Political Transformation in the North of Ireland

16 October 2013

Sinn Féin National Chairperson Declan Kearney’s speech on Wednesday at St Andrew’s University in Scotland, ‘Political Transformation in the North of Ireland’. Also speaking at the event was PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Judith Gillespie and senior NIO representative Mark Larmour.

DECLAN KEARNEY

SINN FÉIN NATIONAL CHAIRPERSON

We should not allow ourselves to be held back by the past, paralysed by the present, or frightened by the future

THIS WEEKEND 20 years ago, an IRA operation on the Shankill Road resulted in the deaths of nine civilians and one IRA Volunteer and a massive number of injuries.

The legacy of the Shankill bomb will stay with each bereaved family and our entire community for many years. It is a legacy all republicans will share with deep regret and sorrow.

In the subsequent days, unionist paramilitaries engaged in multiple killings of Catholic civilians. Several years previously, they had been rearmed and reorganised under the direction of British military intelligence agencies.

Between the 23rd and 30th of October 1993, 24 people were killed.

It was a very dark time in the North of Ireland.

Terrible devastation and human loss were caused by the political conflict in Ireland and in Britain.

Victims were created on and by all sides: by republicans, by the British state and its forces and agencies, and by unionists.

All sides were part of the context in which the conflict occurred and continued.

Sadly, that past cannot be changed or undone. Neither can it be disowned by republicans or anyone else.

However, at the same time 20 years ago, engagement was taking place behind the scenes between the Sinn Féin leadership and the British Government.

Republicans and the British Government knew that the only solution would be found through dialogue. There was no military solution to the political conflict.

Once that fact was embraced it became the catalyst for a huge transformation of the political situation.

From the midst of a relentless war, a peace process – which seemed unimaginable back then 20 years ago – became possible.

Within ten months of that period in October 1993, the IRA announced its first cessation in August 1994. That helped pave the way for the talks process which culminated in the Good Friday Agreement.

The Agreement was a historic compromise between former enemies. It created a framework for the Irish Peace Process.

New political institutions were established and these have become the basis of new political relationships within Ireland and between Ireland and Britain.

The Good Friday Agreement itself and these institutions were based upon principles of power sharing, partnership, equality, respect and parity of esteem.

Today the North of Ireland is unrecognisable from 15 or 20 years ago.

The Peace Process is now irreversible.

For the first time in centuries, the people of Ireland and Britain have put engagement and dialogue at the heart of our relationships.

The transformation caused by this phase of our peace process now means no more citizens from Ireland or Britain need risk the lives of others or their own lives due to political disagreement.

Indeed, the Irish Peace Process is held up internationally as an example of a successful conflict resolution model. Progress is being made on a new beginning to policing. The political institutions are the only show in town and all-Ireland institutions are in place.

However, the Peace Process cannot be taken for granted. We are still not at peace with ourselves. Our society is still in conflict-resolution mode.

Key fault lines continue to exist in the North in the form of endemic sectarianism, segregation in society, and enormous distrust and division created by the hurt caused during the political conflict.

The peace and political processes remain under threat from a minority of violent wreckers and militarists from within unionism and nationalism.

Many nationalist and unionist areas worst affected by the conflict continue to experience severe economic and social disadvantage.

All these represent great challenges for the Peace Process and the political institutions and the continuing transformation which the Good Friday Agreement began.

All the more reason then for united political partnership between unionism and republicanism, and an absolute commitment from all parties in government to power sharing and common purpose.

All the more reason for politicians to work in partnership to ensure that the Peace Process and political institutions stay on course and continue transforming our society with new thinking, new initiatives and united leadership.

However, that is not the case.

Very significant sections of political unionism are opposed to progressive political and social change.

The political actions, words and silence of unionist leaders in the face of the ongoing instability and impasse in the North over the last 18 months hark back to an ideology of the one-party state and mono-community identity and ethos.

At its core this impasse contains an anti-democratic backlash against the change which is happening.

The current stasis in the North has been driven by a negative unionism. Instead of embracing the process of transformation and giving courageous leadership, unionist leaders have acquiesced to extremists and rejectionists.

Unionist politicians and paramilitaries are now vying with each other in a sectarian race to the bottom for votes and turf before next year’s election.

The question arises whether, faced with three years of successive elections, unionism can break from that cycle or is it now locked into a long-term mode of negative politics.

The answer to that question is now fundamental to the future.

We have had 18 months of poor unionist leadership; sectarian street violence, orchestrated by significant sections of unionist paramilitaries; and two destabilising marching seasons.

All of that climaxed in August with the DUP decision to renege on a decision to build a Peace and Reconciliation Centre on the Maze/Long Kesh site.

This initiative was a cornerstone of the Programme for Government agreed by the DUP, Sinn Féin and the other parties.

Against the ongoing toxic political situation, that decision has undermined partnership and power sharing at the very heart of government.

Power sharing and partnership need to be wholeheartedly embraced.

Equality, respect for difference, and trust must be the bedrock of their existence.

There is no alternative to the Peace Process or the equality agenda.

Unionist leaders at this stage in our peace process need to accept that reality and recognise it is the only way forward for all sections of our community.

It is not an option to allow politics in the North to be damaged by a destructive logic which suggests ‘this is as good as it gets’ or implies that there is an acceptable level of sectarianism, instability and political division.

The days of benchmarking politics against the lowest sectarian denominator are over.

That is the antithesis of transformation and a barrier to a shared future. It’s the exact opposite of what our people deserve.

There is only one choice to make and that is for partnership, power sharing and reconciliation.

Republicans cannot do that on our own. We need unionist partners. And between us we need to agree new approaches, new relationships and new outcomes together.

That can be achieved by opening a new phase of our peace process which prizes the common ground of equality, respect and parity of esteem.

And, in political terms, that is the common ground which confers equal legitimacy upon the British and Irish identities, Orange and Gaelic traditions, and unionist and republican aspirations.

The principles of the Good Friday Agreement have set a standard for how our society must move forward.  They set a test for all parties – republican and unionist.

The Peace Process continues to teach us all new lessons.

Sinn Fein is willing to be tested on our commitment to equality, mutual respect and parity of esteem again and again. We will continue to pass that test.

Whether political unionism can give a similar guarantee is a question those parties should also answer during the coming days and weeks.

How they choose to answer that question is also now fundamental to the future.

Our conflict is over.

Creating a new society at peace with itself is the next stage on our journey of transformation.

Reconciliation is the key to replacing current divisions with new human and political relationships.

None of that will be easy but engagement and dialogue are the key to build trust and agree the new compromises needed for a new beginning.

One-sided discussions on any or all of this are doomed to repeat the past.

New thinking and leadership from all political leaders will be required to encourage generosity, compromise and forgiveness from us all.

Bold initiatives are needed to encourage momentum.

An initiative of common acknowledgement by all sides – British, Irish, republican and unionist – of the hurt and injustices caused by and to each other could introduce a peaceful new dynamic to the Peace Process. It could make a significant contribution to healing and create new opportunities for friendship, trust and forgiveness to grow.

Of course, it would challenge us all – that is what conflict resolution is about.

But neither should we allow ourselves to be held back by the past, paralysed by the present, or frightened by the future.

The legacy of the past has become a political weapon to refight old battles and revisit change.

There are different political narratives and there is not, and may never be, a consensus.

But an inclusive reconciliation process in the here and now may create a new potential to successfully address our past.

However, the longer the British Government and political unionism play poker with our past, the more it will continue to have destabilising repercussions for the Peace Process.

There is much more to do to give all our people and new generations the transformed future they deserve.

Serious difficulties currently beset our political process, and whilst the Haass Talks represent an enormously important initiative, it will not substitute for the strategic interventions required from the British, Irish and US governments.

A new process of engagement between the two governments and all the parties is absolutely necessary to address the past and its implications, and all other unfinished business of the Peace Process through negotiation, agreement and implementation.

A new framework is needed – and sooner, not later.

That is a roadmap away from the past towards a new phase of the Peace Process – towards a future based upon partnership, new relationships, and reconciliation.

Our shared ambition must be to complete that journey of political transformation begun over 20 years ago.

Sinn Féin Mountmellick – Serving The Community

Austerity Budgets - Sinn Féin Shows The Alternative

Sinn Féin: We want to ease the burden and give people a break

TheJournal.ie 16/10/2013

It makes sense to put more money into people’s pockets by reducing their taxes so that they have some money to spend in the real economy, writes Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty.

BUDGETS ARE ABOUT choices and tough decisions have to be made. Sinn Féin’s Budget choices are about fairness, giving families a break and ensuring that the most vulnerable sections of society are protected.

We have identified a series of taxation and savings measures, fully costed by government departments, to reduce the deficit and pay for new spending measures.

The domestic economy is on the floor and showing no signs of picking up. Towns up and down the state are blighted by the empty shop fronts on their main streets, To Let signs on business premises and For Sale signs still standing at the entrance to ghost estates.

Wherever I go, people tell me that they feel they are being treated unfairly, they see the rich getting richer, while ordinary workers are under terrible pressure to make ends meet.

This is true, not just of those who are unfortunate enough to have lost their jobs, but working people who find that by the time they pay their bills, they have almost nothing left.

So, when the Sinn Féin economics team set about creating an alternative budget to the government’s austerity-based one, the first priority was to ease that burden and give people a break.

It makes sense to put more money into people’s pockets by reducing their taxes so that they have some money to spend in the real economy.

Abolish property tax

Therefore Sinn Féin would repeal the Local Property Tax. This would save the average household €278 in tax. We would not ask anyone earning below €17,542 (the minimum wage) to pay the Universal Social Charge. That would benefit 296,000 workers.

We would give free school meals to 500 additional schools and pay for half of core school books, both measures designed to ease the burden on families.

Anyone using our health service, education system or other frontline service can see there is nothing left to cut and Sinn Féin would rule out more cuts to our public services.

While government claims that basic welfare has not been cut, anyone looking to renew their medical card or depending on child benefit knows the reality is very different. Sinn Féin says no to more sneaky cuts to welfare, education or hospital services. Forty million euro would be set aside to employ frontline workers so the whittling away of services can be reversed.

This would include funding for 230 desperately needed Special Needs Assistants in schools.

Sinn Féin would move to reverse some of the most brutal government cuts. We would restore the respite grant for carers and extend the fuel allowance season by three weeks.

We would pay for cochlear ear implants for the 200 children who need them. The parents and children concerned are painfully aware of the cruelty of a government which would provide just one implant, like giving a child with visual impairment one lens.

Our public services are at breaking point and some are already broken. They need to be protected. Ireland in 2014 will have suffered over €30bn in cuts and taxes in the space of a few years.

Wealth Tax

Fianna Fáil’s disastrous reign and its surrender of Irish economic sovereignty has left the country in a critical financial position. Nobody denies that the books must be balanced and that there are difficult choices to be made.

Sinn Féin’s tax and spending proposals should not be seen in isolation, we are also talking about a sorely needed stimulus package as part of our broader economic policy.

We would maintain the 9 per cent VAT rate for the hospitality and tourism sectors for another year. This is to protect jobs, while a broader Sinn Féin stimulus package is proposing almost €10 billion additional investment in job creation and economic growth. This would create 100,000 jobs.

Our proposed Wealth Tax would raise revenue to fund a Youth Guarantee to tackle the chronic crisis in youth unemployment. Guaranteeing work or training to our young people is as important to our economic recovery as a fair budget.

There can be no real recovery with over 400,000 unemployed and a brain drain which is pulling our youngest and brightest away and breaking hearts all over the country. The government has relied on austerity only and the result is no growth and sky-high unemployment and emigration.

Our guiding principle has been to show how a budget can be fair. We would ask those who can afford to do so to pay more and increase tax on some forms of discretionary spending such as on cigarettes and on gambling.

Our alternative is fair, it is costed by the government and it is fully implementable.

It exposes the rhetoric from the consensus for cuts of Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil, that there is no alternative to austerity.

Pearse Doherty is a TD for Donegal South-West and Sinn Féin’s Spokesperson on Finance

Sinn Féin Mountmellick – Serving The Community

Click here to see the sinnfein alternative budget

Sinn Féin Mountmellick - Serving The Community

Irish Citizens Feed At Soup Kitchens In Laois And Across The Country

The Fianna Fáil/Green & Fine Gael/Labour Governments imposition of Austerity has targeted the poor, the new poor, young and old but not the Rich or powerful sections of Irish Society. Two recent articles below reveal the true emerging situation in Ireland. Locally in Laois and Nationally.

Sinn Féin’s costed alternative Budget will be Published this Week

Laois Nationalist

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 03, 2013

GRAIGUECULLEN parish priest Fr John Dunphy has been so moved by the plight of people calling to his door looking for food that he is now spearheading plans to establish the first meal centre in the Carlow/Graiguecullen area.

“A lot of people are coming to my door and saying they’re hungry. It’s a frightening situation. We are doing this so that people don’t have to go to bed hungry,” explained Fr Dunphy, PP. “We are very conscious that there is a need for this.”

The shocking reality facing families has also led to plans to hand out much-needed food parcels locally and, eventually, hot meals to children and their parents at the new meal centre.

Fr Dunphy, cllr Jennifer Murnane O’Connor and local woman Isobel Brooker have been working on plans for a meal centre for the past four months in response to the growing problems faced by impoverished families in the Carlow/Graiguecullen area.

In the coming weeks, they will hand out food parcels containing basic items such as bread, milk, cheese, fruit, sugar, tea and more to families in need around the county. It is hoped that the food parcels will be ready for distribution one day a week by early November. And in the months to come, a hot food kitchen will be opened to provide warm meals to distressed families.

“A lot of schools are doing great breakfast clubs, but it’s when they go home … they need help,” added Fr Dunphy.

The trio visited the Capuchin Day Centre in Dublin recently to help out and get some ideas for the Carlow operation.

“We worked in it twice and it was great to see how it operates. It gave us an insight into how it works,” added cllr Murnane O’Connor.

“We have all dealt with people locally who are finding it hard. After paying their bills, they are struggling. We just want to help.”

At present, they are pricing suitable locations for the hot food centre, which they hope to open before Christmas. They are also keen to get volunteers and businesses on board to help out.

“There are families who are finding it very hard. Now is the time for this – there is such a need out there. We are there to help, not to judge,” added cllr Murnane O’Connor.

Irish Examiner August 24, 2013

Families forced to feed kids at soup kitchens

By Gordon Deegan and Catherine Shanahan

Saturday, August 24, 2013

A growing network of soup kitchens across the country is serving 2,445 free meals a week as the country’s mortgage arrears crisis deepens and parents struggle with back-to-school costs.

Yesterday, the founder of Twist Soup Kitchens, Oliver Williams, confirmed workers were seeing "a marked increase in demand" for food at his soup kitchens due to pressures on families, particularly single parents, struggling to pay for schoolbooks and uniforms. 

Mr Williams confirmed he intends to open up the seventh Twist soup kitchen in Ennis on Sept 2, with plans for a further three in the pipeline. 

He said the Clare soup kitchen is being opened in response to contact made by locals — just four months after the body of a homeless Czech national was found in a laneway in Ennis. 

Josef Pavelka’s plight received national attention when a judge described his living in a public toilet as a scandal. 

Mr Williams said if a Twist soup kitchen was in place when Mr Pavelka was alive, "it would have certainly helped" his situation. 

Mr Williams’s comments come as the Citizens’ Information Bureau claimed that social welfare processing delays continue to cause hardship and distress. There were problems with rent supplement processing systems, in particular, which were "associated in some cases with potential homelessness". 

Mr Williams described the profile of those using soup kitchens as alarming: "We have people from across society. There is a new poor that cannot afford to pay mortgages with children going to school hungry — that is a fact." 

The opening of the Twist soup kitchen in Ennis comes 14 months after the first opening in Galway. 

Since then, five others have opened — at Loughrea, Athlone, Sligo, Roscommon, and Tuam. 

Mr Williams said he plans to open more at Drogheda, Kildare, and Mullingar before the end of the year. 

The building in Ennis is being provided by a local church group, the Hope Assembly. 

The food is provided free of charge and Mr Williams revealed that the Limerick-based company Pallas Foods makes several deliveries every week. 

"We don’t know what we will receive with each delivery, and yesterday we received from Pallas Food 300 chickens, 100 partridges, and 48 buckets of fresh salad," he said. 

Mr Williams said that O’Hara’s Bakery of Foxford provides 10 loaves of bread each day. 

"All of this food is free and without their help, we wouldn’t be able to continue." 

Mr Williams said Twist soup kitchens require 5kg of minced meat each day to provide their beef stews. 

He said: "We are subject to HSE regulations and must prepare food and have hygiene standards on a level with any five-star hotel kitchen." 

Truck magnate Pino Harris has given the charity a Hino-refrigerated lorry free of charge. 

Mr Williams had a bird’s eye view of the Celtic Tiger with his helicopter business flying developers and auctioneers around Ireland. 

That business collapsed and Mr Williams — who celebrated his 47th birthday yesterday — said: "A measure of any nation is how it treats its weakest members and I believe that the weakest members of our society have been forgotten." 

Mr Williams said he endured a short bout of homelessness when he was aged 15 in London and availed of a soup kitchen during that time.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Saturday, August 24, 2013

Sinn Féin Mountmellick – Serving The Community

Willie Brock Sinn Féin Cumann "Seanad Referendum Launch"

Members of the Willie Brock cumann launched their Seanad Referendum campaign in Mountmellick on Saturday September 21^st. Cumann members canvassed townspeople and handed out leaflets at a number of locations.

Cllr: Stephen Lynch stated “ The Seanad is undemocratic and elitist. Only a tiny percentage of the population has a say in who gets elected to the Seanad, and The right to vote in Seanad elections is based on educational achievement with only those citizens who have graduated from a select number of universities entitled to vote in addition to city and county councillors.”

 Brian Furlong cumann PRO calling for a yes vote on Friday October 4th stated “ Fianna Fáil’s proposal to retain Seanad nominees shows they are not interested in real reform. The Seanad has been abused to reward political cronies – most notably in the Bertie Ahern era. In the majority of other cases, a Seanad seat has been a consolation prize for those failing to secure Dáil seats.

Left to Right: Cllr. Stephen Lynch, Ger Quinn, Brian Furlong.

Left to Right:Dick Fitzpatrick,Ger Quinn,Noel Reynolds,Brian Furlong,Cllr. Stephen Lynch, & Martin Marrum.

Vote Yes in The Seanad Referendum Friday October 4th

Sinn Féin Mountmellick - Serving The Community