-fracking campaign in Ireland, raising the issue in the Dail, Stormont and the European Parliament as far back as 2011’. She said it had been `proven on several occasions to be detrimental in terms of the environment, health, agriculture and climate and we will not support any motion, resolution or amendment that says otherwise.’

After Paris Agreement government must take the initiative on renewables
On 14 December, Sinn Fein Dail Deputy Michael Colreavy, urged the Dublin government to increase its support for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
Following the Paris agreement on climate change Deputy Colreavy said it was `essential that the government takes the issue of climate change seriously.’ He said a `major influence on how we tackle climate change will be how we approach the issue of energy’. Ireland, he said, still heavily relies on fossil fuel for its energy supply, with the majority of this being imported, and `in order to tackle climate change, Ireland must produce its own energy from renewable sources’.
Sinn Féin, he said, believed that the best way to develop renewable energy `is in conjunction with communities, and the government must provide supports for community energy projects’. He called for existing state companies such as Bord na Mona, Coillte and the ESB to `take a serious role in renewable energy production’.
He said Ireland the government `must take the initiative to develop renewable energy and save on energy emissions as a key part of Ireland’s infrastructure’, adding `there must also be a diversification in transport and it is time to look at several initiatives as to how to help the growth of electric vehicles’.
He concluded: `The agreement reached in Paris is an important step forward, but Ireland and other countries have far more to do reduce of dependence on fossil fuels and move towards a green, sustainable future.’

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

Sinn Fein
Week in Review
03-10 December 2015

Challenging Tory austerity the best way to tackle inequality – McCann
On 8 December Sinn Féin MLA and Junior Minister Jennifer McCann said challenging the `austerity agenda’ of the British government was `the best way to break the cycle of poverty and end inequality’.
Speaking at the launch of a new report on austerity and inequality, Ms McCann said that the north of Ireland `as a society emerging from conflict’ had `many difficult and enduring issues… such as poverty and inequality.
She said the British Government was `ideologically… driven by its determination to punish the poor through an austerity agenda which is having a devastating impact on family incomes and public services’.
Sinn Féin was `determined to defend core public services, to support indigenous businesses, to attract foreign direct investment, and to provide more and better jobs, particularly for our young people’, she said, adding `we have secured more than half a billion additional funding for the Executive plus flexibilities to be invested in growth and public services’. An agreed package of £585 million would `support the most vulnerable in our society and low-income families’.
She concluded: `we must break the cycle of poverty – and end inequality – by working together with a range of groups across society to challenge Tory austerity.’

Kearney welcomes trade union continued support for political institutions
In December Sinn Féin National Chairperson Declan Kearney welcomed a statement from the northern committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (NIC-ICTU) pledging continued support for the political institutions.
Mr Kearney said the trade union movement had played `a consistent and key role in supporting the peace process and the political institutions’. The NIC-ICTU public statement which emphasised the importance of stable political institutions brought about by the Stormont House Agreement Implementation Plan was `an important and constructive intervention’, he said.
He added that the statement welcomed the return of stability to the political institutions, and emphasised `continued opposition to the Tory government’s austerity policy of slashing the Executive’s budget and its policy of cutting public services’. He said that NIC-ICTU’s `leadership against the austerity agenda of the Tory government and its policies of targeting the poorest and most vulnerable in society’ was `essential to building widespread and cross community support’.
Sinn Féin, he said, agreed with the unions `that the British government, through its austerity policies, is to blame for the political crisis which faced the institutions’ and said the party `share their concerns over the failure of the Irish government to live up to its responsibilities made in previous agreements’.
He said the north faced `massive economic and social challenges’ and that the trade union movement had brought forward `strategic proposals, which can contribute to restructuring and growing the regional economy, tackling patterns of inequality and ensuring there is a fair recovery for all citizens’. Sinn Féin would `continue to engage with NIC-ICTU on these ideas.’
He concluded: `local trades unions along with other stakeholders in civic society have an important role to play in helping to develop future economic planning and policy for the North’, adding `Sinn Féin will continue to work with the leadership of the trade union movement to build a broad-based united opposition to austerity north and south, while setting out a vision for economic growth and a fair recovery.’

British government `must fulfil commitments on disclosure’
Last week Sinn Féin Assembly Member Gerry Kelly called upon the British government to fulfil its commitments to release information to relatives of those killed during the conflict.
Mr Kelly said that issues raised in a `Spotlight’ TV programme highlighted why agreement could not be reached on dealing with the legacy of the past during the recent negotiations, due to `the British government’s insistence on maintaining a blanket veto on the release of relevant information to families’.
He said that Sinn Fein had recognised `there were concerns about the release of some sensitive information and compliance with Article 2 obligations of the ECHR – the right to life – and that is why Sinn Féin brought forward genuine proposals to address any legitimate concerns’.
He said that `to address the clear imbalance between the British government’s national security concerns and the families’ right to have access to relevant information Sinn Féin put forward three key principles’. Sinn Fein’s proposals were:
That national security can never be used as a reason to withhold information in relation to deaths from the conflict;
That information should be disclosed to the maximum extent that it does not endanger anyone’s life;
And that information should be disclosed in a manner that does not impact on current methodologies around national security.
He concluded: `We feel that these principles, in conjunction with the two options offered by our party of full discretion regarding the release of information for the director of the HIU or the adoption of an independent international panel to adjudicate on disputes around disclosure issues offers a reasonable, practical and acceptable way forward for both the British government and for all families and victims.’

Election is a choice between the Fine Gael/Labour chaos or a progressive Sinn Féin led government – Adams
On 5 December the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle (National Executive body) met today to finalise major policy documents and discuss the forthcoming elections.
Speaking at the Ard Chomhairle, Sinn Féin President, Gerry Adams TD described as `laughable’ the Tanaiste’s assertion that the coming General Election would be `a battle of ideas between Fine Gael and Labour’.
He said the Labour Party had `rolled over on every principle that it enunciated during the 2011 election campaign and betrayed their mandate’ and that their leader `went as far as to say that Labour and Fine Gael share the common vision for the country, for which I presume she means the state’.
He said that it was `clear their shared, common vision includes the continued chaos in health and housing with lengthening housing waiting lists, growing homelessness and the continued scandal of trolley waits.’ He concluded: `the real choice will be between the failed policies of Labour, Fine Gael or a progressive government led by Sinn Féin. Such a government will end water charges and the family home tax and invest in prosperity and quality public services.’

Irish Unity Makes Sense – Adams
On 3 December Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD hosted conference in Dundalk, ‘A better future through unity’. The conference included a panel of economic experts including Dr John Bradley former Research Professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in Dublin; Michael Burke an economist and economic consultant; and Maggie Lennon Founder and Director of the Bridges Programmes.
The event focussed on the delivery of social and economic renewal in Louth and the potential of a single All-Ireland economy and what it could deliver in terms of greater prosperity and growth in our constituency.
Mr Adams set out measures Sinn Féin would introduce as part of a coherent strategy of building a sustainable, prosperous economy and a democratic united Ireland.
Teachta Adams said: `As an interim step towards the full integration of public services, Sinn Féin is seeking to ensure that departments in both jurisdictions work together to develop the joint delivery of public services. We want to establish a single, economic department and agency for Ireland, North and South, and implement an all-Ireland investment and jobs strategy.
We want to develop a Border Economic Development Zone to stabilise economic growth in the border region and to increase employment. Sinn Féin will publish an Integrated Economic Data Strategy for Ireland to support the integration of public services.
We want to upgrade infrastructure across the island. Sinn Féin’s plans also include; building SMEs to ensure that they deliver their full potential; developing agriculture, food and fish processing on an island-wide basis; and developing and implementing an integrated strategy for tourism and recreation.’

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

Sinn Fein
Week in Review
18-26 November 2015

Tory budget cuts will hit growth potential in North of Ireland
On 25 November Sinn Féin MLA and Finance spokesperson Daithí McKay said the outworking’s of the Tory Autumn Statement would see a real term 5.3% reduction in spending for the North of Ireland.
Mr McKay that instead of the cuts, `we need to boost our economy… the continual hollowing out of budgets by the Tories will lead to a further flat lining of economic growth in the north.’
He said this would `undoubtedly put further pressure on already stretched public services and job creation opportunities’ adding `we need to see fiscal policies that will stimulate the economy and it is quite clear that the Tories obsession with their cuts ideology is more important to them than economic realities and peoples jobs and livelihoods.’
Meanwhile Sinn Fein MP Mickey Brady was in Westminster that day to support pensioners protesting against Tory austerity and the devastating effects of cuts. Pointing to the high number of lives of older people lost through fuel poverty, he said that current pension provision was `among the meanest in the developed world’.

Political Institutions are best defence against Tory austerity
On 18 November Sinn Féin MLA and Assembly Minister Michelle O’Neill said the political institutions were `the best defence against the Tory austerity agenda’.
Ms O’Neill said negotiations had resulted in `a package of measures including an extra half billion in new money and also additional flexibilities to invest in public services and the economy’. She added, `we have negotiated a fund of £585 million over four years to support the vulnerable and working families’ which `will be used over four years to support the vulnerable and working families’.
She said the political institutions were the `best defence against the austerity agenda of the British government.’ She said the executive `can and is making a difference to the lives of people in the community’ concluding `we are the only vanguard against the Tory austerity agenda and we will continue to challenge that agenda at every turn.
Later on 20 November Sinn Féin MP Pat Doherty echoed her remarks, commenting that Sinn Fein had negotiated `to achieve the best deal possible for our people and to ensure stability for the political institutions as the best defence against Tory austerity’.
He said a return to direct rule would have meant `facing the imposition of Water Charges, massive hikes in Tuition Fees, the full imposition of the Tory Welfare Cuts without any protection whatsoever instead of the support we secured.’

Sinn Fein and trades unions `will continue to oppose austerity north and south’
On 20 November Sinn Féin national chairperson Declan Kearney led a party delegation to meet senior ICTU trade union leaders from North and South in Dundalk to discuss the Stormont House Agreement implementation plan.
Mr Kearney said that as part of Sinn Féin’s ongoing engagement with the trades union movement `we provided a detailed briefing on the negotiations which concluded earlier this week’. He said there was a `comprehensive discussion’ with the union leaders, `during which we highlighted that the extra half a billion pounds in new money and additional flexibilities negotiated which will be invested in public services and the economy’.
There was also discussion on the role of the panel set up under Professor Eileen Evason `to maximise use of the £585 million fund aimed at supporting vulnerable and working families’.
Mr Kearney said the Agreement had `averted a collapse of the political institutions and restored stability’ which were `the best defence against British Tory austerity policies’.
He said Sinn Fein remained `committed to using them as a bulwark against austerity, to protect core public services and jobs; and to attract further investment and grow the regional economy.’
However, he added, the agreement `is not an end in itself’, adding that the British government was `ideologically committed to further austerity, cuts in public services, privatisation, job losses, and dismantling of the welfare state’.
He said Sinn Féin had agreed with the trades unions `that we will continue working together to oppose these policies North and South by using our influence in the political institutions, civic society and local communities to build increased popular opposition against austerity and in support of a fair recovery.’

British Government should fund legacy investigations and inquests
Speaking on 26 November Sinn Féin MLA Raymond McCartney said the British government `should fund legacy investigations and inquests’.
Mr McCartney said there was a `state obligation’ on the British government to do so. He said the cases being investigated `happened during the period of direct rule so it is logical that the British government should pay the costs, not the Executive’.
This view, he added, was also shared by Nils Muiznieks, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights. He said the British government `cannot continue to use cost as an excuse to continue to deny truth and justice to families, some of whom have been waiting for up to 40 years’ and concluded `It is long past the time that the British government lived up to its responsibilities on dealing with the legacy of the past.’

* MPs Paul Maskey and Pat Doherty will host a meeting for MPs with the families of the victims of the McGurk’s Bar massacre in Parliament next week. The meeting and the visit of the families takes place on 2 December. For further information email jayne.fisher@parliament.uk

Sinn Fein oppose waste of Trident renewal plans
Sinn Féin MLA Chris Hazzard said British government plans to spend billions replacing Trident nuclear submarines were `an insult to all those struggling in the face of Tory austerity’.
Mr Hazzard said that the plans to spend £167 billion on replacing Trident nuclear submarines was a scandal and that that `the Tory cabinet of millionaires is doing this at a time when they are committed to punishing the poorest in our society through austerity cuts’.
He said it was `merely an expensive vanity project for David Cameron’s Tory government’, adding `renewal of Trident could potentially take billions out of the Executive’s budget’. The huge sums of money earmarked for Trident, he added, `would be much better spent here in the north protecting the most vulnerable, investing in frontline public services and growing the economy’.

Martin McGuinness pays tribute to Peter Robinson’s contribution
On 19 November Sinn Féin MLA Martin McGuinness paid tribute to Peter Robinson following the announcement that he is to step down as leader of the DUP.
Mr McGuinness said; `I have worked closely with Peter Robinson in the Office of First and Deputy First Minister since June 2008. During that time we have had a close and professional working relationship and, despite media perception it has always been courteous and amicable.’
He added `We have faced many challenges together and over the last number of months have worked very closely together to bring about the Stormont House ‘A Fresh Start’ deal. Despite our political differences, I recognise fully the enormous personal contribution Peter has made, building on the work of his predecessor, Dr Paisley.’
Mr McGuinness concluded: `I wish Peter and his family well for the future as he steps down as leader of the DUP. My colleagues and I will continue to work with Peter during this transition and his successor in the time ahead to complete the implementation of all commitments made in the agreement.’

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