Gerry Adams's Blog, page 58

Unionist walk out of talks – a step back

  
 With the intensive all-party talks less than 48 hours old the Unionist parties all walked out. The reason? The Parades Commission has barred an Orange march from returning along part of the Crumlin Road through a nationalist area.
The DUP leader Peter Robinson and Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt were then joined by the leader of the TUV (Traditional Unionist Voice) Jim Allister and by the parties linked to the UVF and UDA in issuing a joint call to action for loyalists to oppose the Parades Commission’s determination and describing the all-party talks as ‘fruitless’.
The unionist leaderships urged loyalists to respond peacefully and lawfully but given that their decision is in direct opposition to a lawful decision by the Parades Commission, it is questionable how much weight will be given to this by those loyalist elements that have been periodically involved in serious street disturbances in the last two years.
Many will also question their sincerity in appealing for calm in light of the claim in their joint statement that ‘having seen republican threats of violence being rewarded the conclusion is swiftly drawn that violence pays.’
It is also important to note that there are more loyalist and orange parades taking place each year than ever before. In 2005 there were 2120 marches in the north. By last year that had more than  doubled to 4,637. Two thirds of these are loyalist parades. Claims that objections by a handful of nationalist areas to orange parades going through their communities is an attack on the Orange is clearly a nonsense.
The decision by the unionist leaderships today is evidence of their failure to stand firm against the demands of the Orange Order, the UVF and UDA in north Belfast. This is about these groups playing the Orange Card and using the threat of political instability to achieve their demands.
This is unacceptable. The status quo is not tenable. Sinn Féin will resist all efforts by unionist leaders to roll back the Good Friday Agreement.
This morning’s move by the unionist leaders was not entirely unexpected. We warned the British Prime Minister David Cameron and the Labour Leader ED Miliband that unionist intransigence was threatening the political process.
Why would unionists engage positively in dialogue when David Cameron has not been fully engaged with the peace process in the last four years. Yesterday’s meeting with David Cameron was our first such meeting since he came to power in 2010. This is deplorable and is clear evidence of the British government’s failure thus far to properly engage with the process of change in the north. David Cameron, like other Conservative leaders before him, has leaned heavily in the direction of political unionism and away from the inclusive approach of the Good Friday Agreement.
This has contributed to the political process facing a succession of crises. But the situation has deteriorated even further in recent months as a consequence of the DUP’s unwillingness to participate positively within the political institutions and the Good Friday and other Agreements. Like David Trimble before them the DUP engagement has been tactical and aimed at serving their own party political agenda rather than the needs of the Good Friday Agreement.
They have bought into the architecture of the Agreement because they have no choice. But they have not bought into the substance. As Martin McGuinness has noted ‘We are in government with unionists because we want to be. They are in government with us because they have to be.’
In other words they have bought into the political institutions in terms of elections, salaries, and status but not into the need for real partnership government, the effective development of north-south co-operation, equality, mutual respect and parity of esteem. The DUPs participation within the institutions has been marked by blocking and stalling important initiatives; including equality measures in the education sector and collapsing the Programme for Government commitment on the Maze Long Kesh site.
Instead of applying themselves to making the Agreement work the DUP leadership has formed a loose axis with the Ulster Unionist Party, the TUV, the UVF and elements of the UDA and the Orange Order to obstruct progress.
None of this is unusual. From the first day after the Good Friday Agreement was achieved the UUP – then the larger unionist party – behaved in much the same way. It took a significant effort on the part of the British Labour government in the days leading up to the Good Friday Agreement referendum in May 1998 to persuade David Trimble to adopt a positive attitude. At one point it looked like the referendum would be lost.
 Ivan Lewis, Mary Lou McDonald, Ed Miliband, Gerry Adams and Michelle Gildernew Tony Blair visited the north three times, gave numerous interviews and Labour party people from Britain worked behind the scenes to focus the UUP on winning the hearts and minds of unionist voters. Trimble sold the Agreement and the referendum was passed comfortably.
But every negotiation since then has taken the same path. While Sinn Féin and others have played our part in creating the conditions for agreement it is a fact that without a pro-active British government encouraging the UUP and then the DUP there would have been no progress.
Thus far the Cameron government has chosen to endorse DUP intransigence and support the unionist narrative of the conflict. London failed to back the Haass compromise proposals on parades, flags and symbols, and contending with the past; it unilaterally broke the Weston Park commitment on resolving the issue of OTRs, and has not implemented key elements of the Good Friday Agreement.
Recently, David Cameron has begun to indicate an awareness that the process is in difficulty. But this morning’s action by the unionist leaders has significantly ratcheted up the crisis in the political process.
The intense period of negotiations that the political leaders in the north had agreed to hold and which began only last night are now ended. The unionists have left the stage. That’s their decision.
Yesterday we told Mr. Cameron that making progress requires a positive engagement by the Irish and British governments on issues which are their direct responsibility. The governments cannot deplore the lack of progress in the process unless they act to fulfil their obligations. Without that unionism will do as little as possible.
Sinn Féin will resist all efforts by unionist leaders to roll back the Good Friday Agreement. The British and Irish governments must also stand resolute for the Good Friday Agreement. They need to be champions for progress, for positive change and for the Agreement.
As co-equal guarantors of the Agreement the two governments must ensure continuing progress and this has to include implementing agreements already made that are their sole responsibility.
 

Spectacular intellectual gymnastics and the Guildford 4

Gerry Conlon died on Saturday. He was one of four people arrested, tortured and falsely imprisoned for carrying out bomb attacks in Guildford and Woolwich in England in 1974. His father Giuseppe was also arrested while visiting his son in prison and wrongly convicted of involvement in bomb making. He died in prison.

The Guildford 4, the Maguire 7, the Birmingham 6 and others were all victim of a series of grave miscarriages of justice which saw the British police service, judiciary and political establishment conniving in imprisoning citizens they knew to be innocent of any wrong doing.
Gerry Conlon, Paul Hill, Carole Richardson and Paddy Armstrong spent 15 years in English prisons under the most horrendous of prison conditions, often in solitary confinement.
A public campaign in support of their release eventually succeeded in achieving that in 1989. Following this Gerry became a strong advocate for and campaigner on justice issues. As a victim of injustice he was articulate and tireless in pursuit of justice. His death is a loss to his family and friends but also to all of those who were touched by his courage and who he endeavoured to help.
Within hours of his passing former SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon sought to score political points against Sinn Féin by accusing republicans of ‘almost conniving’ to keep innocent people behind bars.
The responsibility for the detention and incarceration of many innocent people in England and in Ireland rests absolutely with the various police forces and judicial and political system.
The British police knew that the Guildford 4 were innocent but they connived to keep them and other innocents in prison.
Seamus Mallon’s line of argument, though spurious and devoid of merit, was taken up by sections of the media. The Taoiseach repeated this line in the Dáil on Wednesday.
Some of this has by now become little more than a well-worn and tiresome routine that is rarely matched by the facts. A column in the Irish Independent: ‘Weasel words from Adams on Conlon case is used as a weapon in propaganda war ‘ is typical.
The Indo columnist wrongly claims that: “Gerry Conlon was in jail because the IRA bombed Guildford”. Like Seamus Mallon he ignores the facts. The British police arrested the Guildford 4; tortured false statements from them; and then railroaded them through a judicial process that was unjust and biased.  That was the responsibility of the British police. The IRA was responsible for the bombings. They made that clear at the time.
The same Indo columnist goes on to rewrite the history of the period. He claims that it was 1977 and as the IRA’s Balcombe Street unit was about to “receive huge sentences for other bombings they half-claimed that they were also responsible for the Guildford bombings. Could they be believed?”
It was 1975 and yes the IRA could be believed.
In December, 1975, the four IRA Volunteers who became known as the Balcombe Street unit were arrested. Within 24 hours of their arrests they told senior British police officers that they, and not the four people who had been recently convicted – later to become known as the Guildford 4 - were involved in the bombings.
The British police said they would look into these claims, but there is no evidence of any further investigation. At the subsequent trial of the Balcombe Street unit it emerged that the forensic evidence had been edited to remove all reference to Guildford and Woolwich.
On the strength of legal statements given by members of the Balcombe Street unit, the Guildford Four were eventually granted an appeal in October 1977.
At the appeal hearing, with the support they explained later of the IRA leadership, Eddie Butler, Harry Duggan, Joe O'Connell and Brendan Dowd testified that they were responsible for the Woolwich attack. Brendan Dowd also accepted responsibility for the Guildford bomb attack. All of the men said that the four persons convicted of the Guildford and Woolwich bombings had played no part.
According to the highly respected British Labour MP Chris Mullin, who campaigned for many years on behalf of the Guildford Four and the Birmingham Six: “So detailed was the Balcombe Street unit's account that it was not possible to pretend that they had not been involved”.
Despite this, the British Appeal Court, headed by Lord Roskill, perversely professed themselves satisfied and upheld the convictions of the Guildford 4. They engaged in what Mullin described as “spectacular intellectual gymnastics” in order to accept confessions obtained under torture and to deny the appeal.

Why did they do this? Because if it was accepted that the British police had fabricated confessions and ignored the evidence of those IRA Volunteers really responsible then as Lord Bridge argued in the Birmingham six case you would have to accept that the all of this “shows the police not only to be masters of the vile techniques of cruelty and brutality to suspects. It shows them to have a very lively and inventive imagination.”
This was what another British judge, Lord Denning, speaking of the same case, called the “appalling vista” that would arise should it be proven that the British police had deliberately imprisoned innocent people.
Later in his evidence to Sir John May's Inquiry into the Guildford & Woolwich bombings in 1989, British Labour MP Chris Mullen MP stated:
“In the absence of an explanation a good deal more credible than any which has so far been advanced, I submit that from soon after the arrest of the Balcombe Street IRA unit it is inescapable that those in authority, up to the highest level, realised that innocent people may have been convicted of the Guildford and Woolwich bombings and were anxious to avoid facing up to that possibility.”
None of this is any consolation to the families or the victims of these miscarriages of justice like Gerry Conlon or his family. Neither is it any consolation to the families of the victims or the victims of the IRA bombing.
Our endeavour must be to ensure that these events never happen again. Efforts to score political points by distorting or ignoring the facts makes no worthwhile contribution to this.

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!

Bodenstown: Radical, rooted, relevant and republican

 The annual commemoration at the rgaveside of Wolfe Tone the father of Irish republicanism is an improtant event. This year I gave the speech. I am enclosing it here. It sets out Sinn Féin's vmission statement; our view of the recent election results; the importance of 1916 and ending partition; current difficulties in the political process in the north; Sinn Féin's economic plan; our objective of being in governemnt north and south; and our determination to remain radicval, rooted, relevent and republican.

 Address to Wolfe Tone Commemoration, Bodenstown, Co. Kildare 2014
Fellow republicans,Táimid cruinnithe anseo inniu, mar a dhéanann muid gach bliain, in aice le reilig Theobold Wolfe Tone, athair an Phoblachtach in Éirinn agus ceannaire Cumann na nÉireannach Aontaithe.

Two-hundred-and-sixteen years ago the United Irish rebellion sought to end British rule in this country and establish an independent republic based on the principles of equality for all citizens, and the unity of Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter.
Today, we honour Tone, the men and women of 1798, and subsequent generations of Irish republicans. Just as importantly, we rededicate ourselves to the fulfilment of Tone’s objectives.Election resultsBa mhaith liom mo chomhghairdeas a dhéanamh le na ceathrar MEP’s, nua tofa atá ag Sinn Féin– Martina Anderson, Lynn Boylan, Matt Carthy agus Liadh Ní Riada, agus na dhá céad seasca is a ceathar (264) comhairleoirí Sinn Fein a raibh tofa sa Thuaisceart agus sa Dheisceart ar an darna lá is fiche (22ú) agus tríú lá is fiche 23ú Bealtaine.

Almost half a million voters have now made Sinn Féin the biggest party on this island.Mission StatementSinn Fein’s philosophy is about putting the interests of citizens, as opposed to elites, at the centre of political considerations.

We seek a New Republic with equality and social justice at its core.
Our watchword is equality.
We stand for a basic threshold of economic justice — the right to a home, to an education, to a job, to healthcare, to the pursuit of happiness.
Our mandate is for social justice and against unfairness and austerity.
It is a mandate for the promotion of the Irish language as the common heritage of all on this island.
It is for the peaceful unity of Orange and Green, with tolerance and respect for all people.
Republicanism is a European philosophy and Sinn Féin’s mandate is also to pursue 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. 1916 anniversaryBecause Sinn Féin challenges the privilege of the elites, we are often vilified by the conservative parties and the establishment media.

They were at it 100 years ago.
The Irish Times and Irish Independent condemned the 1916 Rising.
The Irish Times referred to it, incorrectly, as the ‘Sinn Féin rebellion’. 
But last Tuesday the Irish Times accused Sinn Féin of seeking to hijack the Rising’s centenary.
Interestingly, one hundred years ago, at this very spot, the forces that would make the 1916 Rising were coming together to honour Wolfe Tone.
The Irish Volunteers were joined by the Irish Citizen Army and Tom Clarke chaired the commemoration.
The trade union leader Jim Larkin was in attendance.
This was in the wake of the Great Lockout and Larkin was cheered by the crowds showing the solidarity between republicans and the labour movement.
Leaders of the trade union movement need to think of this.
They need to decide whether their loyalty is to the trade union membership – working people – or the Labour Party.
Trade union members also need to consider whether they should pay a stipend to the Labour Party to be insulted by its leaders.
The Rising belongs to the people of Ireland, not any single party.
But let me be clear, Sinn Féin won’t take lectures on 1916 from those revisionists and other slibhiní who abandoned its ideals many decades ago and who sought to prevent its commemoration.
The 1916 Proclamation remains unfinished business. 
Partition stunts Ireland’s potential — politically, socially and economically.
There is now a peaceful way to end Partition.
This is a work in progress and there is an onus on nationalist Ireland to persuade our unionist neighbours that their interests lie in a new, agreed Ireland.
The Good Friday Agreement provides for a referendum on Irish unity.
A Border Poll provides an opportunity to begin building a new, united Ireland. 
Sinn Féin believes it is time to let the people have their say. The NorthWhile the North has been transformed in recent years, many issues remain outstanding. 

The British Government is refusing to keep agreements made since 1998.
Sixteen years after the Good Friday Agreement it has failed to implement important elements, such as a Bill of Rights and Acht na Gaeilge.
When taken with its decision to unilaterally end its Weston Park commitments to resolve the OTR issue, and its refusal to establish an inquiry into the murder of human rights lawyer Pat Finucane, the British Government strategy is undermining the political process.
Encouraged by this, there has been an effort by unionist parties to reverse progress made since 1998.
This cannot be allowed.
Issues of the past, flags and parades must be addressed.
The Haass compromise proposals provide a clear way forward.
They must have the unambiguous support of the Irish and British governments.
Two weeks ago party leaders in the North agreed to re-engage in intensive talks around these issues.
Since then, however we see no evidence that the DUP is willing to approach this process in a positive, constructive way.
This is all to do with what is happening within political unionism.
Both the DUP and UUP signed up to the St Andrews and Hillsborough Agreements but are now being challenged by those on the more extreme right such as the TUV and UKIP.
This is a consequence of the huge failure by the UUP and the DUP to face down these rejectionists in the same way as Sinn Fein has done with anti-Agreement elements on the fringes of republicanism.
Let me be clear Sinn Féin will continue to stretch out the hand of friendship to our unionist neighbours.
We will uphold everyone’s civil and religious rights.
But we will also stand firmly and robustly against the bigots, the racists and the sectarian fundamentalists.
They and their political cheer leaders are on the wrong side of history.
Change may be delayed. It cannot be stopped.
The views, ambitions and goodwill of the vast majority of citizens, and Sinn Féin’s focus for the future, is the guarantee that change is irreversible. Economic policySince 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.
It would be wonderful to have a scrutiny of the policies of Fianna Fáil and the PDs – remember the PDs? – and of Fine Gael and the Labour Party.
During the Bertie Ahern era Sinn Féin TDs were vocal in pointing out the dangers of the developing property bubble and the growing potential for an economic crash.
Sinn Fein warned of the dangers of over-reliance on taxes from the property sector.
We warned of the over dependency on the construction sector and we highlighted the danger of auction politics as other parties tried to outdo each other with promises of tax cuts.
Sinn Féin was also almost a lone political voice against a drive to reduce regulation across the economy.
We were right then.
We are right now.
Sinn Féin has put forward costed, alternative policies that are about fairness.
Let all parties in this state do the same.
Sinn Féin’s focus is on job creation, stimulating the economy, fair taxes, debt restructuring, and protecting public services. 
It is about making the necessary deficit adjustment without harming families or frontline services, by asking the wealthiest to pay more and cutting waste from public spending.
Citizens understand the challenges and are prepared to shoulder their share of the burden of readjustment.
An rud nach taitníonn leo ná an dóigh go bhfuil sé chomh éagórach.
The Property Tax, Water tax, removal of medical cards, cuts to social supports, mortgage distress and lack of social housing or adequate health services, including mental health services, have pushed working people to the limit.
As Bobby Sands wrote; ‘there is no equality in a society that stands upon the economic bog, if only the strongest make it good or survive.’
Let’s see some scrutiny of the policy of Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil which says that for many years to come, Irish citizens should carry an unsustainable bank debt burden, and an economically and socially destructive austerity agenda.Changing the political landscapeRecent years have witnessed scandals in all the major institutions of Irish life – politics, planning, business, banking, the Church, charities, the justice system and the Gardai.

These scandals have their roots in the toxic political culture, which arose from the counter-revolution that followed the 1916 period.
A conservative elite - politically represented by the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil leaderships, often supported by Labour - oversaw this corrupt culture.
Bhí seo, agus tá seo, an mhalairt le cad atá i gceist le fíor poblachtachas.
Tá éileamh mór ann d’athrú mór inár sochaí, an geilleagar agus i bpolaitíocht.
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.
Sinn Féin is now a major player in both states with policies and an expanding organization, which transcend partition.
That means we must prepare for government.
We must prepare to become a government of national unity and recovery.
In his day Wolfe Tone clearly identified the connection with Britain and Ireland’s lack of independence and sovereignty, with the depressing state of the economy and the appalling conditions in which citizens lived.
A similar clear headed analysis must be brought to bear today so that Connolly’s reconquest of Ireland by the Irish people can be advanced.
Sinn Féin wants to be in government because we want to change Ireland for the better.
We want to tackle disadvantage, unemployment and inequality and improve the quality of life and standards of living for people across Ireland – particularly those people who are today struggling under the burden of austerity. 
We want to deliver on issues such as housing, health and jobs. 
We want to end partition.
But Sinn Fein will not do is what the Labour Party has done — we will not give cover to the agenda of conservative parties, repeating again the failed political history of this State over the past 80 years.
The Labour Party’s internal debate is focused on Sinn Féin, rather than on its disastrous colonisation by Fine Gael.
Labour still doesn’t get it.
The contenders for the Labour leadership don’t get it.
Labour – God’s gift to Fine Gael — are so busy debating whether or not they would allow Sinn Féin be in government with them, that it hasn’t dawned on them that after the General Election there may not be enough Labour TDs to be in government with anyone!
This Fine Gael/Labour government has betrayed the electorate.
It promised a ‘democratic revolution’ but has delivered the same stale, old politics of previous governments.
We see them appointing cronies to state boards, and Ministers favouring their own constituencies for funding.
They seek to retain control over the banking inquiry by stuffing it with government TDs and Senators.
They defend the indefensible in a failed effort to save Ministers such as Alan Shatter.
They ignore the real hardship being endured by the most vulnerable citizens as a result of austerity.
This isn’t a democratic revolution – it is an act of subversion.
What Sinn Féin is committed to is the radical republican politics of Wolfe Tone.
We are about creating a New Republic, with new politics and a new way of doing things that puts fairness and equality at the heart of how this country is governed. ConclusionAs Sinn Féin builds 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.
We have a political vision for this country and its people that involves building the type of society Wolfe Tone envisioned - a republic that the citizens of this country deserve but have never had.
The recent scandalous revelations of the Mother and baby homes is further evidence that after partition a conservative, mean spirited, narrow minded political and business elite in this state, in alliance with the Catholic Church hierarchy, put in place laws and institutions and censorship restrictions, which were intolerant, chauvinistic, prejudiced and anti-women and anti-working class.
Unmarried mothers were held for years in institutions.
Sex was deemed a crime.
Babies were taken from their mothers, alive and dead.
They had broken no laws.
The thousands of mothers and children who endured unbelievable hardship were denied everything by the state.
For some commentators, the responsibility and blame for this is being laid at the door of society.
I have been trying to understand this.
In this version of events everybody is to blame and everybody is at fault.
However, everybody is not to blame.
The victims are not to blame.
It is as if the virtual imprisonment of unmarried girls and women and the theft of their children were a natural outworking of Irish society in that period of our history.
However, that is too simplistic a picture.
It seeks benignly or inadvertently to excuse the decisions that were taken by the elites in the State and church.
As Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin told the Dáil this week, this can be too easily twisted into a view that since everyone was to blame, nobody was to blame.
That is not good enough.
We extend love and respect to the survivors of abuse and we thank them and their supporters for their struggle.
Sinn Féin is already bringing about a realignment of politics. In Councils across this state, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, on an unprecedented scale, have coalesced to exclude Sinn Féin.
Some of them may think this is the smart thing to do.
It’s not. It is a stupid thing to do.
It is the wrong thing to do.
And it will not succeed. We are very good at not being excluded.
So, let Fine Gael, and Fianna Fáil and the others take not.
Bobby Sands spelt it out in the last entry of his hunger strike diary.
‘The mind is the most important.’ He wrote:, ‘If they aren’t able to destroy the desire for freedom, they won’t break you... the desire for freedom, and the freedom of the Irish people, is in my heart.
 The day will dawn when all the people of Ireland will have the desire for freedom to show.
 It is then we’ll see the rising of the moon’.
Tá ceart ag Bobby. Tiochfaid lá eigean nuair a bheidh an fonn saoirse seo le taispeáint ag daoine go léir na hEireann.
Ansin tchífidh muid éirí na gealaí.
Until them let it be clear. Sinn Féin isn’t going away, you know.
We are going to grow and grow.
As for Fine Gael and Fianna Fáikl? They are ideologically indistinguishable.
They should unite.
For our part Sinn Féin will continue to bring the message of equality into councils and to replace party pacts and exclusion with power-sharing and inclusion.
For Sinn Féin politics is not a mere game or career choice.
We have important work to do on behalf of Ireland and its people.
Let’s leave here today, ever more determined to do it.
Ar aghaigh linn le cheile.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh.
PS: Fosta, go riabh maith agat do Mark at An Phoblacht
 
 
 
 
 
 

Mother and Baby Home Scandal

Pearse Doherty agus mise at Mother and Baby vigil Wednesday eveningFrom the USA to China, from Africa and India to Australia the story of how almost 800 babies and children died in the care of a religious order and the state were buried in a mass grave in Tuam County Galway has captured the media headlines for the last week.
The mother and baby home was run by the Bon Secours Sisters in Tuam, County Galway. It was a state regulated institution, and information uncovered through the diligent efforts of local woman Catherine Corless, revealed that 796 babies and children died there over a period of five decades, from the 1920s to 1961.
Corless, who describes herself as a ‘farmer, housewife and gardener’ worked tirelessly to secure details of the babies and children who died in Tuam. She paid €400 to access the Birth and Deaths Register in Galway. Initially she expected to get information on 8 to 10 children but instead was given a list of 796 names of babies and children who died in the Tuam home.
Some were only a few days old. Others were aged between a year and a half and three years of age. The oldest to die was aged nine.
All were buried in a small plot of land in the grounds of the home, including some reportedly in a septic tank.
There has been understandable public outrage. In recent years a succession of distressing reports have revealed the extent of abuse in state institutions run by the Catholic Church.
 The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, generally known as the Ryan Commission, was published in May 2009. It ran to five volumes and looked at the extent of abuse against children in Irish institutions from 1936.
Most of these related to the system of residential and industrial schools that were run by the Catholic Church under the supervision of the Department of Education and which saw children treated like slaves and prisoners. They were subject to the most horrendous conditions and abuse.
Other reports, including the Ferns Inquiry, the Cloyne Report, the Murphy Report and the scandal of the Magdalene Laundries focused on abuse by Catholic clergy and religious orders.
The Tuam scandal has now shone a light onto the harsh reality of other institutions.  Currently efforts are underway to discover whether mother and baby homes also existed in the north and what were conditions like in these.
In Tuam as elsewhere conditions were harsh. Inspector’s reports and firsthand accounts by former residents paint a picture of a brutal and cruel regime in which women and children were treated appallingly.
Records released last week from the Dublin Archdiocese show that the high mortality rate in Tuam also existed in the other homes. In 1933 the mortality rate in Tuam was 35%, or over three times the norm at that time.
In human terms this means that 42 of the 120 children admitted to Tuam in that year died. The mortality rate in Pelletstown was 34%. In Bessborough it was 39%. In Sean Ross Abbey is was 37.5%.
In addition to the mother and baby homes run by Catholic religious orders there was also Bethany Home in Rathgar. It was run by an independent protestant group as an evangelical institution for unmarried mothers and their children. It also took in prostitutes, alcoholics, and young people under 17. Women and young people convicted in the courts were also sent there.
Thus far it has been estimated that 219 children died in Bethany between 1922 when the Home opened and 1949. They were buried in unmarked graves. Some died from marasumus – a form of malnutrition. Conditions in the Catholic run homes were no better.
In an Inspectors report in 1947, which recorded the conditions in Tuam, there is a distressing and disturbing account of life for its residents. Children are described as emaciated and suffering from malnutrition and of having wizened limbs.
In addition to the inhuman treatment endured by residents was added the outrage that some were treated as guinea pigs in vaccine experiments. According to the UCC historian Michael Dwyer 2,051 children from the homes at Bessborough and Roscrea were  used in secret vaccine trials conducted by Burroughs Wellcome – now GlaxoSmithKline. The trials included injecting children with vaccines for diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and polio.
Children in St. Clare’s in Stamullen, in Dunboyne, in St Patrick’s Dublin and in Castlepollard were also used in vaccine trials.
Who gave permission for such actions to be carried out? Did the relevant government department or Minister agree and clear the use of Irish children as guinea pigs? We need an inquiry to find out.
To the shame of all of those responsible the ill-treatment of the children and babies continued beyond their short lives as most were buried in unmarked graves.
On Tuesday the Irish government finally announced the establishment of a Commission of Investigation into mother and baby homes. This is a welcome development but it is vital that the Commission has terms of reference that are comprehensive and allow it to examine all aspects of this issue.
For many citizens there is genuine bewilderment at what has emerged. How could anyone treat mothers and babies in this way? How could the state abdicate its responsibility to citizens?
The root of this shame is to be found in partition and the creation of two conservative states on this island. Both were characterised by economic failure, by emigration, by backwardness on social issues, by inequality and by the failure to protect the most vulnerable of our citizens.
In the north a one party unionist regime dominated politics and institutionalised sectarianism, discrimination and inequality and injustice.
In the south the state that emerged following the civil war was in hock to the Catholic Hierarchy.
Two conservative states ruled by two conservative elites in their own narrow interests. The old colonial system replaced by a neo-colonial one.
It was in these circumstances that the abuses that occurred in the Magdalene Laundries, in Bethany Home, in the residential "Reformatory and Industrial Schools" and in the mother and baby homes occurred.Report after report has confirmed that for much of its existence the state system for looking after children abused and treated them more like slaves than citizens.

Dáil records show that successive governments knew about the high infant mortality and the poor quality of care in institutions looking after children. They did nothing.
As Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin told the Dáil: “There have been attempts to place the blame on wider Irish society because of the deeply conservative social attitudes that dominated in those decades. And it absolutely has to be acknowledged that the social attitudes of those times were disdainful of great numbers of people and cast them out of society.
However, this can be too easily be twisted into a view that since everyone was to blame – no one was to blame. The reality was that there were powerful social and economic forces, powerful men in Church and State, who ruled this society and who ensured that women and children and the poor and the marginalised were kept in their place. Much has changed for the better but much has also yet to change.”
 

It’s time for real progress

Following last week’s election results I travelled to Washington DC to brief senior officials in the State Department, White House and Irish American Congressional leaders. I also met other Irish American leaders in New York. The focus of our conversations was the current difficulties in the peace process and the steps that are needed to resolve them. The last two years especially have seen the process drift from one crisis into another. Sinn Fein has been warning of this but the British government, and especially the Irish government, have refused to listen. Both governments have been disengaged from the process and the pro-unionist stance of the British government has encouraged the worsening political impasse.  
My arrest on April 30th changed this. Now there is a realisation that all is not well. The question is what will the two governments do to end the impasse?
There are many issues contributing to current difficulties. Not least of which is the refusal of the Unionist leaderships to engage positively. This is most evident in the refusal of the UUP and DUP to sign up for the Haass compromise proposals on legacy issues, flags and symbols and parades. 
But then why would you expect the unionist parties to behave differently if the British government has not signed up to the Haass compromise proposals and backs their intransigence? 
It is a fact that the Cameron government, like the Major government in the 1990’s, has been explicitly partisan in championing a unionist agenda. The British Secretary of State, Theresa Villiers, has played a key role in this. She recently rejected requests from the Ballymurphy families for a review into those events. Instead she expressed her concern at what she described as ‘the one-sided approach which focuses on the minority of deaths in which the state was involved.’ Such arrogance. 
This is the same British government that refuses to hand over information on the Dublin Monaghan bombs which killed 34 citizens 40 years ago. Events which the Dáil described as “acts of international terrorism that were colluded in by the British security forces.” 
This is the same British state that was directly responsible for almost 400 deaths and many hundreds more through state collusion. These are not the ‘minority of deaths’ which Ms. Villiers seeks to dismiss as if unimportant. 
At the same time as Ms Villiers denies truth to the victims of British state violence she implements a policy that implements, in effect, an amnesty for British forces. 
On top of this we now know David Cameron recently hosted, what the London Guardian described as a ‘lavish reception in the Downing Street garden’ for the DUP. The purpose? To court that party’s support in the event of a hung Parliament following the British general election next year. The Guardian wisely questioned whether this was Cameron playing the traditional conservative ‘Orange Card’. 
The effect of the British government’s handling of the political situation has been to reinforce political logjams.
In an article last week in the Belfast Telegraph the British Prime Minister indicated a willingness to make progress. The jury is out on that. If Mr. Cameron is serious about ending the impasse – if he is serious about reaching agreement on the issues of contention then he needs to move beyond a minimalist approach which merely tinkers at the edge of the difficulties. He needs to sign up to the Haass proposals.David Cameron also has to demonstrate a willingness to make progress on those matters arising out of the various agreements, including the Good Friday Agreement, the Weston Park Agreement, and the St Andrew’s and Hillsborough agreements which have not been implemented.  These include the Bill of Rights, the all-Ireland Charter of Rights, Acht na Gaeilge, the North South Consultative Forum, the Civic Forum and the inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane. These are not matters for negotiation. They are agreements made and are the responsibility of the British and Irish governments to implement.Nor can the Irish and British governments sit back and, like Mr. Cameron in his Telegraph article, seek to place all of the responsibility for progress on the Executive parties in the north. There is a huge onus on the British Prime Minister to take positive decisions that enhance the political context for agreement. Persuading unionist leaders to move forward through an intensive process of discussions will only work if the British government constructively engages and provides those parties with clear and positive leadership.There is a small window of opportunity between now and July which must be fully utilised to negotiate agreements on outstanding issues, including legacy issues, parades, and flags and emblems.The peace process is in trouble. It cannot be allowed to meander. The road has too many pitfalls. There are too many elements on the fringes of nationalism, within unionism and especially within the British system, who want to derail the process and build obstacles to it. For all the issues pressing down upon people’s lives every single day, the people of this island, the diaspora and the international community believe in the peace process. Our efforts in the time ahead must be to ensure continuing progress and the full implementation of outstanding issues.

We will use our mandate wisely

As you read this column I am in Washington DC briefing senior political figures and the Obama administration on the current difficulties within the peace process.
But I will return to that again. For now let me deal with the local government and EU elections that has just concluded across the island of Ireland. The facts tell part of the story.
·       483,113 votes for Sinn Féin in the EU election.
·       4 MEP’s elected.
·       262 Local election candidates elected
·       76 women councillors
·       39 Councils with SF councillors
·       32 Counties with Sinn Féin MEP’s
·       21.2% of the vote in the EU election
·       19 Councillors in Belfast City Council
·       16 Councillors in Dublin City Council
·       10 Councils where Sinn Féin are the largest party in % share of the vote terms
·       8 Councils where Sinn Féin are the largest party in seat terms
·       Too many happy Shinner’s to count!
·       THE LARGEST PARTY IN IRELAND
Sinn Fein has had a historic result, north and south. Voters have endorsed our message that there is a fairer way to organise our economy and society which is rights based and citizen-centred. We are committed to using our growing numbers of Councillors, TDs, MEPs, MPs, and MLAs and our mandate wisely and in the interests of citizens.
Sinn Féin will also keep the commitments we made to the electorate.
The island-wide election result is also an endorsement of Sinn Fein’s message for the need to reinvigorate the Peace Process and for an agreed, united Ireland.
Sinn Fein’s newly elected MEPs will stand up first and foremost in the interests of Ireland and all our citizens, while our all councillors will fight for genuine community interests which put the needs of citizens first.
In the south voters have very clearly rejected the austerity agenda of Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fail. It’s very likely that the coalition government, not least as a result of these elections, will not see out its full term. Thought their instinct will be to hang on as long as possible. So, we begin fighting the next General Election now.
Some combination of Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fail has been in government since the foundation of the state. The old way of doing politics, as practiced by these parties has clearly failed.
The way in which ordinary citizens are still being forced to pay for the greed of bankers, developers and corrupt politicians is deeply unfair. Banking debt, unemployment, forced emigration, a raft of new taxes, cuts to services and social supports are crushing the hope of Irish citizens and damaging the well-being of society.
In the north Martin McGuinness will initiate discussions with the other party leaders to seek agreement on implementing the outstanding issues arising from the Good Friday and other Agreements, and from the Haass proposals on the past, flags and emblems and parades.
However, deep rooted change also requires a fundamental realignment of Irish politics.
Ireland needs new leaders, with new ideas and a new direction. The EU and Local Government elections can be the beginning of a real transformation of the political landscape.
North and south Sinn Féin has put forward realistic, credible and costed alternative economic policies and challenged the conservatism of British and Irish governments.
Sinn Fein seeks a society and an economy that is run in the interests of all our citizens, not vested interests or golden circles whether in the upper echelons of the private or the public sector.
We also want to strengthen and reinvigorate the Peace Process and to build an agreed, united Ireland.
We seek a historic and inclusive accommodation between Orange and Green which respects all our people in all of their diversity.
Among our priorities in both states are real jobs, fair taxation, investment in communities, and more social housing. In the 26 counties we will press for far-reaching reform of politics and public institutions including the justice system and Gardaí.
For Sinn Fein politics is not a game. It is about saying what you mean and meaning what you say. It is about changing the lives of citizens for the better.
One party rule in the north has gone and two-and-a-half party rule in the southern state is going also. Sinn Féin is now a major player in both states on this island with policies, objectives, and an expanding organization which transcends Partition.
Sinn Féin is not interested in winning seats for the sake of it. We seek political office only in order to bring about change in our country and in the lives of our citizens. We have a political vision and regardless of the ups and downs of even elections, we will continue to work to deliver a fairer, better Ireland.
Sinn Féin is involved in a historically unprecedented effort to build genuine republican politics in both states on this island. Building capacity and resources and membership is a big task for us and we will continue to grow.
I would appeal today, to citizens to join Sinn Fein in building a citizen-centered, rights based republic on this island.

Government given notice to Quit

The Fine Gael/Labour government is in crisis. The election results of recent days confirm this. They have been effectively given a notice to quit by the electorate. Fine Gael and Labour came to power in 2011 promising an end to cronyism and greater transparency and accountability. It was proclaimed by Enda Kenny as a ‘democratic revolution’. Three years later it’s looking more and more like the same old, same old. Enda Kenny and Eamonn Gilmore have lost control of the political agenda. For months they have been denying that there is any crisis in health, especially in respect of the removal of discretionary medical cards, or that there is a growing problem with housing, and especially homelessness. They also consistently and robustly defended the actions of their former Justice Minister Alan Shatter, even as the scandals in policing and justice increased, and public disquiet turned to anger. The treatment of the two Garda whistleblowers, John Wilson and Sergeant Maurice McCabe by the government was appalling. The government’s attack on the Garda Ombudsman’s Office (GSOC) over allegations of bugging was disgraceful. The then Justice Minister’s instinct was to put GSOC in the dock.  But it was Alan Shatter’s judgement and his decisions, on a whole range of serious justice and policing issues that has undermined public confidence in the administration of justice and the Gardaí. It led to the sacking of the Garda Confidential Recipient Oliver Connolly and the sacking/retirement of Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan. Then the news broke that telephone calls into and out of over 100 Garda stations had been bugged for years. A commission of investigation was set up to examine this. In a desperate attempt to limit the political damage Minister Shatter belatedly apologised to the Garda whistleblowers. Fine Gael and Labour backed him to vote down a no confidence motion in the Dáil. But the report from the Data Protection Commissioner in early May that Justice Minister Alan Shatter broke the date protection rules by revealing personal information about independent TD Mick Wallace in a television debate; and the then imminent publication of the Guerin report into allegations made by Garda Sergeant Maurice McCabe, saw Alan Shatter resigning as Minister for Justice. But bad as all of these debacles have been it has been the withdrawal of medical cards, especially from children with lifelong illnesses or disabilities that has caused the greatest public anger. Almost every day another tragic story emerges of a family being put under pressure with the removal of their medical card or the threat to remove it and deny a sick child much needed medications and support. Amanda Hughes spoke out last week about being asked to prove that her son Ben, aged 4, ‘still has Down syndrome’ if he is to keep his medical card. Joe Lawlor’s daughter Nathalia has a rare incurable genetic condition who is asked each year if his daughter still has the condition. Nathalia can’t walk or talk and is fed by a tube and needs 24 hour care. In recent days a senior doctor revealed that gravely ill patients are having their medical cards removed. He has said it includes citizens dying from cancer who are unable to afford chemotherapy and patients with kidney failure who can’t get dialysis. He also revealed that in many instances “patients don’t even realise their card has been cancelled until they go to the pharmacy to collect their medicines.” The Irish Cancer Society has also described how many cancer patients are suffering severe distress and financial hardship as a result of losing their discretionary medical cards or being refused these cards. It says that it has seen a 12% increase in applications for financial aid from patients in the first three months of this year. Time after time under questioning by me and others in the Dáil Enda Kenny and his Cabinet colleagues, but especially the Minister for Health James Reilly, defended their handling of the discretionary medical cards issue. Last October the Taoiseach described the row over cuts to medical cards as “scare-mongering”. He insisted that “every person who deserves a card” is getting one. He and the government did the same around the issue of housing and homelessness. And then, low and behold, just days before an election in which the pollsters said that the government parties were heading for losses Ministers suddenly discovered their consciences. A report on homelessness was produced, a new state bank to help small and medium businesses was announced and on Tuesday last, just days away from citizens casting their votes the Health Minister said that is no longer acceptable for “some of the most vulnerable people in our society” to be stripped of state help. The Labour Leader too sought to blunt the criticism of the government by acknowledging that the implementation of too many checks on those with medical cards, in particular those over aged over 70, is a form of ‘harassment’. The government claim action will be taken. Exactly what action the Taoiseach and others envisage we don’t know. They wouldn’t say. But trust them, there will be action. We just have to wait until after the election. And God forbid that anyone should suggest that this is just an election stunt. For three years the Fine Gael/Labour government has been inflicting one hardship after another on vulnerable citizens to pay for the greed of the bankers and developers and corrupt politicians. A succession of stealth taxes, including sceptic tax charges, the universal social charge, the property tax and now water charges have all been introduced. The EU and local government elections have allowed the public to pass judgement on this government. It should go. That would be the right thing to do. But in the expectation that Fine Gael and Labour will once again not do the right thing we begin fighting the next Dáil general election now.      

A letter to candidates and Candidatitis and other ailments

With a week to go before the election north and south I decided to write a short note of encouragement to the almost 350 candidates Sinn Féin has standing in the European and Local Government elections and two by-elections for the Dáil.

I included with it an article I wrote in 2005 for the Westminster elections. It was/is a wry and humorous look at the impact of standing in an election on candidates. Some of the names - for example Mary is Mary Harney - may not jump out at you now but I think you will get the idea. Enjoy. GerryA xoxo  Comrade
Congratulations on your selection as a Sinn Féin candidate.
It is a great honour to represent Sinn Féin in any capacity and a huge privilege to seek a mandate from your peers for our historic republican mission.
Not every Sinn Féin candidate will get elected. That is the nature of elections but every Sinn Féin candidate has the ability to get elected.
We should not be carried away by opinion polls. Every Sinn Féin candidate deserves 100% support from the rest of us during this campaign and on Election Day.
We also need to ask for preferences from  those citizens who are giving their number 1 to other candidates.
A second, third, even a sixth or seventh preference can make the difference between victory and defeat. Every vote counts.
So does every preference.
So, thank you all for your work and for standing up for citizens and the great Sinn Féin party.
Thanks also to your family.
I have attached a piece I wrote for Village magazine in April 2005 on Candidatitis .
I hope you are not suffering too badly from this.
Enjoy the campaign.
We are winning. Good luck. 
Le gach dea mhéin agus buiochas duit.  
Is mise  
Gerry Adams TD
 
 
Candidatitis and other ailments
At some point in every election campaign every candidate forms a view that they are going to win. This syndrome, which is known as candidatitis, is capable of moving even the most rational aspirant into a state of extreme self belief. It strikes without warning, is no respecter of gender, and can infect the lowly municipal hopeful as well as lofty presidential wannabe.
Screaming Lord Sutch, or his Irish equivalent, and no I don’t mean Michael McDowell, who stand just for the craic, can fall victim of candidatitis as much as the most committed and earnest political activist. I believe this is due to two factors. First of all most people standing for election see little point in telling the voters that they are not going to win. That just wouldn’t make sense. Of course not. So they say they are going to win.
Listen to Michael Howard the British Tory leader. He has no chance of beating Blair. Does he admit that? Not on your nelly. Or closer to home. Listen to David Ford the Alliance leader. No chance of winning even half a seat in the current contest in the north but Ford sounds as confident as George W Bush addressing an election rally in his native Texas.
That's when candidatitis starts. As the 'we are going to win' is repeated time and time again it starts to have a hypnotic effect on the person intoning the mantra. By this time it’s too late.  Which brings me to the second factor.  Most people encourage candidatitis. Unintentionally. Not even the candidates best friend will say hold on, you haven't a chance. Except for the media. But no candidate believes the media. And most candidates are never interviewed by the media anyway. So a victim of candidatitis will take succour from any friendly word from any punter. Even a 'good luck' takes on new meaning and 'I won't forget ye' is akin to a full blooded endorsement. So are we to pity sufferers of this ailment? Probably not. They are mostly consenting adults, though in most elections many parties occasionally run conscripts. In the main these are staunch party people who are persuaded to run by more sinister elements who play on their loyalty and commitment.
In some cases these reluctant candidates run on the understanding that they are not going to get elected. Their intervention, they are told, is to stop the vote going elsewhere or to maintain the party's representative share of the vote. In some cases this works. But in some cases, despite everything, our reluctant hero, or heroine, actually gets elected. A friend of mine was condemned to years on Belfast City council years ago when his election campaign went horribly wrong. He topped the poll.
That’s another problem in elections based on proportional representation. Topping the poll is a must for some candidates.  Such ambition creates a headache for party managers. If the aim is to get a panel of party representatives elected they all have to come in fairly evenly. This requires meticulous negotiations to carve up constituencies.   Implementing such arrangements make the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement look easy. It requires an inordinate amount of discipline on the candidates' behalf. Most have this. Some don’t. Some get really sneaky. Particularly as the day of reckoning comes closer. Hot flushes and an allergy to losing can lead to some sufferers poaching a colleague's votes. This is a very painful condition leading to serious outbreaks of nastiness and reprisals and recriminations if detected before polling day. It usually cannot be treated and can have long term effects.
So dear readers all of this is by way of lifting the veil on these usually unreported problems which infect our election contests. Politicians are a much maligned species. In some cases not without cause.
But as we enter the last week of elections in the north I thought Village readers, if fully informed of the viruses caused by electionitis,  might be persuaded to take a more tolerant and benign view of the sometimes strange behaviour of those citizens who contest elections .
Love us or hate us you usually get the politicians you deserve. Granted this might not always extend to governments, given the coalitions which come together in blatant contradiction of all election promises or commitments. The lust for power causes this. This condition is probably the most serious ailment affecting our political system and those who live there. It is sometimes terminal. But this comes after elections and is worthy of a separate study.
Before they get to that point, if they ever do, candidates suffer many torments. Space restrictions prevents me from documenting them all.
So, don’t ignore the visages on the multitudes of posters which defile lamp posts and telegraph poles during election times, and in some cases for years afterwards. Think of the torment that poor soul is suffering. When you are accosted by a pamphlet waving besuited male, and they mostly are besuited males, as you shop in the supermarket or collect the children at school try to see beyond the brash exterior. Inside every Ian Paisley is a little boy aiming to
please. Bertie, Pat, Mary and the rest of us are the same. It's not really our fault you see. Big boys make us do it. And your votes encourage us.
 

The MRF - Dublin Monaghan bombs - Ballymurphy Massacre - state sponsored killings and collusion

The decision by Drew Harris, the Assistant Chief Constable of the PSNI, not to investigate killings carried out by the secret British Army ‘Military Reaction Unit’ of the early 1970s will surprise few within the nationalist community.
The MRF was the subject of a BBC programme last year. In it members of that clandestine force boasted of their activities. The MRF was particularly noted for carrying out drive-by shootings in which civilians were targeted. Pat McVeigh and Daniel Rooney were two of its victims. There were others.
At that time it was widely believed that many of these attacks were the work of unionist death squads. Some were claimed by the British Army but it is clear that part of the strategy that the MRF was working to was to heighten sectarian fears.
In more recent weeks Drew Harris’s profile has increased because of his claim that 95 of the 228 OTRs who received letters were linked to 295 killings. The fact that there was no evidence for this and that his claim was based solely on ‘intelligence’ was lost on our more reactionary political elements. He was also, according to media reports, the police officer who authorised my arrest.
The reality is that for 40 years the British state has defended and protected those who kill on its behalf from the legal consequences of their actions. There are countless examples of this.
When the Historical Enquiries Team brought British soldiers in to question them about the killing of citizens they were not arrested. On the contrary they were given tea and scones!
Last year a British Inspectorate of Constabulary report – the HMIC - was scathing in its criticism of how the PSNI handled those investigations.
Today the PSNI knows, and has known for years, the names of those members of the British Parachute Regiment who killed 14 people on the streets of Derry in 1972. Have any of the Paras been arrested? NO.
The PSNI know that the 11 civilians killed in Ballymurphy in August 1971 and the six killed in Springhill the following year – all by the Paras - are innocent victims. Have they diligently pursued these cases? No.
Three weeks ago the British Secretary of State Theresa Villiers criticised what she described as the one sided focus on state killings. Her intention is to create a hierarchy of victims in which those killed by the British state and their families are treated as second class.
This was the British state using shoot-to-kill policies, plastic bullets and indirect state sponsored executions – often of citizens who had no involvement in any aspect of the conflict.
Among other actions the British government was and is directly responsible for is the Dublin-Monaghan bombings which left 34 civilians dead 40 years ago this weekend.
The McEntee report found that the investigations were, ‘significantly restricted in their investigations by the non-cooperation of the British authorities’. Four reports were published by the Dáil into the Dublin Monaghan bombs. The Dáil concluded “that given that we are dealing with acts of international terrorism that were colluded in by the British security forces, the British Government cannot legitimately refuse to co-operate with investigations and attempts to get to the truth.”
But that is exactly what successive British governments, including this one, have done. They have refused to provide information in their possession on these killings.
In respect of the Ballymurphy case the British Secretary of State has now refused a review of the circumstances surrounding those events. She also refused a similar request from the families of 11 victims of the IRA who were killed in a bomb attack at La Mon in 1978 and of course we know that the British are refusing to establish the public inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane.
The British government is involved in a concerted cover-up of the role of the British government and its security and intelligence agencies in colluding with unionist paramilitaries in the killing of citizens. It also wants to cover-up the role it played in securing for the UDA and the UVF and the DUP founded Ulster Resistance, weapons from the old apartheid regime in South Africa, which subsequently killed hundreds of citizens, including members of my party.
Ms Villiers position is further evidence of a British government determined to prevent victims of British state violence from getting to the truth.
On Tuesday I had an opportunity to raise some of these matters with the Taoiseach in the Dáil. I had 17 questions down out of 37 on the north.
I specifically asked Enda Kenny if he had been given prior notice of Villiers decision in respect of Ballymurphy. He told me that they had been notified the night before but he wasn’t sure if the Department of Foreign Affairs had received a copy of the statement.
There was no effort to challenge Villiers decision - just a meek acceptance of the Brit line. This is typical of the Irish government’s current approach to the peace process. It appears to have no pro-active strategy to engage with British government.
More positively the Taoiseach has promised to visit Ballymurphy and to bring forward an all-party Oireachtas motion in support of the Ballymurphy families. That at least is welcome.