Sinn Féin Building An Ireland Of Equals.

Sinn Féin Dáil motion to focus on Mental Health

27 June, 2014 - by Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD

Sinn Féin Health spokesperson Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD has announced that the party’s Private Members’ Time in the Dáil next week will be devoted to the issues of Mental Health and suicide prevention. Publishing the Sinn Féin Dáil motion, Deputy Ó Caoláin pointed to the report of the Mental Health Commission published earlier this week and which makes some alarming findings. Deputy Ó Caoláin said:

“The report of the Mental Health Commission shows that only 44% of psychiatric hospitals and mental health facilities are compliant with staffing level regulations.

“The Report also makes clear that since 2007, staffing in mental health services has been reduced by the implementation of recruitment embargoes and employment moratoriums. Such policies are endangering the delivery of confident and responsive community-based services as envisaged in A Vision for Change, the Government’s mental health strategy.

“It is also of huge concern that the Commission reports that children are still being admitted to adult units. There were 91 (22.3% of all child admissions) such admissions in 2013.

“Our motion seeks to re-focus the Oireachtas and public opinion on Mental Health and suicide prevention and on the need to implement A Vision for Change by ensuring sufficient resources and firm political commitment. We are seeking all-party support for our comprehensive motion.”

ENDS

Dáil motion:

That Dáil Éireann

Noting that


- mental health is an issue of vital concern to the nation in general and should be of special concern to policy-makers and legislators in particular

- mental health services must be designed and delivered to aid the recovery of the individual

- a person-centred approach is vital to the achievement of the best results

- the 2013 Annual Report of the Mental Health Commission, published on 25 June 2014, has highlighted many of the key issues and requirements for action by Government

Affirms

- its continuing commitment to the implementation in full of A Vision for Change

- its commendation of the work of the Mental Health Commission

- its support for the work of the National Office for Suicide Prevention

- its appreciation of those non-governmental organisations, national, regional and local who actively promote positive mental health and seek to reduce the incidence of suicide and self-harm

- its commitment to eliminate the stigma in relation to mental illness

- that the mental health of each citizen and of the nation as a whole is a positive resource that contributes to our general social, cultural and economic well-being

Calls on the Government to

- ensure a consistent high standard of care and support for all requiring access to mental health services

- provide for independent monitoring of the roll-out and progress towards full implementation of A Vision for Change

- commit to an annual allocation of €35 million for the development of community mental health teams and to make good any shortfall in any given year in the subsequent year’s allocation

- properly resource mental health services across the board, including the provision of appropriate and adequate staffing and with a key focus always on recovery

- promote awareness of the unacceptability of certain practices and continue to discourage their use e.g the application of ECT on detained persons against their will

- end the practice of admitting children to adult psychiatric units

- progress relevant legislative undertakings including completing the ongoing review of the Mental Health Act 2001 and to bring the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013 through Committee and remaining stages

- require the Health Research Board to again carry out a national survey of psychological well-being and distress, last carried out in 2005-2006, and to continue to conduct such a survey at regular two or three yearly intervals

- ensure a cross-departmental response to the risk of suicide and self-harm, including from the Departments of Health, Education & Skills, Children & Youth Affairs and Environment

- provide the necessary resources to establish and sustain a 24/7 crisis support service for people experiencing severe mental or emotional distress, to operate in conjunction with the local Community Mental Health Teams.

- arrange for greater co-ordination of all existing suicide prevention initiatives across all sectors and groups working in the area

- ensure the prioritisation of address of the mental health needs of marginalised communities

- guarantee that the new National Strategic Framework for Suicide Prevention will place mental health awareness among children and young people at the top of its programme

- provide an appropriate accessible alternative to general A&E presentation to victims of self-harm.

Sinn Féin Mountmellick – Serving The Community

Warning Sounded

RT 24/6/2014

Pesticides linked to honeybee decline are affecting other species, scientists say

Published time: June 24, 2014 19:50

Neurotoxic pesticides blamed for the decline of honeybees is also harming butterflies, worms, fish, and birds, and contaminating habitats worldwide which are crucial for food production and wildlife, scientists have concluded after a four-year assessment.

Societal regulations have not stopped habitats from being poisoned, said the analysis, despite neurotoxic pesticides already being held responsible for the global collapse in the bee population. 

“Undertaking a full analysis of all the available literature (800 peer reviewed reports) the Task Force on Systemic Pesticides – a group of global, independent scientists has found that there is “clear evidence of harm sufficient to trigger regulatory action,” a press release accompanying the report noted. 

Twenty-nine scientists from four different continents conducted the study, which found the unmistakable evidence of the link. 

“I think the only acceptable dose of this systemic pesticide is just nothing – zero,” said Dr. Jean Marc Bonmatin, a researcher at CNRS-CBM lab in France. “We are able, in this laboratory, to detect very, very small amounts of these neurotoxins. And as toxicologists, we are able to test these toxicants on drosophila – on bees – and so on. So we are able to see the effect of such tiny amounts of neurotoxins.” 

The pesticides referred to in the report are neonicotinoids (neonics) and fipronil. Farmers spend some US$2.6 billion on neonicotinoids worldwide every year. They are used as a general practice rather than a response to a pest problem. 

“The majority of the pesticide doesn't go into the crop at all,” said Professor Dave Goulson from the UK’s University of Sussex, who contributed to the study. “More than 90 percent of it goes elsewhere into the environment and they're really persistent in the environment.” 

Goulson said that cumulatively, we as humans are “contaminating the global environment with highly toxic, highly persistent chemicals.” 

“If all our soils are toxic, that should really worry us, as soil is crucial to food production,” he added.

Butterflies, bees, birds suffering...humans next?

In Marinduque, a province of the Philippines, the rural population practices butterfly farming to encourage the sustained pollination growth of local vegetation. “All the people here in the rural areas depend on the butterflies, and continued use of pesticides could destroy their livelihood,” said Elizabeth Lumawig-Heitzmann, director of Romeo Lumawig Memorial Museum. 

In addition to butterflies, maintaining bee and insect populations are necessary for the pollination of crops. “These days many people are completely detached from nature – they buy their food in a supermarket, they live in a city...biodiversity is vitally important for us,” said Bonmatin. 

Bees are affected because chemicals hurt their ability to both navigate and learn. Neonics can be 5,000 to 10,000 times more toxic to bees than DDT – which itself has been banned in agriculture. 

“The classic measurements used to assess the toxicity of a pesticide (short‐term lab toxicity results) are not effective for systemic pesticides and conceal their true impact. They typically only measure direct acute effects rather than chronic effects via multiple routes of exposure,” the report found. 

However, bees are not the only ones affected by the pesticides; birds and mammals which feed on the insects, as well as worms, are also harmed. Worms aerate soil, and chemicals can disrupt their ability to tunnel properly. 

Because birds eat insects and worms, declines in their populations can also lead to a loss in the birds feeding on them. The report also postulates that even eating only a few contaminated seeds may kill birds directly.

Insecticides and pesticides seep into rivers and streams from the fields they are used on. "Microbes, fish and amphibians were found to be affected after high levels of or prolonged exposure," the report said.


“Overall, a compelling body of evidence has accumulated that clearly demonstrates that the wide-scale use of these persistent, water-soluble chemicals is having widespread, chronic impacts upon global biodiversity and is likely to be having major negative effects on ecosystem services such as pollination that are vital to food security,” the study concluded. 

The report is part of a special edition of thepeer-reviewed journal 'Environmental Science and Pollution Research.' 

The EU has already placed a three-year ban on using three neonicotinoids (clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiametoxam) on flowering crops which bees feed on. However, they can still be used on winter crops. 

Pesticide manufacturers were critical of the study’s findings. “It is a selective review of existing studies which highlighted worst-case scenarios, largely produced under laboratory conditions,” said Nick von Westenholz, chief executive of the Crop Protection Association, before reiterating the need to “protect pollinator health.” 

According to Goulson, the focus has so far only been on honeybees. “It’s clear that the impacts of neonics are more profound than that,” he said, adding that the story stretches beyond bees “to all wildlife that lives on farmland.

Sinn Féin Mountmellick – Serving The Community

The Elections Are All Over.

Leinster Express 24/6/2014

Laois wind group make case in Europe

Laois Wind Energy Awareness Group Visit Brussels

 Funding doubts have emerged around planned wind farms in the midlands following the decision not to proceed with the inter-governmental agreement between Ireland and the UK.

A delegation from Laois Wind Energy Awareness Group recently visited Brussels and met with the DG Energy commission.

At the meeting Ray Conroy said that they understood that these projects cannot be marked as ‘dead’, but questioned could they ever be re-activated in their present format within the 2020 timeframe? “If for instance an Inter governmental Agreement was resurrected by ROI & UK in the near future, could these projects be back on track for funding, or would they have to re-apply to the commission?” he asked. All projects of common interest (PCIs) are able to apply for co-financing for studies or work, according to Olgerts Viksne of the European Commission.

“The prerequisite to apply for works is a cross-border cost allocation decision made by the regulators. However, the published work programme for 2014/2015 specifies that the priorities shall be given to PCIs and related actions aiming at ending energy isolation and eliminating energy bottlenecks, and at the completion of the internal energy market. It is not obvious that the ‘one way’ lines fall under these priorities and their contribution should be carefully assessed,” Mr Viksne said.

For files submitted before 16 November 2013, the provisions of permit granting chapter III shall not apply which means that the ‘old’ national permitting regime would apply for those projects. “It is up to national permitting authority to decide on the case by case basis if for a project the application file was submitted before the deadline or not. I would like to point out that the Art 19 relates only to the transmission projects and not to the wind generation projects. For wind generation part of the project the existing national permitting rules would apply,” Mr Viksne said.

“The project promoters informed us that the projects have been put on hold. As for all PCI which are included in the first Union wide list the projects would have to apply again for the second PCI list and the Regional groups would have to assess all submitted project proposals taking into account the cost benefit analysis made by ENTSO-E in the ten years network development plan. No PCI would automatically qualify for the second list. If the ‘stopped’ projects apply for the second PCI list the regional groups would have to take into account the fact that they will not progress in the near future.

Sinn Féin Mountmellick – Serving The Community

A Party On The Move.

Léargas

by Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Time to realign politics 

Today we are holding an internal party conference in Dublin. Those taking part are our new elected representatives and the party leadership. It has been a really good day and is preparing the party for the work to come.

This is my speech.

Fáilte romhaibh go léir.and the part

Ar dtus , ba mhaith liom mo chomhghairdeas a dhéanamh le na ceathrar MEP’s, nua tofa – Martina Anderson, Lynn Boylan, Matt Carthy agus Liadh Ní Riada, agus na dhá céad seasca is a ceathar (264) comhairleoirí a raibh tofa sa Thuaisceart agus sa Dheisceart ar an darna lá is fiche (22ú) agus tríú lá is fiche 23ú Bealtaine.

That is a significant achievement. But for Sinn Féin elections are not about simply playing the political insiders game.

If citizens want to judge Sinn Féin it cannot be just on how many votes we have. It has to be on the changes that we bring about. That is the only way to judge what we have achieved in the last 30 or 40 years. And on what we will achieve in the upcoming period.

For us electoral politics are about transforming society on this island, north and south. It is about putting the interests of citizens, as opposed to elites, at the top of the political agenda. All of you in this room are the elected representatives of the Irish republican ideal. That is both a challenge and a great honour.

 So, let us always be clear on who we are, what we stand for, and who we represent.

We need to know our core values. Our beliefs.

We need to be the very best that we can be at promoting these core values.

We need to know how to win support for these core values.

Initially this support may be passive. Most people become passive supporters before they become activists. It is our responsibility to convert passive support into active support so that citizens are empowered. So what does Sinn Féin stand for?

Sinn Fein stands for equality, for fairness, for economic justice — for the right of citizens to a home, to an education, to a job, to healthcare, to the pursuit of happiness.

We are freedom, equality and solidarity. We are against austerity.

Sinn Féin is for a united Ireland and we have the strategy to bring it about.

We are for the unity of Orange and Green, for civil and religious rights with tolerance and respect for all citizens.

And we are for the promotion of the Irish language as the common heritage of all on this island.

We are for an independent Ireland in a Europe that respects the rights of nation states and is based on principles of social solidarity.

Tá polasaithe Sinn Féin bunaithe ar na bunluachanna poblachtach seo.

As Sinn Fein continues to grow, we must always remember that our project is not about any one of us as individuals.It’s about the republican cause.

Standing United

There was a time, not so long ago, when it was very dangerous to be a Sinn Féin representative. Our leaders, councillors, election workers and their families were subjected to a brutal campaign of assassination. For some it remains dangerous.

Last week Martin McGuinness’s car was damaged. Others in the party get regular death threats. When Sinn Fein Councillors in the north were first elected they were denied their rightful entitlements, as were those who voted for us.

And for decades in this state Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Labour combined to exclude Sinn Féin Councillors from committees and delegations on councils. Indeed we were denied the use of public buildings for Ard Fheiseanna, including in my own constituency of Louth. They are still at it today.

Witness the alliance of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Labour conniving to carve up council positions for each other. It’s time Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil stopped pretending they are different. They are not. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are conservative soul mates. They should be in government together.

The challenge for Sinn Féin is to decide where we want to be in the medium to long term and chart a course toward this. That means we have to be very clear about our objectives and our strategies. That means we need to be more cohesive than ever before.

What we are trying to do is unprecedented. It hasn’t been done before and arguably it hasn’t been tried. Because what we are trying to do is to build in two parts of a partitioned island a national struggle that transcends the border; that doesn’t succumb to partitionism; that is cohesive and continuously moving forward even at times at an incremental pace.

It means supporting each other and working together as comrades and equals. It means working our party structures and ensuring that none of our elected comrades, especially  new councillors are left to muddle through policy matters. This is a two-way process. It means Councillors coming to us. It means Head Office and leadership providing support.

A lot of work to do

I said earlier that we need to decide where we want to be in the medium to long term. That is a subject we have to return to in a process of engagement across the party so that we can get a democratic consensus on these questions. So I won’t elaborate on that too much today.

But we can look forward to the immediate future. For example, two years from now we will have contested at least two by-elections, a Westminster election, a General Election and an Assembly election. We will have commemorated the centenary of the 1916 Rising.

We will have had to deal with huge challenges in the peace process and political process and ongoing negotiations. There is a large onus on us, who want Irish unity to persuade those who are unionist of the merits of this position. We also have a strong view that outside the issues of political allegiance there is potentially huge common ground between working class unionists, loyalists, nationalists and republicans. 

Notwithstanding the shortcomings of unionist leaders, Sinn Féin needs to engage with unionism in all its forms and sectors. Across the island and indeed internationally our position on social and economic issues is essentially a republican one. That is that, citizens have rights and society must be shaped on these core values in a citizen centred, rights based dispensation as opposed to privileges for the elites. 

For this reason we are anti-austerity and pro public services. We need to popularise these core values by developing policies, which can win public support. So there is a lot of work that needs to be done over the next two years. 

Sinn Féin has just come out of very good elections where483,113 people voted for the party and elected a record number of councillors and MEPs in addition to our team of TDs, MLAs, Senators and MPs. We are now the largest party on the island. There is growing support for our pro peace process/anti-austerity message and our all Ireland politics.   

We need to deliver. There will be an additional onus on us to do this where we hold power. We need to be radical and innovative in delivering for communities against the backdrop of the current economic crisis. 

The centenary of 1916 has the potential to have a significant influence on politics on the island. It creates an opportunity to focus on the question of Irish Unity and the real need for changing politics. We need to step up our work for the decade of centenaries.

We also need to keep building our party and to address some organisational weaknesses across the island. There are 3 Councils across the island where we didn’t get any Sinn Féin representative elected and 19 Local Electoral Areas (LEAs) in the 26 Counties where no one was returned.

There is also a growing disenchantment with the political process in the 6 counties and a decreasing turnout in the 26 Counties. This needs to be tackled.

Today we will discuss our national strategic objectives and start putting in place our political, electoral and organisational strategy and workplan for the next 2 years.

Our immediate priorities are:

·        Negotiations and dealing with difficulties in the political process and peace process.

·        By-elections and Westminster elections.

·        Preparations for a General Election and Assembly elections.

·        Preparations for the centenary of 1916 with a strong focus on Irish Unity.

·        Engage with unionism in all its forms, on issues of common ground.

The North

There is now widespread concern about the situation within the DUP. It is quite clear that the DUP does not appear to have the appetite for the challenge of dealing with the outstanding issues of flags, parades and the past in any serious way.,

Sinn Féin demonstrated very clearly during the Haass negotiations our seriousness and determination to find a way forward. We made compromises during those talks.

For any process aimed at resolving these issues to succeed unionist political leaders need to show a similar willingness. That has not been evident so far.

Despite this there does exist a window of opportunity to resolve the issues of flags, parades and the past. Sinn Féin will meet separately with An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and British Prime Minister David Cameron in the next few weeks.

Party leaders in the Executive have agreed an intensive round of talks and Sinn Féin is engaging positively in this process. However to be successful the Irish and British governments must become more engaged in upholding and fulfilling their obligations

We also need the continuing support of the US Administration, of political leaders on Capitol Hill and of Irish America.

Economic policy

Since the elections, Fine Gael, Labour, Fianna Fáil and media commentators say they will subject Sinn Féin’s economic policies to greater scrutiny. Tá muid an sasta faoi sin.

It would be great to have a real discussion about the need for a different economic approach. During the period of the Celtic Tiger Sinn Féin and especially our small dedicated group of TDs, pointed out the dangers of the developing property bubble and the potential for an economic crash.

We warned of the over-reliance on taxes from the property sector; of over dependency on construction; of the danger of auction politics. Others tried to outdo each other with promises of tax cuts.

Sinn Féin argued that the wealth of the Celtic Tiger should be used to create sustainable jobs, build infrastructure, and be invested in health and education.

We were ridiculed by the same people whose flawed greedy self serving policies collapsed the economy, forced hundreds of thousands out of work and almost half a million of our young people overseas. Sinn Féin was right then and we are right now.

We believe that it is possible to make the necessary deficit adjustments without harming families or frontline services by creating jobs, asking the wealthiest to pay more and by cutting waste from public spending.

The Property Tax, Water tax, removal of medical cards, cuts, mortgage distress and lack of social housing have pushed working people to the limit.

So, let’s see some scrutiny of the policy of Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil which says that for decades to come that our children and our grandchildren should be forced to pay for the greed of the bankers, developers and corrupt politicians.

Government Failure

This Fine Gael/Labour government promised a ‘democratic revolution’ but has delivered the same stale, old politics of the previous Fianna Fail-led government. They appoint cronies to state boards. Ministers favour their own constituencies for funding. They seek to control the banking inquiry by stuffing it with government TDs and Senators.

They ignore the hardship endured by the most vulnerable as a result of austerity. They take medical cards from the most vulnerable, fail the homeless, and cut services for the elderly, the sick and the young. They have betrayed the electorate.

Fianna Fail cannot provide a credible alternative to the Government because the government is already implementing Fianna Fail policy. Fianna Fail does not disagree with the Government on any of the major issues facing our citizens. Fianna Fail is an integral part of the 'Consensus for Cuts'. The Water Tax, for instance, was Fianna Fail’s idea.

Sinn Fein in Government

For our part Sinn Fein needs to be ready for government in this state on our terms, agree our policy priorities and political platform and our commitments need to be deliverable.

We are ambitious for change and believe we can deliver on jobs, housing and health. But we will not do what the Labour Party has done — we will not enter government merely to give cover to the agenda of conservative parties.

That’s the old failed political system. Citizens want fundamental change. Sinn Féin seeks to offer a viable, do-able, political alternative. This will not be achieved by the creation of yet another right-wing conservative party offering repackaged versions of past failed policies.

 Despite the fervent wishes of the conservative media this state does not need a ‘PDs Mark 2’, led by disgruntled Fine Gael TDs. The reality is that some combination of Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil has been in government since the foundation of this state.

But just as one-party Orange rule in the North is gone, the failed two-and-a-half party system in this state is going also. Today's gathering is further proof that Sinn Féin is now a major player in both states with policies and an expanding organization, which transcends partition.

It is time for a realignment of politics. Let those on the Irish left who really believe that a government without Fine Gael or Fianna Fail is possible begin working together towards that end.

Building new politics

Sinn Féin is committed to a new Republic, with new politics that puts fairness and equality at the heart of government. As we spearhead the building of a real political alternative throughout this island, we must remain radical, rooted, relevant and republican.

People are increasingly looking to us for leadership and to provide hope for the future. That is our task comrades. That is your task. Let us get to it. Ar aghaidh linn le cheile!

Sinn Féin Mountmellick – Serving The Community