“The Bank of a Lifetime” ….. July 25, 2011
Posted by irishelectionliterature in Uncategorized.4 comments
From the early 70s an ad for Bank of Ireland “The bank of a lifetime” ….. Now it just drips with irony as we stuck with this banks debts for our lifetime and beyond…
Left Archive: Workers’ Republic, No. 96, League for a Workers Republic, May 1983 July 25, 2011
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Irish Left Online Document Archive, League for a Workers Republic.4 comments
To download the above document please click on the following link: WR 1983
This document issued in May 1983 was published by the League for a Workers Republic, at that point the Irish Section of the Fourth International. For an overview of the LWR see here.
The lead article details how shop-stewards organise for a General Strike but that…
…no prominent trade union leaders or political figure has supported Matt Merrigan’s call. instead the ICTU leadership has stated that they are encouraged by the anti-tax evasion measures in the Finance Bill. This Bill, now going through the Dáil implements the PAYE increases. But the ICTU want stoppages to cease and lobbying of individual T.D.’s to take place instead.
It also has a piece on the Nicky Kelly campaign which notes that:
British rule in Ireland has been challenged by the heroic workers and youth of the occupied 6 counties for over ten years, supported by their brothers and sisters in the South.
There are a range of articles engaging with topics such as Trades Councils, an account of a Polish strike committee organizer and founder of the Polish Socialist Workers’ Party at his trial by the Polish regime and reference to the anti-abortion amendment to the Constitution, which had yet to be determined.
There’s also an editorial that criticises Brendan Doris [of CPI M-L] and Joe Duffy, then the leadership of the Union of Students in Ireland, for not running a national campaign or press conferences against education cuts.
Careful study of the names of those involved will point to one or two familiar to the Left Archive.
Sunday Independent Stupid Statement of the Week July 24, 2011
Posted by Garibaldy in Sunday Independent Stupid Statement of the Week.37 comments
Some people might think that getting up on a Sunday morning, switching on the computer, and subjecting yourself in minute detail to the delights of the Sunday Independent might be a bit of a drag. However, those people are forgetting that the Sunday Independent has been a fearless beacon of modern pluralism, a shining light against atavistic nationalism, and leader in the struggle to free ourselves from the nightmare of Irish history and creating a new future not dictated by past prejudices. That’s why it’s such a delight to read such lines as the following from Daniel McConnell, which point to the Sindo’s commitment to a bright new future.
Welcome to the world of German imperialism, economic style. The Germans have always wanted to control the economies of Europe and now, after this deal, they will. Is it democratic? No. Is it reality? Yes.
Actually, typing this, I think I’ve typed something very similar before when someone in the Sindo came out with the same Germanophobic rubbish that is more reminiscent of British nationalism than it is of constructing a pluralist Irish identity (and just to prove the point, Frederick Forsyth appears saying the deal is a charter for a fourth reich). But if the Sindo writers can get away with repeating the same nonsense week after week, I figure I can do the same thing. This is not the only place in this week’s edition where similar sort of stuff can be seen. Could it be that, for all their rhetoric, the denizens of the Sindo are nothing but narrow-minded, petit-bourgeois nationalists after all, albeit of the 26 county variety? One might suggest that that conforms with their general right-wing attitudes – reading this piece by Emer O’Kelly brings up old Ireland, and conservative religious Europe.
Eoghan Harris, at least, is continuing in a vein more in keeping with the Sindo’s self-image, praising Kenny’s recent speech on clerical abuse to the rafters.
Kenny’s revolutionary speech was not simply a rebuke to the Vatican. It called for reform of the Roman Catholic Church, confirmed that Home Rule did not mean Rome rule, and returned the word “republic” to the Northern Protestants to whom it originally belonged. Like all great speeches it had good authority, slew a sacred cow, and spoke the truths that set us free.
Personally, I don’t share the idea that the speech was some sort of revolutionary act marking a fundamental break with Rome or an act of massive political and moral courage. It probably would have been 25 years ago, but after Bishop Casey, the child abuse and Magdalene laundries, the decline in church attendance, the growth of secularisation, immigration and all the other changes of the last couple of decades, to me it seemed like an easy target guaranteed to be popular, but at the same time sparing the local church by focusing on Rome. In other words, a piece of empty populism. That isn’t, however, the reason I’m nominating this statement. It’s the bit about returning the word “republic” to the Northern Protestants to whom it originally belonged. I don’t even know where to start with that. By the by, there’s been an interesting shift in the rhetoric surrounding the IRA and sectarianism during the 1919-23 period. It used to be that the only people who opposed the line advocated by Harris and co on the basis of Peter Hart’s work were dismissed as cranks and nutters, not serious historians. Now, with the hostile reaction in reviews written by historians to that book on Cork disappearances, the rhetoric has shifted to condemn at least some academic historians for partaking of a cover-up akin to that undertaken by the Catholic church.
This week’s winner, in a tough week to shine, is Brendan O’Connor who seems incapable of defining what the public sector actually is, but he doesn’t like it when he sees it.
So the public sector is sorted. Its workers will maintain the 47 per cent premium they enjoy over their colleagues in the private sector, and they have total job security. So however horrific the upcoming budget, they can all rest easy. The public sector will not be downsized unless it wants to be. So while we cut services to the old, the sick and the disabled; while we compromise our education system, the major thing we should be investing in now in order to capitalise on the next boom; while the Government has taken to stealing people’s pensions in order to balance the books, the public sector has been ring-fenced.
Apparently public services to the old, the sick and the disabled, as well as the education system, are not part of the public sector. Who knew?
Most idiotic statement in the Sindo ever?
This weekend I’ll mostly be listening to… Lights Out Asia July 23, 2011
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Culture, This Weekend I'll Mostly Be Listening to....2 comments
Following on from last weeks contribution it’s clearly time for something a little quieter, a little more reflective. Lights Out Asia are post-rock/electronica band from Milwaukee who dabble in ambient and shoegaze. I mentioned their Tanks and Recognizers album some years ago, and here from their Eyes Like Brontide album – Brontide for those of you asking apparently means ‘a low muffled sound like distant thunder heard in certain seismic regions’, so that’s okay then, is a further series of tracks. These, dating from 2008, are more ambient than T&R, but mighty fine in their way.
For some reason they’re fascinated by Soviet era iconography and this is, as we can see from some of the samples and track titles, reflected on the album.
Reference points? Well I hear Talk Talk, or even Bark Psychosis in there, but they’re less jagged, more melodic. Perhaps that’s a function of their shoegaze roots. Their stuff is on the most interesting n5MD record label which for those interested in this – admittedly fairly broad – genre is worth stopping by.
Enjoy.
“Psiu! Puxa!”
Radars Over the Ghosts of Chernobyl
Mir
X-33
Corporation Tax and Northern Ireland July 22, 2011
Posted by Garibaldy in Northern Ireland, Workers' Party.6 comments
It was announced the other day that if the cut in corporation tax sought by the Stormont parties goes ahead, Northern Ireland will lose an additional £100m from its executive budget, so that the total will be £400m. Supposedly, this is going to be made up in corporation tax. I have my doubts, as do many others. Below is a press release from the WP, and a link to the WP’s 13-page submission to the Treasury, which calls for the NI economy to be rebalanced, not in favour of multi-nationals, but the bottom two-thirds of society. It draws on a wide range of arguments from those opposed to the corporation tax fallacy, and may be of interest. You can also find the ICTU’s 20-page position paper linked below as well. The bottom line, it seems, is that public services are likely to suffer in pursuit of a pipe dream and unsustainable accounting tricks.
The Workers Party have said the announcement by Finance Minister Sammy Wilson that the cost of introducing a reduction in Corporation Tax in Northern Ireland has now been revised upwards to £400m pa is a vindication of the position adopted by the Party in opposing a reduction in Corporation Tax from the outset.
This demonstrates that this proposal has not been thought through. Not only would a direct reduction in the NI budget of £400m result in even more vicious cutbacks which would increase poverty and hardship in NI, than those that are already planned, but the source of the additional £100m loss is precisely what we had warned about ie large supermarket retailers like Tesco declaring profits in NI.
This information was already in the public domain and had been highlighted by the WP as one of the many flaws in the argument for a reduction in the rate of corporation tax.
The fact that the finance minister has stated this only days after the Consultation process had closed can only be seen as a most cyncial move.The Workers Party restate our long held view that the only way to advance economic recovery is by the planned investment in public works and infrastructure coupled with the development of export driven industries not tax handouts to those who don’t need them.
This Week At The Irish Election Literature Blog July 22, 2011
Posted by irishelectionliterature in Irish Election Literature Blog.Tags: Irish Politics
2 comments
Starting off this week with a 2007 Leaflet from Tony Gregory
on then to a recent leaflet from the SWP with the headline “The IMF Want to destroy public services with the help of the liars of Fine Gael and Labour”
Then a Justice for the Rossport 5 leaflet from Sinn Fein
Finally as the Presidential race gets closer ….
A leaflet from Mary McAleese and one from Mary Robinson
** I just added Local Election Results -Cavan 1924 to 2009, Carlow 1960 to 2009, Clare 1974 to 2009
Audio recording of the Cork launch of “Sins of the Father” July 21, 2011
Posted by irishelectionliterature in Uncategorized.6 comments
In case you’ve missed it, Conor McCabes talk at the Cork launch of “Sins of the Father” was recorded and the audio posted on Dublin Opinion
Its a great listen, especially as I had to leave in the middle of Conors speech at the Dublin book launch.
Meanwhile… back at the Seanad July 21, 2011
Posted by WorldbyStorm in back at the Seanad, Irish Politics.add a comment
A curious mix this week. There is the issue of Roscommon, then there’s the issue of Roscommon and Sinn Féin, and some reasonable upset that the Cloynes Report wasn’t necessarily being received with the gravity it deserved.
There was also a visitor from Europe, President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek
And calls for the suspension of Mick Wallace and Luke [Ming] Flanagan from Leinster House.
Senator Terry Leyden: I would welcome a debate on health issues with the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly. He owes it to us to come into this House and I will move non-Government motion No. 3 on today’s Order Paper if the opportunity arises. We should have an opportunity to discuss the serious decision to close the accident and emergency department at Roscommon County Hospital. Yesterday, 11 July 2011, was a black day for Roscommon. It has been proven that the Taoiseach made statements on radio to the effect that he would retain those services. The Minister, Deputy Reilly, sent the letter that I read on the floor of the House last week and the Tánaiste gave a commitment to Senator John Kelly that the Government would guarantee the future of the hospital and its accident and emergency department. The Tánaiste has also stated that he will protect the accident and emergency department in Loughlinstown, which is located close to St. Vincent’s hospital. The same cannot be said about Roscommon County Hospital, however. The Cathaoirleach’s hospital in Castlebar will benefit from the closure of the accident and emergency department in Roscommon.
It is a major blow to Roscommon and, as someone who has been involved in this issue for a long time and signed the contract for the new accident and emergency department in 2002, I find it most regrettable. The people of Roscommon feel deeply saddened by this decision and if the Taoiseach announced the closure of the department, I do not doubt Fine Gael would have won only one seat, if any, in the Roscommon-South Leitrim constituency.
As Patsy McGarry noted in The Irish Times —–
An Cathaoirleach: Has the Senator a question for the Leader?
Senator Terry Leyden: I asked the question already but the people of Roscommon were sold a pig in a poke. Mr. McGarry made a relevant point when he wrote: “the 19th century English historian Lord Acton wrote: ‘All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely’.”
Senator Catherine Noone: That is rich from Fianna Fáil.
Senator Fidelma Healy Eames: Fourteen years of absolute power.
An Cathaoirleach: Has Senator Leyden a question for the Leader?
Senator Terry Leyden: The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform —–
An Cathaoirleach: Has the Senator a question for the Leader?
Senator Fidelma Healy Eames: Fianna Fáil closed down Roscommon with its poor management of the economy.
Senator Terry Leyden: I am trying to support my argument for bringing the Minister to the House. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has allocated €30 million to an accident and emergency unit in Wexford General Hospital. Where the power rests in Government is where the decisions are made in favour of certain areas. I do not believe this Government will last a full term. I regret that to the extent that the Seanad will probably be abolished but —–
An Cathaoirleach: I call Senator Clune.
Senator Terry Leyden: —– given the resignations in Roscommon by a Deputy and two councillors, with more to come, it is a serious situation for the Government and a black day for Roscommon.
Meanwhile, can you guess the connection between Roscommon and Sinn Féin. Go on, you know you can…Let’s start with a painfully balanced contribution from Senator John Crown who treats the topic with due seriousness…
Senator John Crown: I did not have an opportunity to consult HIQA on the mortality figures in local hospitals, but the closure of services in Roscommon is a critical issue. I am not an instinctive “save our hospital” type of person because calm, rational and systematic decisions need to be made about the configuration of hospital services. However, these decisions must keep in mind two key variables. The first is that larger centres with a higher throughput will generally have better outcomes than smaller centres dealing sporadically with the same health problems. The second is that local people will enjoy some improvements in the quality of their care if they have local access. A balance has to be struck between these variables. For that reason, I will not state whether services in Roscommon should be closed or remain open.
I have strong opinions about where cancer care services should be provided, but I am not as certain about the emergency department at Roscommon County Hospital. However, the decision-making process which apparently led to the precipitous decision to discontinue emergency services at Roscommon County Hospital leaves something to be desired. I ask the Leader to arrange for the Minister for Health to come to the House with the figures and, if necessary, a good old-fashioned US Congress-style board because I, for one, want to understand the numbers which led to the statement that the mortality rate in Galway was 5% compared to 20% in Roscommon. As a professional, there are not many areas of my speciality in which two treatments gives rise to a 200% difference in outcome. As I thought there was something odd in the figures, I sought information from the folks in Roscommon and the figures they supplied indicate that there were approximately 430 admissions to the coronary care and cardiac unit last year in Roscommon, with a mortality rate of approximately 5%. I have also seen the figures for the patients who died while in the care of Roscommon County Hospital in 2011 and believe most of those who died could not have been saved in Mayo Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital or anywhere else. They included patients who had had devastating strokes complicated by pneumonia and elderly people with multi-system complications and no chance of recovery.
When I heard the suggestion that matters were so bad in Roscommon that not only was it necessary to close the service but that it had to be done as an emergency, I was discomfited on behalf of my good colleagues working at the hospital who for many years had provided a service on a shoestring budget and, in some cases, built modern cardiac services with limited or no support from successive Governments. They have managed to achieve and deliver a reasonably good service for the people of County Roscommon. The argument may be made in favour of centralising cardiac and other emergency services in Galway and this should be part of the national debate. However, promising in advance of an election that —–
An Cathaoirleach: Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?
Senator John Crown: The three most senior people in government promised that the unit would be kept open and then abruptly changed their policy on the basis of data which I believe are not correct. Furthermore, it has just been reported on radio that Mr. Patrick McHugh stated HIQA had never visited or inspected this hospital. A representative from HIQA was put on the spot on the radio programme and it has said there has not been an inspection of Roscommon County Hospital. The Minister may have made the right or the wrong decision. I do not know, but we need him to come to the House to give us the figures and take us through the thought processes behind the decision. I am sorry for running over time.
Senator Jim D’Arcy: I, too, would welcome it if the Minister came to the House. He is very busy—-
(Interruptions).
An Cathaoirleach: Senator D’Arcy to continue, without interruption.
Senator Jim D’Arcy: The Senators can intimidate Deputy Frank Feighan all they like – they are the bully boys in Irish politics – but they will not intimidate me. I will not be shouted down.
An Cathaoirleach: That is not relevant to the Order of Business. Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?
Senator Jim D’Arcy: The Minister is very busy trying to fix a broken system. If there was a problem at a hospital, the first thing a solicitor would ask for was a HIQA report. The Minister must be mindful of this. The only political party to close a hospital in Ireland in the past ten years is Sinn Féin. Bairbre de Brún closed Omagh hospital.
Senator David Cullinane: The Senator has an obsession with Sinn Féin. It is a very unhealthy fetish.
An Cathaoirleach: Does Senator Jim D’Arcy have a question for the Leader?
Senator Jim D’Arcy: Yes.
Senator David Cullinane: The Senator spends all his time attacking Sinn Féin. He cannot make a meaningful contribution.
An Cathaoirleach: Senator Jim D’Arcy to continue, without interruption.
Senator Jim D’Arcy: I am only making a point.
Senator David Cullinane: Sing a different tune.
An Cathaoirleach: Senator Cullinane, can we, please, hear Senator Jim D’Arcy without interruption? You are eating into the time of other Senators.
Senator Jim D’Arcy: I will not mention Sinn Féin for a long time to come, if Senator David Cullinane so touchy about it.
Senator David Cullinane: I am not. I am concerned about—–
An Cathaoirleach: Senator D’Arcy, you are running out of time. Have you a question for the Leader?
Senator Jim D’Arcy: That was a comment I wanted to make.
As I would welcome a debate on Palestinian statehood, I would like the Leader to put the matter on the agenda of the House, in support of Senator Darragh O’Brien. I want a balanced debate, not a witch-hunt. For many years we have had pogroms in Limerick and the church praying for the conversion of the perfidious Jews who crucified the Saviour.
An Cathaoirleach: These points can be made during the debate.
Senator Jim D’Arcy: I would welcome such a debate on Palestinian statehood.
Then there were the unfortunate comments of Deputy Wallace in the Dáil,
Senator Ivana Bacik: We would all be pleased to see the text of the motion on Palestine to which Senator O’Brien referred. I hope there can be cross-party support for such a motion. I agree with Senator O’Brien’s comments on the power of Moody’s. We all agree that the power of these ratings agencies should be curbed and that they have had an undue effect on exacerbating the financial crisis within the eurozone. We all condemn that.
I call for a renewed debate on women’s representation in politics. We have had the debate before in the Seanad. We held a historic debate in this House during the last session. It was the first ever debate on women’s representation in politics in the history of the State. However, the need for this debate is made more urgent in light of the reports of yesterday’s sexist comments made in the Dáil Chamber. I was greatly concerned to hear reports that comments were made in the Dáil Chamber which indicate that a culture of sexism is still prevalent in the Oireachtas.
Senator Darragh O’Brien: Hear, hear.
Senator Ivana Bacik: I heard an apology.
An Cathaoirleach: Senator, as you well know, what happens in the other House is of no relevance to us.
Senator Ivana Bacik: It is simply the context.
(Interruptions).
An Cathaoirleach: Senator Bacik, please.
Senator Ivana Bacik: It indicates a culture still exists in which women do not feel encouraged or confident to come forward to enter political life. Members will be aware that in 2009 I authored a report on women’s participation in politics for the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Women’s Rights. It received cross-party support in this House and at the joint committee and it recommended that action be taken to tackle the obstacles facing women on entry into political life. These obstacles were known in our report as the five Cs: lack of confidence, lack of child care, lack of cash, difficulties with candidate selection procedures and a sexist culture. This culture is the hardest to tackle. Clearly, it cannot be tackled through legislation but it can be tackled through all of us, men and women alike, standing up and condemning comments that indicate a sexist culture still exists. I am pleased that the Minister, Deputy Hogan, has announced the introduction of legislation along the lines we recommended in our report in 2009. Such legislation will require political parties to select a minimum number of candidates of each gender at each election. Only through such positive action can we increase the woefully low numbers of people entering Irish political life. Certainly, the comments we heard yesterday do not help the matter.
…
Senator Rónán Mullen: Senator Bacik was correct to bring up the issue she raised this morning. Her concerns about women’s representation in politics are well known. I also share her concern about the representation of women in politics, which is a different but no less important matter. However, as for the issue that has arisen, the reason it is relevant is that it is not simply about an absence of gentlemanliness but is about how Members conduct themselves in these Houses that comprise the national Parliament. Yet again, a story has appeared in the media concerning frankly embarrassing behaviour on the part of Members of these Houses. In this context, I ask the Leader to get in touch with the Ceann Comhairle, who I believe to be the appropriate person, and ask him to write to the Members of the Oireachtas to remind them of their duties—–
An Cathaoirleach: That is not a matter for this House.
Senator Rónán Mullen: It certainly is appropriate for me to ask the Leader to write to the Ceann Comhairle, who I believe has a certain responsibility for both Houses in the context of the work of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission and so on. While I am open to correction by the Cathaoirleach in this regard, what is relevant to the other House in this matter is also relevant here.
I speak as someone who is normally critical of the media. I am not enthusiastic about the media picking up things off-mic but I believe a bigger issue has arisen, namely, the issue of how Members treat one another and are perceived to treat one another. Moreover, in the background there are concerns that people and young women in particular have about body image, as well as a certain inequality in the manner in which women appear to be prone to be commented on in a way that men are not and so on. These are relevant issues and it is important that we politicians meet a higher standard in such matters. This is the reason it is important for the Leader to get in touch with the Ceann Comhairle and that Oireachtas Members are reminded of their duties in these Houses. In this context, it was made known to me that two female journalists were heard to comment on the issue and one expressed her reluctance to criticise any Member of the Technical Group because they are all such diamonds who are great for copy. Perhaps this illustrates the trivialisation that goes on about issues in these Houses and may be a reason that politicians do not meet high standards in the manner in which they address issues or speak of one another.
…
Senator Mary M. White: I urgently request the presence in the Seanad before the end of this session of the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. The state of the economy and the crisis in the number of unemployed people are most serious issues and I am disappointed that the Minister, Deputy Bruton, has not yet appeared in this House. I plead with the Leader to make endeavours in this regard. While it was all very fine to have Mr. Buzek in the Chamber yesterday, I seek the attendance of the Minister, Deputy Bruton, to spell out the position on the ground and what he is doing with regard to the numbers of unemployed people and to help get them back to work. The danger lies in the increasing numbers of people in long-term unemployment. As I have stated previously, the continued success of the multinational exporting industries and the indigenous exporting Irish companies was nurtured and grown under the watch of Fianna Fáil. Moreover, I read an article last week about the financial services sector and how successful it is, in which there was not a single mention of how Mr. Haughey had driven the development of the financial services centre.
Senator Terry Leyden: That is true.
Senator Mary M. White: We are a very forgetful people.
Senator Terry Leyden: On purpose.
Senator Mary M. White: Finally, Mick Wallace and Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan—–
An Cathaoirleach: Senator, it is Deputy Flanagan.
Senator Mary M. White: —– should be suspended from Leinster House.
An Cathaoirleach: Senator, that is not a matter for this House.
Senator Mary M. White: I accept what the Cathaoirleach is saying. I am ashamed of my life that men in the Oireachtas would speak like that about another lady.
Senator Ivana Bacik: Hear, hear.
Senator Mary M. White: While there are only two ladies in the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party out of a total of 31 members, I must say they are all very gallant.
Senators: Hear, hear.
Senator Mary M. White: However, the likes of Luke Flanagan has been rude to me about my company.
An Cathaoirleach: Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?
Senator Mary M. White: He can say what he likes. I believe they both should be suspended.
An Cathaoirleach: That is not a matter for this House.
Senator Mary M. White: Excuse me. This gives a bad example to children in schools nationwide and for men to refer to a colleague with such a derogatory term constitutes a bad example.
Senators: Hear, hear.
And the Cloynes Report?
Senator Terry Leyden: I ask the Leader to arrange for a debate before the recess on the Cloyne report. It is very important that we have a full, measured and reasoned debate based on facts. The report was commissioned during the Fianna Fáil Administration which shows that we were open to it. The victims are suffering with the release of the report but at least there is some closure, as they said this morning.
The bishop concerned was involved in a major cover-up in 1978 in the Vatican when Pope John Paul I died tragically and, possibly, under very strange circumstances. There was a major cover-up at the time. He was then made Bishop of Cloyne.
An Cathaoirleach: These are points that can be made during the debate.
(Interruptions).
An Cathaoirleach: Senator Leyden, without interruption. Those are points you can make during the debate.
Senator Terry Leyden: There have been cover-ups—–
Senator Martin Conway: On a point of order, it is quite inappropriate, given the sensitive nature of what we have been discussing this morning, that the Senator should go down this line of dialogue.
An Cathaoirleach: Senator, that is not a point of order.
Senator Martin Conway: It most definitely is a point of order, given the sensitive nature of the Cloyne report.
An Cathaoirleach: It is not a point of order.
Senator Martin Conway: It is absolutely appalling to think that anybody would go down that line of comment.
An Cathaoirleach: Senator Leyden, those are points you can make during the debate.
Senator Terry Leyden: Okay. The point I am making is that the fundamentals of the church are still right and people should not use the report to get at the church. The Sermon on the Mount is a fundamental principle of the church and has not changed. I am not making light of the situation.
The bishop was involved in a cover-up before. The report explains that he misled the former Minister of State with responsibility for children, Barry Andrews. There is nothing new in the report. What happened in Cloyne—–
An Cathaoirleach: They are points that can be made during the debate.
Senator Terry Leyden: —–has been exposed. I ask the Leader of the House to have a reasoned debate on it within two weeks.
…
Senator Mary M. White: I express my shock at some of the remarks made about the latest Cloyne report, that we should not speak about it in the House and that we should delay a debate on it in order to have time to read it. As the House will be sitting next Tuesday afternoon, I do not see why we cannot debate it then. This is an urgent national issue. Child abuse is a most cruel act that also affects the victims’ parents, families and friends. People’s lives are destroyed by it. The Catholic Church cannot be above the law and must be responsible to the State. We have let off bankers and are now letting off church people. They must stand before the law and be treated accordingly. As has been said many times in this Chamber, these matters will not be resolved until the people see wrongdoers behind bars for the financial trauma endured by our little country and until the Catholic Church is made accountable and people are sent to prison for what they have done to children. They must increasingly be seen to be brought in shackled. I was quite shocked when I heard it said this morning that we should wait a while before having a discussion on the report. Have we become so anaesthetised to what was eloquently presented to us, with empathy, by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, and our former colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, who is an outstanding Minister? We need an urgent debate on the report with one of the two Ministers in attendance. We are a shame to the world. I cannot resist saying the Catholic Church is male-dominated. How many young men were sent away to become brothers or priests before their sexuality developed? I know sexual abuse is not confined to religious orders, but we must examine the issue. They were sent away at 12 or 13 years of age.
An Cathaoirleach: I am sure the Senator can make these points during the debate.
Senator Mary M. White: I am quite shocked that humour was brought into the discussion and also that it was suggested we should postpone a debate on the report. Everybody can read it tonight, as we all have received a copy, or have we become so anaesthetised? We have received four reports; are we no longer shocked by them?
That visitor from Europe… visited. President Buzek, had some intriguing statements about coalition.
It is a very risky profession being a politician, as Senators know very well. Without risk, however, we cannot achieve anything more than going from one election to another and trying to survive. That is not the main goal for politicians. I can understand and feel what Irish politicians are doing with their reforms and how important they are for its citizens. They sometimes feel differently but the responsibility politicians have is great. I congratulate them.
The position of the Opposition is very helpful for the Government, as far as I know. Of course, there is never full support from the Opposition for the coalition; it is quite obvious. Otherwise, it would not be a democracy. We know very well that in the most important issues for our future there could be from time to time a very broad and wide coalition. Such coalitions are sometimes necessary, maybe once for ten years or two decades.
The last time there was such a coalition in Ireland there was an excellent pact of solidarity. I visited Ireland just after the Good Friday Agreement on the invitation of the Taoiseach. I visited the country because I wanted to know something about its solidarity pact. Trade unions engaged in freezing salaries for some time. It is fantastic because thanks to that, Ireland had at least one decade of prosperity.
Hmmm…
And finally, here’s an exchange that typifies the Chamber:
Senator David Norris: Hear, hear.
Senator Darragh O’Brien: I thank the Senator.
Senator David Norris: I raised it three years ago in this House.
Senator Darragh O’Brien: I have been here only a short while.
Senator David Norris: I know.
Dublin Local Elections 1967 to the Present July 21, 2011
Posted by irishelectionliterature in Ireland, Irish Politics.3 comments
Was kindly sent some spreadsheets of old Local Election Results that weren’t available online.
The first ones I’ve posted are Dublin City and County Council from 1967 to 2009. Most of which have full count details.
1991 to 2009 are in the main available on the brilliant electionsireland.org.
There’s much of interest especially for the Election results that were hard to come by. Needless to say there is much of interest to the Left also.
The 1985 Local Elections in Dublin City Council are of particular interest in that they marked the collapse of the Labour vote in Dublin City Council with The Workers Party winning 6 seats to Labours 2. The DSP also ran a few candidates with Michael Conaghan missing out.(they won 3 seats in Limerick)
In the county Council there’s all sorts including Sonny Knowles running for Fianna Fail (and not winning a seat)!
1979 marked Tomas MacGiolla winning a seat and the Socialist Labour Party narrowly missing out on a couple of seats. Indeed PJ Mara was well outpolled by the Socialist Labour Party in Artane.
As I’ve a particular interest in smaller Parties or groups (often not registered) should any of you be in a position to identify candidates from these smaller parties it would be great. The same of course goes for Left wing candidates that were classed as Independent.
I’ll be posting other results over time. Some counties results stretch back longer than others. If there is any particular county’s results that you’d like to see I’ll put that in the queue.
