May Day protest in Sligo - Resist the cuts

29/04/10

This Saturday, May 1, a demonstration has been organised in Sligo to protest against the Dublin government public service cutbacks. The protest, which takes place at 12 noon outside the offices of Sligo/North Leitrim Fianna Fáil TD Jimmy Devins in John Street, has been organised by the newly formed Sligo Workers Alliance.

Over the past 12 – 18 months there has been a systematic campaign by the administration in Leinster House and employers to reduce workers pay and living standards and to erode many of their hard earned rights and working conditions. Particularly abhorrent has been their attempt, cheered on by large sections of a compliant corporate media, to pit private sector workers against public sector workers.

Yet at the same time as they are imposing these cuts and slashing essential health and education services, they are pumping tens of billions of euros to bail out the banks through NAMA. This makes it all the more appalling that what passes for leadership in the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) have sold out their members once again by negotiating the Croke Park public sector pay and reform agreement with the Fianna Fáil led administration at the end of last month.

Speaking in advance of the demonstration éirígí Sligeach activist Gerry Casey urged trade union members to reject the Croke Park pay deal and urged all workers and the unemployed to support and participate in Saturday's protest.

Casey said: “The economic crisis this state is now in was not created by workers or by social welfare recipients. It was brought about by the greed and corruption of the wealthy political and business elite on this island. Workers and the unemployed must not now be made pay for it and any attempt to do so needs to be vigorously resisted."

Casey added: “The decision therefore of ICTU leaders to agree to the Croke Park pay deal at the end of March with the government is truly shameful and a betrayal of the interests of trade union members and indeed of all workers. It is astonishing that these people, who claim to represent the interests of their members, could agree to a deal that would have such a negative impact on the living standards and working conditions of public sector workers, would have major implications for their ability to take industrial action and would massively reduce the effectiveness of public services. Indeed, privatisation is inevitable in the public service unless a strong and defiant stand is now taken.”

“All of these cuts – cuts in pay, cuts in social welfare, cuts in essential public services such as health and education - are not only unjust in that they impact disproportionally on the less well off and low paid workers, but they are also completely unnecessary. The real agenda here is an ideological one. It is about taking on the trade unions and reducing their power and effectiveness and reducing workers pay and conditions in order to bail out the banks and to boost profits for employers.”

“Workers in the private sector who believe the right wing propaganda and swallow the line that cuts in public sector are necessary should examine very closely at what is happening. If these cuts are not reversed and further cuts are imposed, not only will it seriously damage the long term effectiveness of our public services which impacts on the lives of all workers, but the government and the employers will use it to drive down wages and conditions even further within the private sector. It will be used to drive down the minimum wage, minimum rates of pay and social welfare payments also.”

“The gains achieved for workers over the decades have never been granted willingly. They have always had to be taken by workers themselves. This battle is no different. This is a battle that will not be won by union leaders cosying up to the Dublin government and to employers. It will only be won by determined and sustained action in the workplace and on the streets.”

Casey concluded: “These cuts must be resisted vigorously. All workers and the unemployed should mobilise for Saturdays demonstration and let the government and the so-called “leadership” of the trade union movement that they have had enough and will not be made to pay for the failures of capitalism, for the greed and incompetence of the political and business classes and to bail out the banks. Resist the cuts – Resist the Croke Park pay deal.”

Gá le Gníomh ar Thinte Aitinn - éirígí

28/04/10

(English version follows)

Ghlaoigh urlabhraí éirígí Thír Chonaill Micheál Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig arís ar Chomhairle Chondae Dhún na nGall scéim traenála a bhunú le teagasc d’oibrithe deonacha na bealaí is fearr tinte aitinn a throid.

Tagann a ráiteas i ndiaidh tine aitinn eile Déardaoin seo caite i gceantar Bhaile na Finne, a raibh druidim bóithre, damáiste do shealúchas agus cur isteach mar thoradh orthu.

“Leis an mhéadú mhór atá ag teacht ar thinte aitinn ar fud Dhún na nGall de réir dealraimh sílim gur choir don Chomhairle Condae i gcomhar leis an tSeirbhís Dóiteáin machnamh a dhéanamh ar scéim traenála a sheoladh a thabharfadh an t-eolas d’oibrithe deonacha áitiúla le troid in aghaidh na dtinte atá ag déanamh an oiread sin damáiste agus cur isteach le tamall beag anuas,” arsa é.

“Le cúpla seachtain anuas chonaic muid tinte i gceantracha Bhaile na Finne, Ghaoth Dobhair, Anagaire agus an Chraoslaigh agus in áiteanna chomh fada óna chéile le Cúil Dabhcha in Inis Eoghain agus Bhaile Dhún na nGall. Is féidir a leithéid de thine a chur faoi smacht go gasta dá mbeadh an traenáil cheart ag daoine áitiúla le heachtra ar nós tine aitinn a láimhseáil. Thig leis na tinte sin cur isteach forleathan agus dochar timpeallachta ollmhór a dhéanamh má théann siad as smacht, mar a chonaic muid i gceantar Bhaile na Finne le déanaí. Nuair a tharlaíonn seo tá an tSeirbhís Dóiteáin sínithe chuig a n-acmhainn feidhmithe agus cuireann seo saolta i mbaol dá réir. Is draein mhór ar an cháiníocóir é freisin nuair atá an tseirbhís dóiteáin gafa i dtinte aitinn a throid.”

Chríochnaigh sé, “Dá mbeadh aonaid dheonacha againn leis an traenáil cheart le tinte aitinn a throid thiocfadh leo ansin measúnú a dhéanamh an dtig leo na tinte a thabhairt faoi smacht iad féin agus an bhfuil gá scairt a chur ar an tseirbhís dóiteáin. Ar mhaithe le leas an cháiníocóra, na timpeallachta agus an rud is tábhachtaí, saolta daoine, measaim go bhfuil sé ag dlí ar Chomhairle Condae Dhún na nGall machnamh dáiríre a dhéanamh air seo. Idir an dá linn ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an tseirbhís dóiteáin i dTír Chonaill agus an obair iontach agus dothuirsithe a dhéanann siad sa réigiún seo.”

Need for Action on Gorse Fires - éirígí

Spokesperson for éirígí Tir Chonaill, Micheál Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig, has called again for Donegal County Council to establish a training programme to instruct volunteers on the best methods of fighting gorse fires.

His comments come in the wake of another gorse fire last Thursday in the Fintown area which lead to road closures, damage to property and disruption in the area.

“Given the seemingly huge increase in gorse fires throughout County Donegal I think the County Council, in conjunction with the Fire Service, should give serious consideration to launching a training programme which would give local volunteers the know-how to fight the fires which have been causing so much damage and disruption in recent times,” he said.

“In the last several weeks alone we have seen fires in the Fintown, Gweedore, Annagry, and Creeslough areas and in places as far apart as Culdaff in Inishowen to Donegal Town. Fires such as these could quickly be brought under control if people who live local to the fire were properly trained in dealing with an event such as a gorse fire. Such fires can cause widespread disruption and huge environmental damage if they manage to get out of control, as we have seen in the Fintown area most recently. When this happens the fire service are then stretched to their operational capacity and this in turn puts lives at risk. Having the fire service tied up in fighting gorse fires is also a huge drain to the tax payer.”

He concluded, “If we had local volunteer units properly trained to fight gorse fires they then could make the assessment if they can bring the fires under control themselves and whether or not the fire service need to be called out. In the interests of the taxpayers, the environment and most importantly human lives, I think it it is incumbent upon Donegal County Council to give this serious consideration. In the meantime I would like to pay tribute to the fire service in Donegal and the fantastic and tireless work they do in the region.”

éirígí occupation of Anglo Irish Bank

26/04/10

Scores of people gathered on Saturday outside the headquarters of Anglo Irish Bank on St Stephen’s Green, Dublin, in support of six éirígí activists who were staging a symbolic occupation of the building.

éirígí spokesperson Daithí Mac An Mhaistír and Dublin City Councillor Louise Minihan were among those who chained themselves to railings within the headquarters of the failed bank. The action, which began at 10am and ended shortly after 2pm, was taken in opposition to both NAMA and the bank bailout scheme.

April 24 was chosen as the date of the protest as it marks the 94th anniversary of the start of the Easter Rising. It was on this day in 1916 that the Proclamation of the Irish Republic laid out a vision of Irish society that guaranteed equality for all. In contrast, in the Ireland of 2010, the interests of the golden circle are cherished above all others.

As Gardaí moved to cordon off the footpath in front of the bank, passers-by and motorists were keen to show their opposition to NAMA with both words and car horn beeps of support. As news of the occupation spread across the city, dozens of people made their way to Stephens Green. By 12 noon, the advertised assembly time for the protest, upwards of 60 people were outside Anglo Irish, carrying a variety of colourful placards, flags and banners.

Speaking from outside Anglo Irish, éirígí chairperson Brian Leeson called for a sustained campaign against NAMA, the bank bailout and the cuts to public services.

“The Twenty-Six counties is in crisis. Almost half a million people are unemployed while thousands more are being forced to emigrate, tens of thousands are waiting to be housed while countless properties lie idle and the health and education systems are chronically under-funded. And, in the face of all of this, the Dublin government’s sole focus is the protection of the banks and the business class.

“The time for polite debate has passed. We believe that the only way that NAMA, the bank bailout and the cutbacks can be defeated is through a campaign of mass civil disobedience. We hope that the CDPs, the sports clubs, the drug prevention schemes, the youth clubs and all the other organisations which have had their funding slashed in recent months will take it upon themselves to organise similar direct actions aimed at the disruption of the political and banking systems.

“Working people have many means at their disposal to force the Dublin government to reverse its unjust policies. Through rent and mortgage strikes, through mass public protest, through civil disobedience, through the withdrawal of labour we can collectively bring the NAMA Republic to its knees. And, in its place, we can build a country that will truly reflect the vision of the 1916 Proclamation.”

For more photos from the day, click here.

Bí leis an fhrithbheartaíocht do NAMA.

24/04/2010

(English version follows)

Ag meánlae Dé Luain 24ú Aibreán 1916, tháinig Pádraig Mac Piarais amach as Ard-Oifig an Phoist agus léigh os ard Forógra 1916 Phoblacht na hÉireann, ag maíomh gur ‘ceart ceannasach dochloíte é ceart mhuintir na hÉireann chun seilbh na hÉireann’ agus ag gealladh go mbeadh an phoblacht nua “chomh ceanúil céanna ar chlann uile an náisiúin”.

Ceithre bliana is nócha níos moille, tá aisling na ndaoine a shínigh forógra 1916 stiallta. Tá na Sé Chondae fós faoi smacht Gall agus tá stat na Sé Chondae Fichead anois tiontaithe ina Phoblacht NAMA, ag daoradh na nglúnta faoi fhiacha ollmhóra.

I dTír Chonaill tá breis agus 21,000 duine go fóill gan post. Bhí ar chuid mhaith eile imeacht ar an bhád bhán, go háirithe daoine óga, nach bhfuil ábalta maireachtáil i ndiaidh na ngiorruithe móra ina n-íocaíochtaí leasa sóisialta. Tá an bochtanas ag méadú. Tá slad déanta ar ár dtionscail iascaireachta agus feirmeoireachta. Forchuireadh giorruithe fiáine ar ár seirbhísí sláinte agus oideachais áitiúla.

Níl a fhios ag aon duine, rialtas Átha Cliath san áireamh, cén méid a chosnóidh NAMA agus scéim tharrthála na mbancanna sa deireadh, ach seans maith go sáróidh sé céad billion euro. Is é sin €100,000,000,000 ar chóir a chaitheamh ag cruthú postanna, ag díothú bochtanais agus ag aisiompú na ngiorruithe i bpá, leasa sóisialta, sláinte agus in oideachas. Ina áit rachaidh sé isteach i bpócaí na mbaincéirí príobháideacha ar fud na hEorpa agus níos faide i gcéin.

Ní féidir ach le muintir na hÉireann iad féin bac a chur ar NAMA, trí dhul ar na sráideanna agus fanacht ar na sráideanna; trí dhul ar stailc; trí dhiúltú cáin a íoc; trí dhiúltú bheith faoi cheannas aicme polaitiúla truaillithe; trí phoblacht dhíomách NAMA a chur faoi chois.

Díreach ceithre bliana is nócha i ndiaidh Éirí Amach 1916 a thosaigh ar 24ú Aibreán tá éirí amach nua de dhíth ar mhuintir na hÉireann chun aisling 1916 a chur i gcrích. Ná fan ar duine eile é a dhéanamh. Bí leis an fhrithbheartaíocht do NAMA.

Join the Resistance to NAMA

At midday on Easter Monday April 24th 1916, Padraig Pearse stepped out of the GPO and read aloud the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic, declaring 'the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland' and guaranteeing that the new republic would cherish “all of the children of the nation equally”.

Ninety four years later, the dream of those who signed the 1916 proclamation lies in tatters. The Six-Counties remain occupied by Britain while the Twenty-Six County state has been turned into a NAMA Republic, enslaving generations to come with massive debts.

In Donegal, 21,000+ people remain unemployed. Many more have been forced to emigrate, particularly young people, unable to survive following massive cuts in their social welfare payments. Poverty is on the increase. Our fishing and farming industries have been decimated. Savage cuts have been imposed in our local health and education services.

Nobody, including the Dublin government, knows how much NAMA and the bank bail out scheme will ultimately cost, but it may well exceed a staggering one hundred billion euro. That is €100,000,000,000 that should have been spent creating jobs, eradicating poverty and reversing the cutbacks in pay, social welfare, health and education. Instead it will go into the pockets of private bankers across Europe and beyond.

The only people that can stop NAMA are the Irish people themselves, by taking to the streets and staying on the streets; by striking; by refusing to pay taxes; by refusing to be ruled by a corrupt political class; by bringing the whole sorry NAMA republic to its knees.

Exactly ninety-four years after the 1916 Rising began on April 24th the people of Ireland need a new rising to make the dream of 1916 a reality. Don't wait for someone else to do it. Join the resistance to NAMA.

IPSC and éirígí Mark Palestinian Prisoners Day

21/04/10

The annual Palestinian Prisoners Day was marked in Dublin on Saturday [April 17] with a demonstration outside the Israeli Embassy. The protest was jointly organised by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) and éirígí.

Around 60 people attended the demonstration, including 15 éirígí activists.

It was part of a series of events being held in the Palestinian territories and worldwide to highlight the appalling conditions under which Palestinian prisoners are held in Israeli jails and to demand their immediate release. Demonstrations were held throughout the West Bank, east Jerusalem and in Gaza, where a protest and 24 hour fast were held at the offices of the Red Cross.

The Palestinian Prisoners Day protests took place within hours of the death of Palestinian prisoner Raed Abu Hamad in his cell at Eshel Prison. Hamad, who was serving a ten year sentence, had been in solitary confinement for the past 18 months and, according to his lawyer, had been continually denied medical treatment.

In the region of 7000 Palestinians are believed to be currently incarcerated in appalling conditions in Israeli jails. Around 300 of those are in what is known as “administrative detention” – in short, they have been interned without trial.

Those prisoners who were ‘convicted’ did not receive fair trials as they were subject to Israeli military law and had their cases heard in biased non-jury military courts, making a mockery of Israel’s claims to be a ‘liberal democracy’. Among those detained are around 300 children, and according to human rights organisations, that figure is on the increase.

The demonstration was addressed by éirígí spokesperson Dáithí Mac An Mhaistír and IPSC spokesperson Freda Mullin Hughes. While the demonstration at the Israeli embassy demanded the release of ALL Palestinian political prisoners, both speakers paid a particular focus on the cases of two individuals abducted and held as prisoners by Israel in order to highlight the ill-treatment of Palestinians at the hands of the zionist state’s so-called ‘justice’ system – the cases of Ahmad Sa’dat of the PFLP and Abdallah Abu Rahmah of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall.

Speaking at the demonstration, Daithí said, “There is a strong tradition of solidarity between Irish republicans and Palestinians, especially when it comes to the issue of prisoners.

“That political prisoners have been and continue to be a feature of the political life of Palestine and Ireland is emblematic of the failed nature of attempts to pacify an occupied people.”

He concluded: “While it is important for us to show solidarity with Palestinian prisoners, what is far more important is that we work in whatever way we can to support the Palestinian resistance and help end the occupation.”

Click here for Daithí's full speech at the demonstration.

For more pictures of the protest click here.

Dublin Reacts Against Racism

18/04/10

On Saturday April 10, more than 1,000 people took to the streets of Dublin to unequivocally oppose racism and recent racist incidents.

The march, which included a contingent of around 15 éirígí activists, as well as community groups, African cultural organisations, trade unions and other left-leaning political parties, was organised by the friends and family of Toyosi Shitta-bey, the 15-year-old boy who was murdered in a racist attack on April 2 in Tyrrelstown, Dublin.

Commencing at the Garden of Remembrance, the march was addressed by, among others, a cousin of Toyosi Shitta-bey on behalf of the family, Rosanna Flynn from Residents Against Racism and by a representative of the Chinese community in Ireland.

Following the speeches, the march made its way down O’Connell Street towards Leinster House.

After the rally, éirígí spokesperson Brian Leeson said: “Hundreds of people have spoken with their feet today and the message is loud and clear – there is no place in Irish society for racism or racists.

“This march was a great show of strength against the bigots and fascists who try to blame society’s ills and issues such as an economic depression on those who look differently to them, or come from a different culture, instead of blaming the real culprits – the bankers, developers and golden circle politicians.

“As well as racist attacks, it is equally important to oppose the racism that emanates from the state that has led to children being deported and others locked up or living in poverty.”

Brian continued: “The only society worth building is one that will treat all citizens equally, regardless of their skin colour, background or religion. In the meantime, éirígí will continue to oppose racism and sectarianism wherever and whenever they raise their ugly head.”

Fógraíonn rialtas Bhaile Átha Cliath cogadh aicmeach

15/04/10

(English version follows)

Ar an Mháirt, neamhbhailigh an tAire Airgeadais 26 contae Brian Lenihan an miotas go bhfuil muid inár gcónaí in eacnamaíocht daonlathach leis an fhógra, atá i bhfad ó dhaoine a bheith ardcheannasach, go mbeadh siad ag íoc fiachais bhancanna phríomháideacha leis na blianta fada ag teacht. Tríd a ghníomhartha, dheimhnigh an tAire Lenihan an díspeagadh atá ag an bhunaíocht pholaitiúil do na daoine a thoghann iad.

Tá sonraí an bhannú amach sa bhreis ar an chóras baincéireachta go huile is go hiomlán treascach sa scála atá aige: iomlán €21 billiún chun córas teipthe agus corbach a shábháil.

Ón iomlán seo, cuirfear €8.3 isteach i mBanc Angla-Éireannach, áilleagán na bhforbróirí réadmhaoine is mó an stáit 26 contae le fada an lá. Ní stopann sé ansin ach an oiread, mar d’fhógair an tAire Lenihan go mbeidh €10 billiún sa bhreis ag teastáil do AIB amháin. Roimh fhógra an Mháirt, bhí €4 billiún d’airgead an cháiníocóra faighte ag AIB. Chun an €21 billiún seo a chur i gcomhthéacs, bhí €23 billiún ar an bhuiséad sláinte agus ar an bhuiséad oideachais le chéile, sa bhliain inar aontaíodh ar an scéim bhainc ráthaithe.

Mothófar torthaí an chinnidh seo le tamall fada; tugann a lán daoine aghaidh ar dhífhostaíocht, laghdú ar sheirbhísí poiblí agus leibhéil arda fhiachais do na glúinte ag teacht.

Ar fud na hÉireann, tá leath mhilliúin daoine as obair, agus i nDún na nGall amháin tá 21,000 dífhostaithe agus iallach ar níos mó dul ar imirce.

Ar an Mháirt, aistríodh iasachtaí mhéad mhór de na forbróirí réadmhaoine seo, ar a d’fhreastal beagnach gach uile duine acu ar phuball thiomsaithe airgid Fhianna Fáil ag rásaí na Gaillimhe i rith blianta an bhorrtha, isteach i NAMA. Bhoilscigh na forbróirí seo, éascaithe ag a n-eite pholaitiúil i bhFianna Fáil, an bolgán réadmhaoine, ag cur iallach ar na mílte teaghlaigh mórgaistí 100% a thógáil amach ar thithe ró-luachmhara. Caithfidh na teaghlaigh sin íoc as an saint cearbhachais seo anois.

Tá toradh na scéime bhainc ráthaithe Mheán Fhomhair 2008; scéim a thug Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, An Comhaontas Glas agus Sinn Féin tacaíocht do, soiléir anois.

Ráthaíodh iasachtaí agus éarlaisí na mbancanna go léir an oíche sin i Mí Mheán Fómhair 2008 le beagán sonraí ar staid chruinn leabhar iasachta na mbancanna. Tá aon chosúlacht ar dhaonlathas scriosta go mór mór agus an t-aon rud atá á ofráil ná an mantra traochta Thatcherite, ‘Níl aon rogha eile’.

Ní féidir leis na páirtithe céanna a chur isteach sa chás seo muid agus a vótáil ar son na scéime seo nár thóg muid áit ar bith ach ar thuar tubaiste, ligeaint orthu gur mhalairt radacach iad – beag beann ar má tá siad taobh istigh nó taobh amuigh den rialtas sna 26 contae.

Ba chóir do vótálaithe i nDún na nGall cuimhniú ar an fhíric sin don fhothoghchán atá ag teacht suas.

Is cosúil nach bhfuil aon rogha eile ar bhannú amach lucht an airgid agus cumhachtach i sochaí na hÉireann leis na billiúin euro d’airgead an cháiníocóra, fad is atá oibrithe, a chruthaigh an saibhreas, coinsínithe go dtí scuainí an Leasa Shóisialaigh. Le rátaí arda dífhostaíochta, tá bainisteoirí ag úsáid an cúlú eacnamaíochta chun iarracht a dhéanamh pá agus coinníollacha oibre a fhórsáil síos dóibh siúd atá fós ag obair.

Fógraíodh cogadh ar oibrithe a chaitheadh leo arís mar fhostaithe scallta sa mheaisín déanaimh bhrabúis. Go mbeadh an méad ollmhór maoiniú seo ar bhannú amach ar fáil anois chun an córas baincéireacht caipitileach a shábháil, taispeánann sé bréag ar an tuairim nach bhfuil go leor airgid sa sochaí chun aire a thabhairt do riachtanais shóisialta daoine.

Is bréag é go bhfreastalaíonn an saghas pobail seo ar riachtanais éinne seachas mionlach beag. Caithfidh muidne, na hoibrithe, an pointe tosaigh a thógaint inár dtuiscint ar an fhíric seo gur iad an lucht oibre amháin cruthaitheoirí an saibhris agus is tríd dúshaothrú go n-imíonn an saibhreas amach as a smacht agus isteach i smacht an chaipitlí. Agus níos tábhachtaí fós, caithfidh muid tuiscint go léiríonn an bannú amach bainc seo fianaise lom agus cáineadh, dá mbeadh níos mó fianaise ag teastáil, ar an fhírinne, i sochaí cosúil leis an cheann seo, go bhfuil coimhlint dothaifithe idir leasanna na haicme chaipitleach agus an lucht oibre.

Is é tasc shóisialaigh agus phoblachtánaigh anois ná chun teacht ar bhealaí chun an réaltacht seo a aibhsiú do na hoibrithe agus daoine dífhostaithe atá mar íospartaigh den chaipitleachas.

Taispeánadh an sliocht tuairimí seo le úrlabhraí éirígí Mícheál Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig in eagrán Dhomhnach na Cásca 5ú Aibreán 2010 Dún na nGall i nuachtán an Domhnaigh. Cliceáil anseo chun é a fheiceáil.

Dublin government declares Class War

On Tuesday, the Twenty Six County Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan exploded the myth that we live in an economic democracy with the announcement that, far from the people being sovereign, they would be paying the debts of private banks for decades to come. By his actions, Minister Lenihan has confirmed the contempt in which the political establishment holds the very people who elect them.

The detail of the further bail-out of the banking system is truly staggering in its scale: a total of €21 billion to rescue a failed and corrupt system.

Of this total, €8.3 billion will be pumped into Anglo-Irish Bank, for so long the play-thing of the Twenty-Six County state's biggest property developers. It doesn't end there either, as Minister Lenihan announced that a further €10 billion will be required for AIB alone. Prior to Tuesday's announcement, AIB had already received €4 billion of taxpayers' money. To put this €21 billion in context, the combined health budget and education budget in the year that the bank guarantee scheme was agreed was €23 billion.

The consequences of this decision will be felt for a long time; the mass of people face unemployment, reduced public services and chronic levels of debt for generations to come.

Across Ireland, there are now half a million people out of work, while, in Donegal alone, 21,000 are unemployed and many more are being forced into that most Irish of career moves – emigration.

The right of the people to quality healthcare, housing and education is being made subordinate to the interest of banks, speculators and developers. Workers pension rights are being sold off so that the fat-cats that bankrolled Fianna Fáil for decades can be saved.

On Tuesday, many of these property developers, almost all of whom regularly attended the Fianna Fáil fundraising tent at the Galway races during the so called boom years, had their loans transferred into NAMA. These developers, facilitated by their political wing in Fianna Fáíl, simply inflated the property bubble, forcing thousands of households to take out 100 per cent mortgages on homes that were incredibly over-valued. These householders are now expected to pick up the tab for this gambling greed.

The consequences of the bank guarantee scheme of September 2008; a scheme that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Green Party and Sinn Féin all supported, is now painfully evident. The loans and deposits of all banks were guaranteed on that September night in 2008 with little detail provided as to the exact state of the banks' loan books. Any semblance of democracy has been truly torn to shreds and all that is offered is the tired Thatcherite mantra, 'There is no alternative'.

The same parties that got us into this situation and who voted for a scheme that has led us nowhere but to the brink of disaster cannot now pose as a radical alternative – regardless of whether they are inside or outside of government in the Twenty-Six Counties.

Voters in Donegal should keep this fact in mind for the upcoming by-election.

No alternative, it seems, to bailing out the rich and powerful in Irish society with billions of euro of taxpayers’ money, while workers, who actually created the wealth, are consigned to the dole queues. With high rates of unemployment, bosses are using the recession to try and force down the pay and working conditions of those still in work.

War has been declared on workers who are being treated once again as mere cogs in a profit-producing machine. That these egregious amounts of bail out funds can be made available now to rescue the capitalist banking system gives the lie to the notion that there is not enough money in society to take care of the social needs of people.

It is a lie that this type of society serves the needs of anyone but a small minority. We, the working people, need to take as our starting point in our understanding of this the fact that it is the working class alone who are the creators of wealth and that it is only through exploitation that wealth passes out of their control into that of the capitalist. Most importantly, we need to understand that this bank bail out presents stark and condemning proof, if ever more proof were needed, of the fact that, in this type of society, there is an irresolvable conflict between the interests of the capitalist class and those of the working class.

The task for socialists and republicans now is to find ways of highlighting this reality to the working and unemployed people that are the victims of capitalism.

This opinion piece by éirígí Tír Chonaill spokesperson Micheál Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig appeared in the Easter Sunday edition April 5 2010 Donegal on Sunday newspaper. Click here to see it.

For what died the sons of Róisín? Smash the NAMA Republic

12/04/10

Protest 12pm, Saturday 24th, Anglo Irish Headquarters, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin.

At midday on Easter Monday April 24th 1916 Pádraig Pearse stepped out of the GPO and read aloud the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic. The Proclamation declared ‘the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland’ and guaranteed that the new republic would cherish ‘all of the children of the nation equally’.

Ninety-four years later the dream of those who signed the 1916 Proclamation lies in tatters. The Six Counties remain under British occupation while the Twenty-Six Counties has been turned into a NAMA republic which has enslaved generations to come with massive debts.

Nobody, including the Dublin government, know how much NAMA and the bank bale out scheme will ultimately cost, but is may well exceed a staggering one hundred billion euro [£88 billion]. That is €100,000,000,000 that should have been spent on hospitals, schools, homes and employment which will instead go to private banks in Ireland, Europe and beyond.

In advance of the ninety-fourth anniversary of the 1916 Rising on April 24th, éirígí have produced a ‘Proclamation of the NAMA Republic’ to highlight the contrast between the Ireland of 2010 and the Ireland envisioned by the signatories of the 1916 Proclamation.

Within this satirical document the names of the 1916 signatories have been replaced by Brian Cowen, Sean Fitzpatrick, John Gormley and the other architects of the current economic depression. And the aspirations of freedom, equality and justice contained within the 1916 Proclamation have been supplanted by the slavery, inequality and injustice espoused by the political establishment. The ‘Proclamation of the NAMA Republic’ can be seen here.

It is now crystal clear that the only people that can stop NAMA are the Irish people themselves, by taking to the streets and staying on the streets; by withdrawing their labour; by refusing to pay taxes, rents and mortgages; by refusing to be ruled by a corrupt political class; by bringing the whole sorry NAMA republic to its knees. The time for quiet talking and polite debate has passed. The time for action is upon us. The very future of Ireland and the generations to come are at stake.

Ninety-four years to the day after the 1916 Rising éirígí is organising a public protest outside of the headquarters of Anglo Irish bank on St Stephens Green. The protest will begin at midday on Saturday April 24th. All are welcome. Bígí Linn.

éirígí Statement on British General Election

09/04/10

With a Westminster election due to take place on May 6, éirígí wishes to take this opportunity to place its view of these elections on the public record.

In the policy paper ‘Elections, Elected Institutions and Ireland’s Revolutionary Struggle’, éirígí has already comprehensively outlined its view of the role that elections can play in the battle for Irish national and social freedom. That document states that “éirígí believes it is possible for a revolutionary party to move closer to its objectives by tactically contesting elections and tactically participating in specified elected institutions.”

With regard to the upcoming Westminster election, the question is, therefore, a tactical one, summed up with the simple question ‘Will the contesting of these elections bring Irish republicanism closer to, or further from, its objective?’

éirígí believes that the answer to this question lies in accurately assessing the objective strength of Irish republicanism at this point in its historic struggle. Without such an assessment, it is impossible to navigate the future direction of the republican struggle and the role that elections might, or might not, play in that struggle.

Irish republicanism has suffered a major defeat over the course of the last 15 years. For tens of thousands of Irish republicans, this period has been defined by disbelief, disappointment, frustration, anger and, all too often, despair. A once strong, confident Irish republicanism is now in a state of confusion, division and fragmentation.

The demand for Irish national reunification and independence has been removed from the political centre stage, only to be replaced by a petty sectarian squabble, with the British government happily acting as the arbitrator of the ‘settlement’. While it may be unpalatable to acknowledge this reality, that does not make it any less true.

It is éirígí’s view, however, that all is not lost. As a result of the determination and selfless work of political activists around the country, Irish republicanism is slowly emerging from this bleak period of its long and noble history.

But the process of rebuilding republicanism has, in historic terms, only just begun. It is a process that must have a bottom up approach and be centred in every working class community in Ireland. That is the only way that a new, radical republican movement, one that is capable of challenging the vested interests of occupation and exploitation, can emerge. This will be a long and arduous task; one that will take place out of the glare of the media spotlight. It will be a process that will often seem thankless and painfully slow-moving. But it is one that must be undertaken if republican objectives are to be secured.

This is the objective reality against which any republican participation in the upcoming Westminster elections must be evaluated. From its current position of weakness any republican participation in this election would, in éirígí’s opinion, be unwise.

Irish republicanism cannot afford to have its political agenda set by the elections of the political establishment. Participation in elections should only be considered from a position of relative strength, where the results are likely to advance the struggle and not retard it. For this reason, éirígí will not be contesting the forthcoming election, nor will it be supporting any non-éirígí republican candidates should they choose to stand.

Now is the time for republicans to focus on the process of rebuilding the ideas, the organisations and the wider movement that will bring about the victorious conclusion of the struggle for freedom and independence. For its part, éirígí will be continuing its work to repopularise the socialist republican message in working class communities and to nurture the still fragile green shoots of a resurgent Irish republicanism.

éirígí Sligeach mark anniversary of Easter Rising with wreath laying ceremony

08/04/10

A wreath-laying ceremony took place on Easter Monday at the Republican plot in Sligo cemetery to mark the 94th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising. Wreaths were laid at the plot on behalf of éirígí Sligeach who organised the event. The Sligo Roll of Honour, the 1916 proclamation, the 1919 Declaration of Independence and the 1919 Democratic programme were also recited.

Speaking at the ceremony, local éirígí activist Gerry Casey said that the political establishment north and south of the border had completely abandoned the ideals of those who fought and died in the Easter Rising.

Casey said: “Ninety four years on from the 1916 Rising, the sad reality is that the national and social ideals that these brave women and men fought and died for has been abandoned by the political classes on both sides of the border.”

He added: “The British occupation continues. British troops and a British paramilitary police force remain in Ireland. British rule is now shamefully administered in the six counties by the Stormont executive that includes many who at one time opposed the British occupation of Ireland.”

“We live in a society where mass unemployment and poverty is rife and increasing. Workers and working class communities have suffered enormous hardship as a result of savage cutbacks in pay, social welfare and the provision of essential public services imposed by callous anti-worker administrations in Leinster House and Stormont.”

Casey concluded: “For our part, éirígí remain committed to working towards and achieving the goals of those who fought and died during easter week 1916. That is, a united Ireland and the creation of a Democratic Socialist Republic, not a puppet parliament in Stormont. We will continue with our efforts to secure both a British withdrawal from our country and the overthrow of the capitalist system which is based on greed before need and which has caused so much pain and suffering for workers in Ireland and indeed worldwide.”

Other events were held by éirígí activists throughout Ireland over the Easter weekend to commemorate all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in their attempts to achieve British withdrawal from the island of Ireland and a Social Democratic Republic.

Several hundred people took part in the éirígí Béal Feirste commemoration in Milltown Cemetary on the Falls Road, while more than one hundred people took part in the éirígí Baile Átha Cliath commemoration at Glasnevin Cemetary.

éirígí activists also took part in commemorations and ceremonies in Donegal, Down and Wicklow remembering Irelands dead and marking the 94th anniversary of the 1916 Rising.

Cuimhníonn Béal Feirste ar 1916

07/04/10

(English version follows)

Bhailigh cúpla céad duine i mBéal Feirste Luan na Cásca [5ú Aibreán] le cuimhniú orthusan uilig a thug a saol ar son saoirse na hÉireann.

Ag teacht le chéile ag geataí Reilig Bhaile an Mhuilinn ar Bhóthar na bhFál, rinne an slua a mbealach chuig plásán poblachtánach Harbinson faoi threorú bhuíon fliúite poblachtach Chill Chaoil, áit ar cuireadh tús leis na himeachtaí.

Bhí leas-chathaoirleach náisiúnta éirígí Rab Jackson ina chathaoirleach ar an imeacht agus chuir sé tús trí bhéim a leagan ar na príosúnaigh phoblachtacha i gCarcar Mhaigh gCabraí, a thosaigh agóid in éadan na gcoinníollacha scáfara.

Léigh Maire Drumm, a raibh ina príosúnach polaitiúil in Ard Mhacha, léigh sí Forógra Phoblacht na hÉireann sular leagadh bláthfhleasca thar cheann chiorcal náisiúnta éirígí, éirígí Bhéal Feirste agus na n-iarchimí poblachtacha.

Léigh Pádraic Mac Coitir, iar-fhear pluide agus iarchathaoirleach ar Chumann Uaigheann na Laochra Gael, Béal Feirste, léigh sé an phríomh-oráid.

Chun téasc iomlán oráid Mhic Choitir a léamh, cliceáil anseo.

Belfast Remembers 1916

Several hundred people gathered in Belfast on Easter Monday [April 5] to remember all those who gave their lives in the cause of Irish freedom.

Assembling at the gates of Milltown Cemetery on the Falls Road, the marchers made their way to the Harbinson republican plot led by the Kilkeel republican flute band, where proceedings got underway.

éirígí national vice-chairperson Rab Jackson chaired the event and began by highlighting the plight of the republican prisoners in Maghaberry Jail, who had begun a protest against appalling conditions.

The Proclamation of the Irish Republic was read by former Armagh political prisoner Maire Drumm, before wreaths were laid on behalf of éirígí’s ciorcal naisiúnta, éirígí Béal Feirste and republican ex-prisoners.

The main oration was read by one-time blanketman and former chair of the Belfast National Graves Association Pádraic Mac Coitir.

To read the full text of Mac Coitir’s speech, click here.

This is Criticial Because This is Class War

03/04/10

The proponents of capitalism never tired of telling us how it is not the state’s role to interfere in the ‘free market’ – that economic competition between private producers and investors is key to economic growth.

They never tired of telling us that incentives, in the form of profits, were essential to convincing ‘bold entrepreneurs’ to take investment ‘risks’. They never tired of telling us that this was the only way to successfully generate rising levels of economic growth and wealth that would, ultimately, it was argued, trickle down and benefit all of society. Nor did they ever tire of telling us that, if these investors happened to make bad investment decisions, then they alone would face the consequences; it was only fair that, in the same way as they were handsomely rewarded for the successful risks they were taking, so too should they suffer the losses when their investments failed. That is some of the logic of capitalism. So the theory went anyway.

On Tuesday [March 30], the Twenty Six County minister of finance Brian Lenihan exploded that particular set of myths with the announcement in Leinster House, that, far from the people being sovereign, they would, in effect, be paying the debts of private banks for decades to come. By his actions, Brian Lenihan has confirmed the contempt in which the political establishment holds the very people who elect them.

The detail of the further bail-out of the banking system is truly staggering in its scale: a total of €21 billion [£18.7 billion] to rescue a failed and corrupt system.

Of this total, €8.3 billion [£7.4 billion] will be pumped into Anglo-Irish Bank, for so long the play-thing of the Twenty-Six County state’s biggest property developers. It doesn’t end there either, as Lenihan announced that a further €10 billion [£8.9 billion] will be required for AIB alone. Prior to Tuesday’s announcement, AIB had already received €4 billion [£3.6 billion] of taxpayers’ money. To put this €21 billion in context, the combined health budget and education budget in the year that the bank guarantee scheme was agreed was €23 billion [£20.4 billion].

The consequences of this decision will be felt for a long, long time; the mass of people face unemployment, reduced public services and chronic levels of debt for generations to come.

The right of the people to quality healthcare, housing and education is being made subordinate to the interest of banks, speculators and developers. Workers pension rights are being sold off so that the fat-cats that bankrolled Fianna Fáil for decades can be saved.

On Tuesday, many of these property developers, almost all of whom regularly attended the Fianna Fáil fundraising tent at the Galway races during the so called boom years, had their loans transferred into NAMA. Among them were Liam Carroll, Bernard McNamara, Seán Mulryan and Johnny Ronan, the playboys of the Celtic Tiger, lauded by the corporate media as the men who were taking the big risks to build a thriving economy. These parasites, facilitated by their political wing in Fianna Fáíl, simply inflated the property bubble, forcing thousands of households to take out 100 per cent mortgages on homes that were incredibly over-valued. These householders are now expected to pick up the tab for this gambling greed.

The consequences of the bank guarantee scheme of September 2008; a scheme that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Green Party and Sinn Féin all supported, is now painfully evident. Secret meetings between senior bankers and Dublin government ministers thrashed out a deal that was foisted upon an unsuspecting public. The loans and deposits of all banks were guaranteed on that September night in 2008 with little detail provided as to the exact state of the banks’ loan books. Any semblance of democracy has been truly torn to shreds and all that is offered is the tired Thatcherite mantra, ‘There is no alternative’.

No alternative, it seems, to bailing out the rich and powerful in Irish society with billions of euro of taxpayers’ money, while workers who actually created the wealth are consigned to the dole queues. With high rates of unemployment, bosses are using the recession to try and force down the pay and working conditions of those still in work. The deal agreed between ICTU negotiators and the Dublin government this week represents yet another shameful sell-out of public sector workers. It is utterly astonishing that union bosses are agreeing to a four year pay freeze and cuts in overtime for public sector workers while tens of billions is being spent bailing out the banks. The privatisation of sections of the public sector will follow unless workers demand that enough is enough.

This system has never been so clearly exposed as the fetter on human development it is as it was after Lenihan’s announcement. War has been declared on workers who are being treated once again as mere cogs in a profit-producing machine. That these egregious amounts of bailout funds can be made available now to rescue the capitalist banking system gives the lie to the notion that there is not enough money in society to take care of the totality of the social needs of people.

It is a lie that this type of society serves the needs of anyone but a small minority. We, the working people, need to take as our starting point in our understanding of this the fact that it is the working class alone who are the creators of wealth and that it is only through exploitation that wealth passes out of their control into that of the capitalist. Most importantly, we need to understand that this bank bailout presents stark and condemning proof, if ever more proof were needed, of the fact that, in this type of society, there is an irresolvable conflict between the interests of the capitalist class and those of the working class.

The task for socialists and republicans now is to find ways of highlighting this reality to the working and unemployed people that are the victims of capitalism. For it is only through effectively agitating and organising among our people that we will have a fighting chance of ever building the forces required for this economic system to be pulled off its hinges and a new, socialist one, built in its stead.

This is a critical task because this is class war.