The Socialist April 2016 by Socialist Party

PaPer of the SocialiSt Party

iSSue 98

1916-2016 REAL CHANGE MEANS SOCIALIST CHANGE

If you remove the English army tomorrow and hoist the green flag over Dublin Castle, unless you set about the organisation of the Socialist Republic your efforts would be in vain"

aPril 2016

INSIDE

Paul Murphy TD on the Luas strike

Mick Barry TD on the water charges battle

Socialist view of the Easter Rising

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April 2016

THE SOCIALIST

news

Election 2016 – Inequality & austerity rejected the election result was a massive rejection of the fine Gael / labour government and the neo-liberal, austerity policies which they have implemented. for the labour Party this was payback time for their absolute betrayal of working class people and the breaking of their election promises.

Aodhán O’Riordáin – Hypocrisy personified There were tears-shed by Labour party supporters at the loss of Aodhan O riordáin’s seat in dublin Bay North. The loss of the minister for State with responsibility for New Communities, Culture and equality is supposedly a ‘huge blow’, according to the commatairiat, for those who want to see social change on issues like the repeal of the 8th and travellers rights. A brief look at O’riordáin’s voting record exposes him as one of the biggest hypocrites in the dáil. This champion of

Aodhan O’Riordain, junior Minister for hypocrisy lost his seat

women’s rights voted down three bills in the dáil to repeal the 8th Amendment but supported legislation that would jail a woman for 14 years for getting an abortion. When a Bill was introduced to recognise traveller ethnicity O’riordáin wrestled with his conscience before going AWOL for the vote rather than lose the Labour party whip.

Alan Shatter – not to be missed Former Justice minister Alan Shatter was one of the high profile casualties from Fine Gael in dublin rathdown, alongside Labour minister Alex White. As a minister, Shatter had waged a war against Garda whistle-blowers, backing up the Commissioner to silence those who spoke out about wrong-doing in the force and attacking their integrity. While at the same time he himself was being fed information by the Gardaí and used it to attack political opponents.

Renua – Media hype fails to deliver renua lost its three seats, including leader Lucinda Creighton, and its other candidates failed to make an impact. This is despite huge media coverage which was given to the party as the right-wing media attempted to create a pds mark II and a new party for the rich.

Creighton’s right-wing, socially conservative Renua party was wiped out

This rotten system must go

Join the socialists today ccumulation of wealth at one pole is... at the same time accumulation of misery, agony of toil, slavery, ignorance, brutality, mental degradation, at the opposite pole” – Karl Marx The richest 1% global elite own more wealth than the other 99% of the world’s population. Let’s reflect on that for a moment. There has never, in the history of capitalism itself, nor in any other form of class-divided society in human history, been such a wealth-andpower gap between the ruling class and everyone else.

hotel suite in the world costs more than an annual wage for the vast majority of workers, $80,000 per night (in the Royal Penthouse Suite, Hotel President Wilson, Geneva), while globally nearly one billion people languish in slums. The drive for profit at the heart of capitalism as a system causes untold human misery. It’s the forprofit approach to housing that shuns human need and has created a housing and homelessness catastrophe in this state. Two hundred more families renting in an estate in Tyrrellstown, West Dublin, face eviction and homelessness because the developer’s debts were sold to a vulture fund.

Blind pursuit of profit

Humanity under threat

Even the genius, Karl Marx whose analysis of the nature of capitalism predicted such an obscene wealth polarisation could hardly have envisioned a world in which the most luxurious and expensive

Climate change crisis threatens the future of humanity. The short-term drive for profit that keeps fossil fuels burning is an anathema to environmental protection. The fact that capitalism is organised on the

“A

By Laura Fitzgerald

basis of nation states that compete against each other in the interests of their respective indigenous capitalist classes, is an absolute block on a real global emergency plan for a wholesale shift to renewable energy – the only viable solution to halt climate change chaos. In Ireland and globally, we need a challenge to the existence of a 1% elite. Such an anti-capitalist challenge is precisely a struggle as to who has the right to own and control the wealth in society. All those who have to sell their labour to survive – ordinary workers the world over – are the ones who create the wealth. The 1% elite – the capitalist class, practice grand larceny in the form of profits – the unpaid labour of working people. That’s why, from the struggle against water charges, to the Luas workers’ firm stance, such working class movements are harbingers of progress – every cent won is a dent in the supremacy of

renua, being more style than substance, offered nothing different to any other right-wing party except a pledge to be even more reactionary. Their three Tds had left Fine Gael because they were ardently anti-choice, while they pledged to introduce pro-rich, anti-working class policies like a ‘flat-tax’ which would benefit the richest at the expense of the lowest paid, and failed policies from the u.S like a ‘3 strikes rule’ on crime and to criminalise parents of young people.

James Reilly – Justly punished Fine Gael’s deputy Leader James reilly was given his p45 by the electorate. enda

By dAve murpHy on to slash the health budget which has decimated front line services and resulted in record numbers of people lying on trollies on an almost daily basis.

A Special Mention – Rogues’ Gallery Some of the other Tds who were booted out by the electorate include such infamous characters as: noel coonan who in a rare speech in the dáil compared anti-water charges protests to ISIS. Derek Keating, a silent FG backbencher who co-ordinated with a staff member to remove every copy of a local newspaper carrying a negative

Kenny tried to copy Cameron’s election strategy and failed miserably

Kenny’s right hand man paid the price for his support of the government’s austerity measures and his failure as a minister for Health. On taking office he pledged that ‘never again’ would there be a huge trolley crisis – yet then went

Text “JOIN” to 087 3141986 or visit: www.socialistparty.ie

front-page headline about him from shops in his constituency. Paudie coffey was minister of State with responsibility for Housing who in the midst of the wave of homelessness said there was no crisis rather ‘a challenge’!

the “masters of the universe”. For lasting change, a working class movement needs to be organised around socialist ideas. Socialism means that the major banks, corporations and economic levers in society, wealth and the means of producing it, must be taken out of private hands and instead be owned, controlled and run democratically by the working class majority.

A world to win The 1% has a lot to lose. And it has states that protect its interests, as evidenced by the criminalising of Jobstown protesters. It has a propaganda machine in the form of the mass media that worships at the altar of market greed and preaches that “there is no alternative”. But as Karl Marx professed, we have a world to win. Organising right now to build a razor-sharp socialist political force, in Ireland, and globally, is the most effective way to do this. Join the Socialist Party today and become part of a global socialist movement and political organisation, with sister parties in countries on every continent.

April 2016

3 THE SOCIALIST

Luas drivers show the way…

willing to compromise.

Solidarity needed

By Paul Murphy TD

uAs worKers, with their 99% vote for strike action and despite the universal hostility of the media, have shown how pay increases can be won. Their action forced the concession of an offer of up to an 18.7% pay rise over three years by Transdev.

Attack on conditions Unfortunately, the devil in the deal is in the detail which has not been publicised. That detail includes the effective lengthening of a 10 year payscale to a 14 year payscale, a reduction in the starting basic pay and the lengthening of the shifts from nine hours to nine hours and 30 minutes. While the Luas drivers would likely accept the pay offer alone, they are understandably unhappy with these conditions which would serve to divide workers in the future. Joe Carrick, Luas driver shop steward, who participated in the marathon 27 hour talks explained

Luas strike: An important example of how workers can win

that: “The members are livid about this and rightly so. The way the base rate is being returned to €29k undermines our argument that Luas drivers have not been paid correctly since day one. It’s extremely unfair that whilst 90 drivers would hit the top rate of pay in three years, the rest will have to wait a lot longer.” Luas drivers are expected to ballot in the next week on this. As the deal stands, it seems likely to be rejected, unless the offending elements are removed.

profits up, wages down

Much was made in the media of the initial 53% pay claim and even the reduced 27% pay claim – suggesting that it was entirely unreasonable. However, this was a claim for a five year contract. The context is that over the last five years pay increased by only 2.5% despite passenger revenue increasing by 30%, nowhere near keeping up with the skyrocketing of rent and other costs. This dispute is emblematic of the situation facing workers across the economy. Over the course of the crisis, wages have been reduced, as well as jobs being made significantly more flexible and precarious. The corollary of

that is the increase of profits for corporations by over 30% since 2008. Now that a recovery has been announced, if not felt, workers are looking to experience it by gaining wage increases. That is seen in the news that Dublin Bus and Iarnrod Eireann drivers are now going to seek a similar pay increase. With Transdev’s response, we saw how viciously corporations can respond to workers organising. While their position in talks was to refuse to countenance pay increases higher than the rate of inflation, in public they suggested if the workers were to ‘moderate’ their demands, they would be

SIPTU then did reduce the pay claim significantly to 27% and Transdev clearly smelt weakness. They reacted to this reduction by refusing to talk to the Luas drivers who make up the bulk of the Luas workforce and prepared to bring in strikebreaking private buses. Luas workers stood firm and therefore forced Transdev to withdraw the threat of buses and to negotiate. IBEC, the big business representative organisation, rowed in behind Transdev, correctly seeing this dispute as strategically important for big business. They don’t want the floodgates to open for other workers demanding pay increases, eating into the increases in profits won over the course of the crisis. They criticised the strike, saying that workers should seek only “moderate” pay increases – declining to mention the fact that they opposed the extremely “moderate” increase in the minimum wage of 50 cent! Just as IBEC understood the importance of this dispute from the point of view of big business it is vital that working people understand the significance of the Luas dispute and other disputes for pay increases. It is in the interests of all workers to see pay rises being granted. A victory can give a real example of what can be achieved when workers take militant action.

Cadbury strike: Profitable multinational goes on the attack By Cllr. Michael O’Brien after lettinG go of 160 staff from the cadbury coolock plant last year Mondelez’s recent demand for a further 17 jobs to be outsourced along with enforcing changes in shift patterns unfavourable to many of the workers brought home to the staff that, until the bosses were stood up to, attacks on their jobs and conditions would never cease.

Strike action This was the context behind the massive vote of SIPTU and UNITE members to go out on indefinite strike on 3 March when the company tried to steamroll through the changes. If Mondelez, who have a record the world over of attacking past won pay and conditions and relocating jobs, were testing the seriousness of the workers in opposing their agenda well the workers showed in the course of the two day action that they meant business. However, action was suspended by the SIPTU and UNITE officials on the basis of Workplace Relations Commission negotiations where the company withdrew the threat of outsourcing but stood firm on other changes in working conditions backed up

with a threat of closing the factory down altogether if these changes were not accepted. Taking this threat seriously the response of the officials has been to recommend the deal which is to go to ballot at the time of writing. The reality of the shift changes will be enormously disadvantageous to two of the shifts, effectively making them less family friendly and potentially driving some workers out of their jobs. The problem with accepting threats like this from multinationals is that it merely serves as a green light for them to demand more from the workforce time and again. Rebuilding a mood for resistance can prove more difficult next time around.

profitable firms attack workers’ rights What’s happening here and at other profitable firms like Crown Paints, also in Coolock where they are likewise outsourcing posts, exposes the nature of this ‘recovery’ which is being built on an agenda of low pay and precarious jobs. The Socialist Party favours a strategy of resisting the bullying of multinationals up to and including occupations of these plants. In practice, as happened

Mondelez, the parent company of Cadbury, had a net income of $34.2 billion in 2014, yet they are intent on cutting back on their workers’ wages & conditions in the past, the threat of closure of plants like Cadbury should be met with taking the factory into democratic public ownership. The last time such an outcome was on the agenda was during the Clondalkin Paper Mill dispute in the early 1980s where the workers occupied the plant, won widespread support from their community and the wider trade union movement creating enormous pressure on the political establishment. Anything short of this leaves the whip hand with the likes of Mondelez and other companies to pursue the race to the bottom.

Ruth Coppinger TD & Cllr. Michael O’Brien supporting the strike

workplace news

Strike for a real recovery

April 2016

4 THE SOCIALIST

analysis

Finish off Irish Water with a...

Stampede of non-payment s

By Mick Barry TD

upporT for the boycott of water charges is set to surge in the aftermath of the general election increasing pressure on any potential government to abolish both the charge and Irish water itself.

pressure on political establishment Water charges became a major issue in the election with prowater charges parties shocked by the depth of feeling on the issue on the doorsteps and by the volume of anti-water charges posters in the windows, especially in working class communities. In its immediate aftermath Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil were at sixes and sevens on the issue with Fianna Fáil Environment spokesman Barry Cowen saying that a 5-year suspension was a "red-line issue" for the party only to be over-ruled by

Micheal Martin, and Simon Coveney saying that Fine Gael were prepared to negotiate over water charges only to be shot down by Enda Kenny. The splits in the political elite clearly showed that the water charges regime is not as solid as many had thought and big numbers of households are now considering throwing in their lot with the boycott in an effort to force the issue to a head. Amid reports of mass cancellations of direct debits Dermott Jewell of the Consumers Association of Ireland predicted "very, very sharp" drops in water charges payment levels on the next bill.

No trust in FF & FG… Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil cannot be given one iota of trust on this issue. The latter campaigned in the general election for a 5year suspension of the charge and for the abolition of Irish Water. Yet,

Micheál Martin says this is not a "red-line issue" and anonymous party spokespersons threaten to forcibly deduct unpaid charges. Mass pressure is the only thing that will force these parties to even consider abolition and that is why the boycott must be stepped up. The Anti Austerity Alliance, the Socialist Party and the We Won't pay campaign are appealing to every household in the country to boycott the next bill.

…Boycott is key To those who have boycotted up to this point we say - hold firm. To those who paid under pressure we say - the pressure is on the political establishment now, re-join the boycott, we can win. To those who paid because the law is the law we say - you've already paid once if not twice, why pay a third time? And we are going to win, why t h r o w g o o d m o n e y after bad? If the charges are abolished we will fight for an amnesty for all nonpayers and for a

Water charges movement must keep up the pressure on all political parties

refund for all who did pay. If they are not abolished immediately there can be no forced deductions without court cases and there can be no court cases until debts are over the €500 mark - ie well into next year. Penalties for those who haven't paid a penny fall due with the fifth bills which will arrive in late spring/early summer - €30 for households with one adult, €60 for households with two or more. These sums are significantly less than what the movement has saved every household to date (compare the annual bill to Fianna Fail's original proposal for €500 per annum) and cannot be collected if a solid mass of people hold firm.

Take to the streets Up

until

this

point

neither

Right2Water or Sinn Fein have called for a mass boycott of the charge. That policy should change now. The charge is clearly greatly weakened after the general election and all sections of the movement should unite to call for a mass boycott to finish it off. As well as taking this step Right2Water should now call for a mass, national demonstration in Dublin on a Saturday before any new government is formed. Such a call could receive a tremendous response and greatly increase the pressure on the establishment parties to throw the charge overboard. Mick Barry is a newly elected aaa tD for cork north central & Socialist Party member. Mick’s victory saw the aaa win its first seat outside of Dublin.

“Take control of the wealth of the 1%” tax haven and to take control of the wealth of the 1%.

housing, and an attempt is being made to turn water into a commodity capable of being privatised and fetching a profit. To this day, the church remains entangled with the state and women are denied their civil rights on abortion.

the followinG is an extract of speech by aaa tD & Socialist Party member ruth coppinger nominating richard Boyd Barrett as the socialist left candidate for the position of taoiseach in the 32nd Dåil. “As we approach the centenary of the Rising, about which we will hear a lot over the next number of weeks, it is clear that we live in a very unjust society, where vast wealth is concentrated in the hands of a tiny few while the majority have seen their living standards plummet. A crisis rages in health and

James Connolly wanted to change the system, and we agree with him. Sixteen days before the Rising, Connolly outlined who will change Ireland, and in whose interests, when he said in the pages of The Workers’ Republic:

It is clear that, as James Connolly said a hundred years ago: “the day has passed for patching up the capitalist system; it must go”. We need democratic public control and ownership of wealth and resources if society is to be run for people’s needs, not profit. We need a separation of church and state. All three candidates [for position of Taoiseach] who have been proposed accept the crumbs of the fiscal space and thus cannot deliver the real change that is needed by the majority in society. We need the immediate abolition of the water charges, which were clearly rejected by the majority of the electorate, and

we support and call for an extension of the boycott to make sure those charges are finished off while the two parties dither over whether they will carry out abolition. Neither can we wait any longer for a statebacked housing programme to deal with the housing emergency and for NAMA to be declared an agency for afford-

able housing, which the previous government refused to do.

“Not the rack-renting, slumowning landlord; not the sweating, profit-grinding capitalist; not the sleek and oily lawyer; not the prostitute pressman – the hired liars of the enemy. Not these are the Irish upon whom the future depends. Not these, but the Irish working class, the only secure foundation upon which a free nation can be reared.”

We need to end the 32-year hypocrisy of the 8th Amendment to the Constitution and allow women to make this decision for themselves in all cases, not just a few. To fund our public services, we need to end the use of our country as a

The candidates of the socialist left will not win the position of Taoiseach today but, in standing, we are making a declaration of intent in this Dáil. We intend to have a strong, independent voice for workers in this Dáil.”

April 2016

5 THE SOCIALIST

By Cllr. Cian Prendiville

he LAbour party was founded by socialists such as Connolly and Larkin to give an independent political voice for workers, women and young people in the fight against the super-rich and their political puppets. It has not only broken every election promise and breached every principle, it has betrayed the very purpose for which it was founded.

Labour’s collapse The recent election was not only one of the worst results for Labour since its foundation in 1912, it also saw a breakthrough of a new Left, a principled and socialist Left, which in the coming years has the potential to replace Labour. Workers and young people sick of their betrayals didn’t simply slip into demoralisation, as well as voting for Sinn Féin, independent candidates and smaller parties, many of them switched to the Anti-Austerity Alliance and other genuine left candidates. Labour’s vote collapsed. In Dublin South West, a stronglyworking class constituency made up of Tallaght and surrounding areas, they went from two seats to none, with the AAA taking one. Cork City is a sign of things to come. Cork is now an entirely Labour-free city,

with not a single Labour councillor or TD, while the AAA now has three councillors and one TD with the important election of Mick Barry in Cork North Central.

A real Left is rising This election must be the beginning of that growing momentum. In winning a total of six seats, the new parliamentary block of AntiAusterity Alliance-People Before Profit has an important platform now to use to expose the bankruptcy of the Irish political elite, and the capitalist class they serve. It has the opportunity now to highlight the radical, socialist policies needed, and inspire people that there is an alternative. The water charges shows how the real Left can make huge steps forward when people become active. We must stand with workers, such as those in the Luas who stand up for their rights, and also build strong campaigns to repeal the 8th Amendment and for a women’s right to choose.

Labour 2.0 not wanted Parties such as the Social Democrats are also attempting to win over those disgusted with the austerity policies of the main capitalist parties. However, they offer only another dead-end for working class people.

The AAA made the call for a new movement of working class people power to replace the sell outs

The numbers don’t add up on this occasion, but the Social Democrats indicated an openness to go into coalition with Fianna Fáil. They restrict themselves to simply being a parliamentary opposition, refusing to support the boycott of Irish Water for instance. While pay lip-service to repealing the 8th Amendment, the Social Democrats don’t support legislating for a woman’s right to choose. While they speak of the need for

more investment in services, both accept the rule of the super rich and the market when it comes to the economy. All of this amounts to repeating the road taken by Labour.

Build a socialist left Instead of repeating these mistakes, we need a principled left, imbued with the conviction and resoluteness of a clear, socialist

alternative. As James Connolly said when proposing the idea of a party of workers: “Now we propose to the toilers of Ireland that it is time to... once more to raise the banner of a militant Irish labour movement upon the political field. The victories once achieved can be more than duplicated, the mistakes once made will serve as beacons of warning for the guidance of our future activities.”

Sinn Féin’s message fails to inspire By Finghín Kelly

Any of those voting sinn féin in the recent election did so in the belief that the party represented a challenge to the status quo and the establishment. After the election Gerry Adams even made the claim that sinn féin were “the main party representing working people”.

Accepting neo-liberalism In the debate about ‘fiscal space’ Sinn Féin limited their attacks on the government to their exaggeration of economic growth figures and in reality sought to restrict its proposals to the limited parameters of capitalist neo-liberalism. This meant only 20% of the austerity measures implemented since 2009 being reversed in the lifetime of the next government. Nowhere in this debate did Sinn Fein raise the idea of taxing the wealth of the super-rich or vast profits of big business, despite companies like Apple owing €17 billion to the state.

Low wage economy Low pay permeates the Irish economy. Ireland has the largest percentage of low paid workers in Europe, 25% earn less than the living wage of €11.45 an hour. In

Sinn Féin failed to make the breakthrouugh that they and many pundits expected them to

this context the proposal put forward by the Anti-Austerity Alliance of a minimum wage of €12 an hour to be made the minimum wage, as a step towards a minimum wage of €14 an hour would gain a huge resonance. Surely this is something a party that calls itself “the main party representing working people” would be putting to the fore. What did their manifesto say exactly?

It may come as a surprise to many that Sinn Féin called for a minimum wage increase of a mere 50c an hour. This would not even cover the massive hikes in rents that people are facing! They also only committed to having all public sector workers on the living wage in 5 years, this was actually less ambitious then Fianna Fáil’s proposals!

Housing crisis We are in the middle of an historic housing crisis. 130,000 families are on the housing waiting lists while over 1,500 children are homeless in Dublin. Sinn Féin won a large amount of votes for its demand of building 100,000 homes. However they only proposed to build this many homes by 2030 and only 36,500 homes over the

course of the next five years. An affordable home is a right and a genuine left government would not preside over whether people are entitled to this right or not by only building a limited number. Sinn Féin’s justification for this modest increase is that ‘The delivery of our plan is slower in the first couple of years, reflecting…the restriction of funding…due to the expenditure benchmark’ and ‘fiscal space available’. Overall Sinn Fein’s approach has been to moderate its demands in an attempt to woo the capitalist establishment parties in the hope of a coalition deal. Since the election Sinn Fein have stepped back from seeking a coalition with the establishment parties. However throughout the campaign they refused to rule this out. In September of last year Adams said that they could enter a coalition with “Whoever is successful in the election.” Any party or coalition that bases itself on the idea of there being limited ‘fiscal space’, that refuses to increase tax on corporations or question the ownership and control of the economy by the capitalist class will fail to satisfy the legitimate and basic demands of working people. In order to deliver on people’s demands we need a genuine left government that will not be afraid of challenging the economic power of big business and the austerity rules.

post-election analysis

Replace Labour with a real Left

April 2016

easter rising centenary

THE SO

“the struggle for IrIsh fr It Is natIonal a

HE EASTER Rising of 1916 is regarded by many working class people as a key defining event in Irish history with its participants and leaders held in high esteem, writes CILLIAN GILLESPIE.

ver The course of one week a small force took on the military might of the british empire, which at the time, constituted the largest imperial power in the world. Their actions today are viewed by many as a real blow to Ireland’s historic colonial masters. It should be noted that those who took part in the rising, in the forces of both the Irish Citizens Army and the Volunteers were overwhelmingly working class in their composition. While Southern Ireland’s capitalist establishment is more than willing to celebrate the rising in this centenary year, their forebears took an altogether different attitude to the events of 1916. Nowhere is this more exemplified than in an editorial that appeared in the Irish Independent, with a picture of the socialist James Connolly beside it, which called for ‘’…the worst of the ringleaders [to] be singled out and dealt with as they deserve.’’' The paper’s proprietor, William Martin Murphy, leader of the 404 bosses that had locked out Dublin’s working class in 1913, was effectively campaigning for Connolly’s execution. It was only after this was carried out that his paper called for clemency.

Britain’s oldest colony Ultimately the rising had its roots in the oppression by British imperialism that had stretched over several centuries. This colonial oppression of Ireland had not only resulted in the denial of its right to political freedom and independence, but also its economic strangulation. This was firstly done by destroying Ireland as a competitor to British capitalism in the aftermath of the Act of Union of 1801. Mass emigration from Ireland, particularly in the years of the famine of the mid-19th century, also served to also create a cheap pool of labour for its industrial cities and satanic mills. Ireland also became Britain’s “bread basket” and would provide raw agricultural products, mainly meat to feed these same cities. It was for this reason that James Connolly wrote shortly after his arrival in Ireland that: “The struggle for Irish Freedom

has two aspects: it is national and it is social.” Connolly argued that only a revolutionary movement of the working class that united both Protestant and Catholic workers, and linked with the struggle for a socialism could end Ireland’s colonial domination.

perspectives on dublin’s 19

Connolly and the rising Alongside Jim Larkin, Connolly played a critical role in the battles of the Irish workers’ movement in the aftermath of the founding of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union in 1909. This culminated in the Dublin Lockout of September 1913. While not an outright defeat, the outcome of the dispute did cut across the momentum that the ITGWU and Irish workers’ movement generally had developed prior to 1914. Two other events were to have a negative impact of the development of the workers movement in this same year. The first was the plans of the British government to partition Ireland, which Connolly foresaw as an inevitable “carnival of reaction”. Such a scenario, as history would later prove, would result in the increase in sectarian division between working class people to the benefit of imperialism and capitalism. In August 1914 another catastrophe befell the workers’ and socialist movement in Ireland and throughout Europe with the outbreak of the first World War. This was a war fought between the capitalist states of Europe over whose respective ruling class would maximise their profits through control over the world market. This event, in and of itself, may not have come as a surprise to socialists such as Connolly, but the support given to it by the official leaders of the socialist movement certainly did. In violation of the basic principles of working class solidarity, they shamefully rallied in support of their own ruling classes in a war that would result in the killing and maiming of millions of working class soldiers and that was, up until that point, unprecedented in its barbarity. While Irish Home Rule leader, John Redmond – whom the present government have seen fit to celebrate on a large scale banner in Dublin’s College Green – rushed to support the war and advocate that members of the Irish volunteers should enlist in the British army, Connolly wrote that: “Ireland may yet set the torch to a European conflagration that will not burn out until the last throne and the last capitalist bond and debenture will be shrivelled on the funeral pyre of the last war lord.”

road to rebellion As the bloody carnage of the war dragged on, Connolly was driven by a burning desire to strike a blow against the capitalist and imperialist order in Europe. However, as a lone socialist in Ireland he was isolated and affected by the consequences of the defeats of 1914. During the war, Ireland was not immune from the jingoism that had

In suppressing the Easter Rising the British military ruthlessly and indiscriminately shelled Dublin City, re enormous destruction and lo

De Valera and distortion the fact that James connolly and the irish citizens army didn’t participate in the rising under a clear independent and socialist banner meant that his ideas and legacy can be distorted, but also falsely claimed by many. In 1918 de valera could state: “I never regarded freedom as an end in itself, but if I were asked what statement of Irish policy was most in accord with my views as to what human beings should be struggling for, I would stand side by side with James Connolly.” de valera stood with Connolly but only in words and only to draw the support of the aroused masses. The purpose of his words was to ensure that the real ideas of Connolly were obscured and never put into practice.

developed across Europe and many working class people in Ireland, including those who had been blacklisted as a result of the Lockout, were economically conscripted into the British Army. Linked with this was the looming threat of actual military conscription being introduced in Ireland as it had been in Britain.

While containing many positive sentiments, the 1916 proclamation falls short of outlining a socialist Ireland

It was in this context that Connolly became increasingly desperate to see some kind of rebellion take place in Ireland and in the absence, at that stage, of a rebellion among broader sections of the working class, he looked to the forces of militant nationalism. These forces took the form of the Irish

in t ten cit d tha app d Wo aga the I say Iris of Gre L and of

Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and those sections of the Irish Volunteers who had refused to heed Redmond’s call to support the British military effort. The IRB’s maxim had been that “England’s difficulty was Ireland’s opportunity”. It had been preparing in secret for a rising since the out-

April 2016

OCIALIST

916 rising

Leon Trotsky on the lessons of 1916

Easter 1916 by W.B. Yeats the events of easter 1916 and the brutal retribution unleashed, had a major impact. w.B. yeats finished his famous poem easter 1916 in September and it captures his shock and his recognition that the events had transformed the situation: I have met them at close of day Coming with vivid faces From counter or desk among grey Eighteenth-century houses. I have passed with a nod of the head Or polite meaningless words, Or have lingered awhile and said Polite meaningless words, And thought before I had done Of a mocking tale or a gibe To please a companion Around the fire at the club, Being certain that they and I But lived where motley is worn: All changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born.

esulting in oss of life

in 1916 leon trotsky, who a year later would co-lead with lenin the russian revolution, made some extremely perceptive comments about the lessons to be learnt from 1916. he said, “Those who fought and died were urban workers, along with some revolutionary enthusiasts from the petty-bourgeois intelligentsia. The historical basis for a national revolution has disappeared even in backward Ireland... The experiment of an Irish national rebellion, in which Casement represented, with undoubted personal courage, the outworn hopes and methods of the past, is over and done with. But the historical role of the Irish proletariat is only beginning. Already it has brought its class anger against militarism and imperialism into this rising, under an out-of-date flag. This anger will not now subside.” These lines proved prophetic as between 1918 and 1922 a social and national revolution unfolded in Ireland with the key motor force behind it being the working class’s desire to change its conditions and its country. unfortunately, the Labour leaders who came after Connolly proved incapable of providing the socialist and revolutionary way forward and instead the movement went down to division and defeat.

The lost revolution

Sign reads: “Free workers soviet mills. We make bread not profits” Reflecting the radicalising effect of the Russian Revolution in Ireland, many soviets were established in workplaces and towns across Ireland

Sean O’Casey’s criticisms

the Plough and the Stars, first performed at the abbey theatre in 1926, less than n years after the easter rising of 1916, Sean o’casey criticises that the irish tizens army joined forces with nationalism in the rising. during the fourth performances there was a co-ordinated “riot” as some considered at the play slandered those involved in the rising. The riot featured a orchestrated pearance by the widows and bereaved women of 1916. during the disruption, in a reference to the response to The playboy of the Western orld by Synge, W.B. yeats declared to the protesters, “you have disgraced yourselves ain. Is this to be an ever recurring celebration of the arrival of Irish genius?” Since en this play has been presented 56 times by the Abbey Theatre. In his history of the Irish Citizens Army, O’Casey summed up his views of 1916 by ying, “A definite union had now been formed between the Irish Citizen Army and the sh volunteers, and on the Sunday before easter day, 19l6, an outward and visible sign the inward union was given by the dramatic hoisting of the Irish Tricolour, of Orange, een and White, over the most conspicuous part of Liberty Hall... Labour had laid its precious gift of Independence on the altar of Irish Nationalism, d this display was a sign to the governing classes to at least consider the dumb wish an aspiring people.”

break of the war. In January 1916, Connolly was co-opted on to the military council of the IRB to prepare for a rising to take place at Easter.

easter rising On Easter Monday 1916, an estimated 1,300 Irish Volunteers, 220 mem-

support for such an action amongst the population at large. Connolly, in the run up to and during the rising itself, made political concessions to the forces of nationalism he was fighting alongside. This is best reflected in the Proclamation he put his name to, which is, notwithstanding the positives sentiments it contains, a nationalist document, not one that sums up the kind of Ireland that should be run in the interests of working class people. Even if he had taken the decision to participate in the rising, it would have been better if he had put out a separate socialist document that outlined his vision of a “Workers Republic”, where its wealth and resources would be under the democratic ownership and control of the working class.

bers of the Irish Citizen Army and a few dozen Hibernian Rifles seized control of the centre of Dublin. They declared an ‘Irish Republic’, erected barricades and waited for the inevitable assault from British forces. For one week, the insurgents stood firm even though outnumbered by

twenty to one. They were quickly surrounded and shelled mercilessly. By the end of the week they were forced into an unconditional surrender. Sixty rebels, 120 British troops and 450 civilians lay dead, with more than 2500 injured. Factors such as the countermanding order to the Irish Volunteers by

Eoin McNeill on Easter Sunday and the seizure of the German submarine, the Aud, which contained 20,000 rifles, off the south coast did cut across the scale and intensity of the fighting that took place. However, ultimately the rising was doomed to failure from the outset given that there was little mood or

The courage and self-sacrifice displayed by Connolly (and indeed the others who fought in the rising) cannot be disputed. However, the prematurity of the rising can be seen by looking at events that followed it. In the opening chapter of his celebrated work Labour in Irish History, Connolly had written that: “Revolutions are never the byproducts of our minds but of ripe material conditions” While the “material conditions” for a socialist revolution against British and Irish capitalism had not developed by 1916, the impact of national and international events in the period following 1917 made such a revolution a real possibility. The outbreak of the Russian Revolution and the revolutionary wave that swept Europe had a deeply radicalising effect on the working class on this island. This radicalisation had an effect not only on the south, where opposition to British imperialism began to harden in the aftermath of the rising, but also amongst Protestant and Catholic workers in the North. This resulted in a whole series of local and national general strikes, in “soviets” (democratic workers councils) being proclaimed and in some cases taking control of cities such as Belfast and Limerick and the development a prosocialist outlook within society. The absence of a socialist leadership, which could unite the working class and these movements in the struggle for socialist change meant that the revolution of this period gave way to the counter-revolution of partition. The tragedy of Connolly was that he did not live to see these events and therefore play the necessary role in building such a leadership. Contrary to the mythology purported by today’s political establishment and mainstream historians, the “revolutionary period” of 1916 to 1922 did not give way to a positive outcome for working class people. What was created were two oppressive, sectarian states that failed to deliver for the needs of working class people, and still do to this day. It is for these reasons that we must learn from the past and strive to construct a socialist movement that can deliver the real change that working class people need.

easter rising centenary

reedom has two aspects: and It Is socIal” — James Connolly

April 2016

THE SOCIALIST

international

Unprecedented polarisation in US elections e

By Eddie McCabe

xTrAordInAry ThInGs are happening in the race for the presidency in the us. The once impervious twoparty system that defines politics in the us is being convulsed from within, as mass social inequality and polarisation in society has seen unprecedented momentum generated for two candidates outside of both political establishments, bernie sanders and donald Trump.

Sanders’ political revolution

The stage is set for major political earthquakes. Indeed the race thus far has produced tremors that have stunned all of the mainstream analysts and insiders. Few, if any, would have predicted the mobilising power and widespread popularity that a self-described democratic socialist could muster in a presidential election. But Sanders’ call for a “political revolution against the billionaire class” has connected with the aspirations of millions of people still reeling from the economic collapse, bank bailouts and the consequent widening of the wealth gap to historic levels. The richest 0.1% of families in the US now own as much wealth as the bottom 90%. Five years on from the Occupy movement that railed against the

rule of the 1%, the movement of the 99% – especially the “millennial” generation – is finding a political expression in the demands of the Sanders’ campaign: free college education, universal healthcare, $15 minimum wage and ending the ‘war on drugs’ that has led to mass imprisonment of mainly young people of colour.

Break with the democrats Sanders’ campaign, which takes no corporate money, has received over two million individual donations and has drawn literally hundreds of thousands of people to rallies, dwarfing anything his rivals have managed. Unfortunately, despite what Sanders has achieved, he is still unlikely to be able to overcome his main obstacle, i.e. the Democratic Party establishment itself, which is determined to see Hilary Clinton succeed Obama. This points to the crucial flaw in the Sanders’ campaign strategy: being part of the Democratic Party at all. But his success shows, like nothing before has, the potential for building an independent left movement that can challenge the two parties, who are more discredited than ever before. Such a movement, linking up with the Black Lives Matter, $15 Now and environmental movements, could really transform politics in the US.

Trump: racist billionaire demagogue The danger of leaving the vacuum on the left open has been glimpsed already in the right-wing circus that is the Republican primary. The billionaire demagogue, Donald Trump, is significantly ahead of his equally backward rivals. Trump’s bombastic campaign has relied on a crude nationalism, with his slogan, “make America great again” that has an appeal for a section of the white working and middle class. He has deliberately stoked up anti-immigrant and antiIslamic racism in order to grab headlines. But his campaign shouldn’t be dismissed as that of a buffoon who is seen as something of an embarrassment, even by the heads of the Republican Party. Not least because a more sinister feature of his campaign is now coming to light in the subtle but clear encouragement of violence by his supporters against the many varieties of protesters who have targeted his rallies.

A party for the 99% The fact remains, however, that Trump is able to gain support by exploiting fears and insecurities that flow from the ongoing crisis of American capitalism. Something the political establishment, including figures like

Bernie Sanders has mobilised hundreds of thousands to his rallies

Trump: billionaire demagogue who is exploiting fears & up stoking racism

Clinton, is responsible for. The Democrats may well beat Trump should he be the candidate, but only an independent movement of the left can ultimately stem the rise of the right. This is why Socialist Alternative,

sister organisation of the Socialist Party in the US, is calling on Sanders to stand as an independent and break with the two-party system. This can be the beginning of a new party of the 99%, a party that is sorely needed in the US.

EU’s dirty deal with Turkey... as Refugee suffering grows ist austerity Europe is willing to provide.

By Katia Hancke

he huMAn consequences of the refugee crisis has receded from the headlines as the endless tragedy it causes lost “news worthiness”. but beyond the news headlines, thousands of people continue to arrive on the shores of Greek islands, in a dangerous and desperate journey to escape war and persecution. The racist policies of Fortress Europe means refugees are forced to make treacherous journeys to gain access to our continent. While Greece and other EU countries have proven to be incapable of responding in a humane way, it is ordinary people across Greece and indeed across Europe who volunteer in their thousands to show solidarity. Contrast this with the EU’s latest half-baked plan with Turkey to “deal” with the refugee crisis. This is the Turkish state where a few weeks ago a paper was taken into government control because it was too critical of the government, that is waging a brutal war against the Kurdish population and whose President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is moving towards an increasingly dictatorial regime. The deal that the EU has struck with this rotten regime will mean that those refugees who arrive in Greece will be deported back to Turkey.

Oppose racist division

Crisis continues despite main stream media diminishing the severity by failing to report on real situation

Imperialist war fuels crisis 85% of refugees who travelled via Greece come from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia – all countries where western military interventions have led to nightmare conditions for its populations. At least 1.3 million people died in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan alone between 2001 and 2013. In 2015 78% of all deaths of terrorism were in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria and Nigeria. People will take any kind of des-

perate measures to protect their families from this horror, including handing over their last possessions to greedy smugglers in the hope of reaching Europe. Western imperialism’s responsibility in creating the very mess people are trying to escape is however ignored in the mainstream debate about the refugee crisis. Again and again EU leaders are proving that they simply do not have an answer, not on a humanitarian level and certainly not on a political level. In an EU of 500 million people the arrival of approximately one million refugees

should not lead to the political crisis we now see. Greece, already ravaged by the EUs austerity policies, has been left to deal with 70,000 stranded refugees on its own. Those who are seeking sanctuary from war, persecution and the poverty- all created by the system of capitalism- have a right to seek asylum here in Europe. Socialists oppose the racist policies of Fortress Europe. We should not accept the idea that working class people, be they migrant or nonmigrant, should be in competition for the meagre resources capital-

The resources are there to provide for all. On an EU wide level 11 million houses are void, while 4.1 million people are homeless. In Ireland, the worsening housing crisis has been allowed to fester because of the unwillingness of the political establishment to take on racketeering landlords by introducing rent controls, and using the resources of Nama and council lands to provide social and affordable homes. We need to be clear on who is to blame for the lack of resources in our society – both in Ireland and on a European level – those at the top. The developers who are allowed to profiteer from public properties, the bankers who gambled away the future of our children and the establishment politicians who represent the top 1% and make all of us pay in continued austerity. Any realistic response to the refugee crisis not only acknowledges the root causes of war and imperialist intervention but takes as it starting point the need to take the resources out of the control of private profiteers into democratic public ownership so they can be used to provide for all as opposed to provide for profit.

April 2016

THE SOCIALIST

By Kevin Henry

he referenduM on britain and northern Ireland’s membership of the eu is set to be an important political event that will shape political developments in britain, Ireland and across europe in the years to come. Socialists want to see a Europe that is run in the interests of the millions not the millionaires. The EU project constitutes the polar opposite to this. It was a central part of the “Trioka” which imposed austerity on the working class of Europe. It imposed technocratic governments of bankers on the people of Greece and Italy and acted to corral SYRIZA when it was elected by the people of Greece to end the nightmare of austerity.

Neo-liberal institution The EU has institutionalised neoliberal policies in various treaties including the Lisbon Treaty and Stability Treaty and through international free trade agreements. This includes TTIP, which will allow governments to be sued by multinationals, when their profits are threatened. If people in Britain where to elect a Jeremy Corbyn led Labour government, such government would have to break a series of EU directives in order to implement Corbyn’s popular policies

such as public ownership of the rails or reversing the Tories’ privatisation of the NHS. Some people believe that the EU will protect workers from the worst excesses of Tories. The reality is different, EU directives have undermined workers’ rights and collective bargaining rights and encouraged a race to the bottom in terms of wages and conditions.

undemocratic and racist Many also believe the EU is a guarantor of human right however its “Fortress Europe” racist immigration policies which have resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of refugees fleeing war shows that to be a sick lie. Despite protests across Europe demanding a humanitarian approach to the refugees, the EU has acted to reinforce its borders, including with a dirty deal with the reactionary Turkish government. Some will agree with these points regarding the EU but believe it is better to stay in and fight to change it. However there is no democratic mechanism in order to win these reforms. The central decision making is largely in the hands of the European Council and increasingly the unelected European Commission. The European Parliament is little more than a rubber stamp without the

ability to initiate legislation. This makes it easier for big business to push its agenda free from pressure that can be put on national governments by protest movements. The only reforms we are seeing from the EU are right-wing counter-reforms. This is what Cameron’s negotiation were really about, including pushing for more right wing “opt outs’ for the UK government. The EU debate has opened up serious splits in the Tories with prominent Tories including Boris Johnson positioning themselves for a leadership challenge if Cameron fails to win this referendum.

project Fear gets underway Like in the recent Scottish Independence referendum the approach of the establishment is to unleash “project fear.” An aspect of this in Northern Ireland is claims that it will undermine the peace process. This has been the argued by Peter Mandelson, Enda Kenny and Martin McGuiness but it is simply not a credible argument. A ‘Brexit’ will not mean a “hard border” between the North and the South nor does leaving the EU automatically mean the scrapping of the Human Rights Act. The truth is the “peace process” is based on sectarian division and

We should fight for a Europe based on the international solidarity of working people – No to the bankers EU

it is this division that leaves open the road to sectarian conflict. Working class people have historically mobilised to ensure this doesn’t happened. While sectarian politicians have acted to sectarianise political debates – including this referendum, this includes using this debate to push for a border poll which would act to be a sectarian headcount and possibly lead to sectarian conflict.

Assembly election: Challenging the sectarian consensus By Ann-Katrin Orr

n MAy 5 the next elections to the northern Ireland Assembly will take place. while many will still vote along sectarian lines there is a growing opposition to the policies of austerity being implemented by the Assembly as well as their opposition and / or failure to advance LGbTQ rights and a woman’s right to choose.

Need for an alternative This in part explains the low (and falling) voter turnout which is another feature of elections in the North. In the last election, the turnout was 54.7% continuing the steady fall since the 70% turnout achieved in the first election in 1998. Since the last election, there have been many important developments: working class people have continued to bear the brunt of the austerity onslaught, public sector workers went on a one-day strike in March 2015, 20,000 took to the street to demand marriage equality, many opinion polls indicating a sea change in attitudes around LGBTQ equality and support for extending the 1967 Abortion Act to the North. The election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party has also

had an impact on the North. It raised awareness of left-wing ideas and showed that they can be successfully counter-posed to the consensus of neo-liberalism and cut backs. The membership of the party also increased in Northern Ireland and now includes a section who oppose the official position of the Labour Party which is not to stand in elections in Northern Ireland.

Cross-Community Labour Alternative

In this context and in advance of the election the Socialist Party has helped to initiate a new organisation: Cross-Community Labour Alternative. It will contest in three constituencies in the upcoming elections (East Belfast, South Belfast and Fermanagh and South Tyrone). The two candidates in Belfast, Socialist Party members Sean Burns and Courtney Robinson, are both under 20 and are raising the need to build united movements of young people and workers across the sectarian

Socialists have a responsibility to be honest about the bosses’ European Union. That means arguing for a break with the EU but also putting forward the case for a socialist Europe. We also have to oppose the right-wing and racist parties including UKIP and the Tories on both side of this debate and any attempts to sectarianise this debate in Northern Ireland.

committee for a workers’ international divide. Protestant and Catholic working class people need an antisectarian working class alternative to the parties that dominate Stormont. Standing in the elections in these constituencies represents one part of the approach of Labour Alternative which is seeking to use the elections to build not only awareness but also to convince people of the need to get actively involved in challenging sectarianism and the economic and social status quo.

The Socialist party is the Irish section of the Committee for a Workers’ International, an international socialist organisation that organises in over 40 countries on all five continents. We fight for a socialist world free from war, poverty and oppression. Check out the website of the CWI, socialistworld.net, for more analysis on these stories and many others. Here are some of the articles from around the globe:

china: Crisis set to deepen www.socialistworld.net/doc/7499

turkey: Stop the war on the Kurds! www.socialistworld.net/doc/7501

Cross Community Labour Alternative is standing against the backward Stormont parties in Belfast

north & international

Brexit: Oppose bosses EU with workers’ solidarity

socialistworld.net

April 2016

THE SOCIALIST

Momentum for abortion rights grows...

women

Repeal the 8th now! T

bled together to bring about a referendum to repeal the 8th amendment.

By Monika Janas

he GenerAL election has come and gone and the 8th Amendment is still here, in case you were wondering. warm and cosy in the constitution where it has the power to strip women of their bodily autonomy and make them into incubators. despite this, the mood has shifted.

Socialist alternative

pro-choice sentiment grows Political parties are finding it more difficult to justify their opposition to abortion rights. The general election has shown that people want change; and women can wait no longer. The results achieved by the Anti-Austerity Alliance’s first time candidates, Fiona Ryan in Cork South Central and Diana O’Dwyer in Dublin Central, show that there is a real appetite for change and an alternative. They ran with abortion rights as the central message of their campaigns and with 937 (1.7%) and 721 (3%) first preference votes respectively, they are an illustration of the desire to repeal the 8th

71% of the poulation believe abortion should be decriminalised

Amendment and to fully legislate for a woman’s right to choose. It is also no coincidence that Renua was crushed. Their antiwomen and pro-austerity policies are a symptom of an archaic mindset. The fact that they have no returning TDs shows that the Irish working class have had enough of the politics of the 1%. An Amnesty International

Ireland/Red C poll run in March 2016 found that 87% of respondents want abortion access expanded and 71% believe abortion should be decriminalised. The question of abortion rights was often posed to canvassers emphasising the desire for the recognition of women’s fundamental rights. It is the backward attitudes of the political establishment and the

Catholic Church that stops women from gaining full rights over their bodies. Change has never been brought about by the powerful elite. It has never been kindly handed down. It is through action, perseverance and the struggle of working class people, women and the oppressed that real reforms are achieved. We need to put pressure on whatever government is cob-

The struggle on the streets waged by the working class in a fight for abortion rights must be accompanied by the building of a principled left party to replace Labour that failed women while in power. We need to challenge the divisive, sexist superiority perpetuated by the ruling class and their representatives. We need to build a party of the working class to represent the working class. It is vital that we do this to tackle all forms of prejudice that ultimately only divide us and stops us from achieving the goal of a better, fairer society. Join the fight against conservative right wing ideology of the ruling class by joining the Socialist Party. We are fighting for a woman’s right to choose, separation of church and state and a democratic, secular and socialist society based on the real equality and free from the rotten, backward capitalist establishment that runs this country.

Childcare costs: End the burden of a “second mortgage” ed schemes do not fare much better and can earn as little as €5,700 a year according to an unpublished report from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The report says significant improvements in pay and conditions will be “central to the implementation of any high quality model of early care and education”.

Invest in quality childcare

Lack of investment means we have highest childcare costs in Europe

By Emma Quinn

ROSA day of action

hILdCAre In Ireland is simply unattainable for many working class women and particularly women raising children alone or on low incomes. for families that can or struggle to afford it, monthly childcare costs are a second mortgage.

By Aprille Scully

roSa are planning a public meeting with pro-choice tD ruth coppinger on 6 april and a high profile ‘repeal the 8th’ day of action on 16 april with street stalls, street theatre and visual displays across Dublin city centre. the growing demand for a referendum (73% of the population want a repeal in a survey taken after the general election) is not welcomed by the archaic, backwards political establishment. roSa is a radical, socialist feminist group and has taken pointed, visible actions to highlight the struggle for abortion rights. the abortion rights movement should cement this mood for change into clear political demands and not be fudged by the main parties who oppose women making their own choices.

Highest costs in europe According to the OECD Ireland has the highest cost for childcare in the EU. A crèche place for one baby can be as high as €1100 per month in Ireland, compared to around €280 in Finland, Norway, France, Spain, Belgium and Germany. To barely meet monthly childcare costs for two children a woman would have to earn €30,000 a year, this in the context that 50% of women workers earn €20k or less annually and make up 60% of low paid workers (NERI).

Despite their promises, while in government, Labour and Fine Gael (before them Fianna Fail) failed to invest in any real way, UNICEF recommends states spend 1% of GDP on childcare. This is reached in all the Nordic countries, whereas Ireland spends only 0.2%-0.4% annually. Increasing childcare expenditure to just 1% of GDP would provide a similar level of subsidy as in Scandinavia and mean an immediate increase of around €1.5bn per annum.

underpaid & undervalued Despite the huge costs for families, and in stark contrast to colossal profits being raked in by private companies the predominantly female workforce in the childcare sector are some of the most exploited workers in the country. Low pay, long hours and highly pressurised work places are the norm. Childcare workers in state-fund-

Another sinister symptom of the continued failure to invest in a quality and affordable childcare system is the 20,000 Irish households employing au-pairs to look after children and clean homes. The average au-pair is paid just €100 for a 40-hour working week. And reports show that many of these primarily female migrant workers are consistently exploited and denied even basic employment rights. The childcare sector in Ireland is the epitomy of capitalism, what is a fundamental need being used to extort massive profit from ordinary people whilst exploiting some of the most vulnerable workers. The pursuing of the profits and unpaid taxes of multinational corporations like Apple that reside here could raise billions to invest in infrastructure and public services with childcare being a key feature of this. Childcare should without delay be made affordable or free, and based on the needs of children and parents, not profit, but ultimately childcare and early education should be an essential public service, linked to child development and the education system.

April 2016

THE SOCIALIST

By Cllr. Matt Waine

he vuLTures are circling. The decision by Twinlite developers to send noticeto-quit letters to 40 of their tenants in the Tyrrelstown area of west dublin signals the beginning of a new phase of the property cycle and the so-called recovery. In a shadowy deal between Twinlite and a subsidiary of colossal investment bank, Goldman Sachs, the houses are to be sold off on the open market and hundreds of people face the nightmare of homelessness in the coming months. The Larkin family, who own Twinlite, thought they had found the golden goose during the property bubble. They built the Tyrrelstown estate – over 2,500 houses and apartments in the 2000’s and amassed a massive fortune from their speculation. When the bubble burst, they, like so many parasitic developers, got into trouble with their bank, Ulster Bank, which in turn decided to sell the Twinlite loan book to Beltany, a Goldman-Sachs subsidiary. Now Goldman-Sachs have directed Twinlite to serve notice on their tenants.

residents get organised Nearly 100 tenants, residents and local activists packed into the local school on Friday 18 March to launch the Tyrrelstown Tenants Action Group. The Anti Austerity

Alliance put forward a programme to resist the evictions and also proposals for how tenants’ accommodation can be secured. The first thing is, people should not leave their homes. Dublin 15 is a homeless blackspot. Forty percent of the capital’s homeless come from this area and there are currently 195 Fingal families in emergency accommodation. At the moment there are less than 60 properties to rent in Dublin 15. If people leave their homes, it is likely they will find themselves homeless. At the meeting we pointed out that once a tenants’ lease is up, the landlord cannot simply evict the tenant. They must take the matter to the Private Residency Tenancy Board (PRTB) and follow the proper procedure. Even after that, a landlord can only enforce an eviction through the circuit court – something which can take months, even up to a year! By building a united active campaign of the tenants and the wider community, we can bring serious pressure to bear on the Larkins, forcing them to back down on their eviction threat.

State must step in But this isn’t about just delaying the inevitable. The Anti-Austerity Alliance have called for the state to step in and introduce an ‘affordable mortgage’ scheme, as existed in the past, whereby those tenants who want, can avail of a mortgage and buy their home at an affordable level. One tenant

Tyrrelstown residents meet organise community campaign to take on Twinlite

who spoke at the meeting explained that he had paid the Larkin family €100,000 in rent over the last eight years! The rest of the properties should be taken over by the state (one of Larkin’s other firms, Cobalt, owes NAMA €43 million!) and a housing association set up to manage the properties and rent them back to the current tenants at affordable rents. The events around Tyrrelstown, and also in Blackrock, Cork, ultimately show the need to challenge the role of parasitic vulture funds. The portfolios of the funds must be taken over by the state as part of the creation of a banking system that is under democratic working class control. A system that is run for the needs of the majority not the profits of the financial markets.

news & obituary

Vulture fund serves notice on tenants

Ruth Coppinger TD will raise the plight of the residents in the Dail

Frank Gallagher: Committed working class fighter & socialist By Ciarán McKenna

n 7 March comrade frank Gallagher passed away following a long illness. frank dedicated his life to fighting with and for working class people. he was born and raised in drogheda, County Louth. following study at the Crawford Institute in Cork he began his working life at the Drogheda Independent newspaper and settled down to rear his family. In the 1980’s he was a prominent activist in Drogheda in the battle against water charges. He was also an active member of his union throughout his working life as shop steward, conference delegate and executive member. During the late 1980s Frank was heavily involved in the efforts by the Graphical Paper and Media Union to assist the English printing unions, who were then under full scale assault from the state, Thatcher’s government and Murdoch’s press empire. Around this time Frank sought but did not find a political home in the Labour Party and, then, the Workers Party. In a sign of his political acuity Frank saw through both entities in the late 1980’s and he remained politically unaffiliated

until he joined the Socialist Party in 2000. In the early 2000s Frank was a key organiser in the struggle against the bin tax in Drogheda. Along with other activists, he fought this battle in the estates of Drogheda to the bitter end, provoking at one stage a politically motivated six week work suspension for Frank. For two years he followed the council’s bin trucks and dumped rubbish into them in defiance of the council and the government. He was a key organiser of the huge rally against bin charges in 2002 which drew almost 10,000 onto the streets of Drogheda. Despite the government prevailing on that occasion Frank was undefeated and he threw himself into organising the Socialist Party in Drogheda. He ran as a Socialist Party candidate for Drogheda Borough Council in 2004 and narrowly missed out. However, he kept working away, campaigning to retain local cancer services among other campaigns, and in the 2009 local elections he won a seat on Drogheda Borough Council. In 2011 there was a sharp upturn in the class struggle with the government’s announcement that from 2012 they would implement a €100 household charge. Frank was the only elected repre-

Frank marching under the Socialist Party banner at an anti-water charges protest in August 2015

sentative in County Louth advocating mass non-payment of the household charge and property tax. Frank served as Secretary of Drogheda Trades Council for many years. He was also a labour historian of Drogheda and an experienced tour guide. A regular contributor to the journal of the “Old Drogheda Society”, on the history of the labour movement and workers’ struggles in the town, his article in the 2014 edition of the journal

Drogheda’s Red Flag Revolt was one of many memorable pieces. In this article he set out how local ITGWU organiser, Eamonn Rooney, had defied the British authorities’ “Defence of the Realm Act” in 1920 to organise a May Day parade through the town. Frank was a regular attendee at May Day parades in Dublin and Belfast over the years. In October 2015 he was made Honourary Life President of the

Old Drogheda Society. And the following month Socialist Party comrades from across the island of Ireland converged on Drogheda for a celebration of Frank’s contribution to the trade union and socialist movement in Ireland. Frank’s final journey was to Dromin cemetery in County Louth. He was buried surrounded by his family, many friends from the trade union movement and his Socialist Party comrades.

PaPer of the SocialiSt Party

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