Ellis and SF stand firm against the privatisation of public transportSinn Féin transport spokesperson Dessie El-lis TD has consistently been a strong voice

of opposition to the government’s attempts to privatise the state’s public transport serv-ices. Foremost has been the ongoing issue of water He has

also repeatedly voiced his support for the drivers of Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann who are strug-

gling against privatisation of bus routes across the city and country. Sinn Féin believes a solid public transport infrastructure is the backbone of any successful country.Dessie has worked tirelessly to protect bus routes that thousands of people depend on as part of their daily lives. These companies provide a service that we cannot afford to lose and good jobs which we must protect.

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Cuts to lone parentsmust be reversedPage 3

Keeping politicsout of the OireachtasPage 4

Yet despite its huge majority and promises of a “democratic revolu-tion” Fine Gael and Labour failed to deliver change and instead imple-mented their predecessors’ economic deal with the Troika, burst the pay ceiling for ministerial advisors and followed the Fianna Fail handbook in the way they appointed people to state boards.They implemented regressive budg-ets and introduced taxation measures

such as the imposition of the water and household charges. They target-ed the most vulnerable through puni-tive cuts to a range of benefits and rights of workers, particularly the low paid, were further diminished. The people who have been made to pay for greed and mismanagement by bankers, speculators and the estab-lishment have been ordinary citizens most of whom have yet to benefit from the creeping recovery.

Conversely, as the first shoots of re-covery take root, the government has decided to implement tax cuts for the wealthy - it is the privileged, gilded section of Irish society who is at the head of the queue when it comes to exiting recession. This is not the way it has to be and Sinn Féin believes a fair recovery is possible but this will not be delivered by the political parties that have failed the people in government. In the In the coming months Sinn

Féin will lay out policies that provide the basis of a fair recovery, where the priority is creating quality employment and a decent wage; access to first class public services and fair taxation with an end to water and household charges. As we approach the centenary of the Easter Rising, Sinn Féin is the only party that is able to deliver a fair recovery, and build a truly national republic as promised at the GPO in 1916.

A fAir recovery is possible!

Conflict of interest at heart of Clerys sell-off - Gerry Adams

Ag obair ar son Éire níos cothroime a chruthú

In the run up to the last election both Labour and Fine Gael promised a new politics, a new economy, an end to cronyism and an end to auction politics.

In the aftermath of the sudden closure of Clerys Depart-ment Store, Teachta Gerry Adams challenged the govern-ment during Leaders’ Questions to address what he de-scribed as the “sharp practices” that underpinned the sale of the iconic Dublin store.The Louth TD called on the Taoi-seach to support a Sinn Féin Bill which would amend legislation to outlaw such practices. “The liquidation of Clerys,” Teachta Adams said, “is just the latest example of how a golden circle of insiders manipulates the

system for their own narrow self interests and financial gain.“Clerys was placed into liquidation before its property assets were sold off which is allowable under Company Law that was introduced by Fine Gael and Labour.

CONTINUED PAGE 3

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FROM FRONT PAGETheir contribution to our society and our economy is immeasurable. A Sinn Féin government would protect public transport services and ensure that where a routes where economically and socially important they would re-ceive government support. We would stop any move to privatise

public transport routes or to undermine public transport companies. Privatisation is not just selling off our assets; it is selling off our future.Investing in transport for Ireland North and South is not just important it is fun-damental to our country’s future and a priority for Sinn Féin in government.

SF in governmentwill protect public transportand will fight privatsation plans now

Deputy Ellis working on a progressive strategy to tackle housing crisis

“Privatisation is not just sell-ing off our assets; it is selling of our future...Investing in transport for Ire-land North and South is not just important it is fundamental to our country’s future and a priority for Sinn Féin in government.

Across the country, there are over 90,000 people on the waiting list for social housing. The housing cri-

sis is at its worst in the Dublin area as the urban population increases. • 5,000 social housing homes are need-

ed per year to meet demand in Dublin alone.

  •  Currently,  the  government  spends  5 million euro annually in Dublin pro-viding hotel rooms for those who are homeless.

 • The government spends a further half a billion subsidising the rental sector.

 • Rents have increased 35% since 2011, creating a crisis.

Sinn Féin proposes investment in housing in combination with a fair rent system to alleviate this crisis. Dessie Ellis has drafted the Sinn Féin policy that €1 billion would be utilised to fund an extra 5500 new homes. Dessie has said in the Dáil that a major block to the introduction of a fair rent system is the self-interest of landlord TDs. The Irish housing market is out of control. Sinn Féin has put forward clear policy in this area and Dessie has put it up to the government to introduce emergency rent controls. Housing is a right and needs to be respected as one.

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Efforts by billionaire business man Denis O’Brien to curtail the media reporting on Dáil statements that referenced his companies’

dealings with the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) threatened to precipitate an unprecedented constitutional crisis. Things came to a head when

Independent Kildare TD Catherine Murphy introduced a Bill to provide enhanced powers to the Comptrol-ler and Auditor General to conduct an inquiry into the sale of SiteServe, and the dealings Denis O’Brien had with IBRC.A temporary injunction that

prevented RTE broadcasting a pro-gramme which examined the deal-ings O’Brien had with IBRC meant most media outlets were reluctant to report the statement Deputy Murphy made when she initiated the Bill. Coincidentally, a couple of days before the controversy broke the Irish

Times reported that tough new sanctions were being considered by the Oireachtas CPP Committee on TDs who were deemed to have behaved “in a disorderly way”. The article referenced Mary Lou McDonald for a statement she had made that named a number of prominent retired politicians who allegedly held off-shore Ansbacher accounts. Some of the sanctions being considered by the CPP would include suspension from Dáil votes and Committees. When the High Court clarified that Denis O’Brien’s injunction could not

prevent Dáil comments being published by the media it received a gen-eral welcome, in contrast to senior government figures who remained conspicuously silent on the matter.In response Teachta Mary Lou McDonald said it was not lost on

citizens that neither the Taoiseach nor the Tánaiste were prepared to defend the principle of Dáil privilege which she described as a “funda-mental cornerstone of our democracy”.Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said the Oireachtas needed to “re-

assert its authority in this situation” and he challenged the government to seek immediate clarification from the Attorney General on the rights of Oireachtas members in respect of Dáil privilege and the role of the media when reporting what is said in the national parliament.He also made clear that Sinn Féin would resist any at-

tempt to subvert the constitution by shutting down the media from reporting on matters of significant public interest.

CENSORING THE DÁIL

Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Social Protection Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD, Dep-uty Mary Lou McDonald and Sinn Féin Councillors Denise Mitchell, Sarah Holland, Louise O’Reilly, Shane O’Brien, Cathleen Carney Boud and Mícheál MacDonncha pictured at the launch in June of a postcard campaign in op-position to cuts to the Lone Parent Allowance.Speaking in response to the latest government cut, Deputy Ó Snodaigh said

that reductions to payments are due to begin on July 2nd and will negatively impact on almost 12,000 families who will suffer a financial loss of up to €86 per week driving many of them into poverty. “This postcard campaign,” he said, “is addressed to Joan Burton who insti-

gated the cuts and highlights the difficulties these families face. It urges the Tánaiste to reverse this punitive measure immediately”.

Time ticking but cuts to Lone Parent Allowance can be reversed

It was not lost on citizens that neither the Taoiseach nor the Tánaiste were prepared to defend the principle of Dáil privilege -Mary Lou McDonald

FROM FRONT PAGE“No provision was made for redundancy, holiday pay or other staff-related costs or pensions and the rights of employees and concession holders were completely discarded.” The current law allows a ‘Gold-en Circle’ to make massive profits through sharp practises that are entirely legal.Clearly, the existing legisla-tion in this area needs to be amended and the onus is now on the government to sup-port changes to the existing legislation tabled earlier in the year by Teachta Peadar Toi-bín which provides enhanced protection for workers when similar circumstances arise in the future.

Bill needed to protect workers

How the parties voted when SF introduced legislation to improve the

2014 Companies Act

Oireachtas report makes clear - Direct Provision unfit for purpose

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn TD and Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh have been leading the way in calling for an end to Direct Provision in Ireland.The Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions, of which Pádraig Mac Lochlainn TD is the chairperson, has recently published a report calling for an end to the system.“This report to the Dáil and Sea-nad makes it clear to both Hous-es of the Oireachtas that the di-

rect provision system is not fit for purpose.”Direct Provision was designed and resourced to be a short-term solution, Mac Lochlainn said. There are 4,360 people in the system, one-third of them chil-dren. One resident has been in it for 11 years and a large number for five years or more.One in five residents in direct provision have been in the sys-tem for seven or more years.

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Printed by Dessie Ellis TD 0612

Enda Kenny really is a bit of a joker. When an exasperated TD on the opposi-tion benches asked him recently what

was the point of leader’s questions he told her, “It’s to tell you where to go.” I kid you not.

Week after week the Taoiseach has put his best patronising face forward, as he inelegantly dodges the tough questions. This carry on is not new or unique to the Fine Gael leader, although he and his Tánaiste are amongst the worst of-fenders.

So when Gerry Adams posed the question that the Taoiseach’s reason for not setting up an independent commission of investigation into the Siteserv sale was because he doesn’t want citizens to know exactly what happened – Kenny bewilderingly told the Sinn Fein leader it was be-cause he didn’t want to be accused of a cover-up! Eh, isn’t the point of an investigation to ex-pose wrong doing?

Labour Leader Joan Burton is not a whole pile better. Mary Lou recently asked what daily ne-cessity the Tánaiste proposed struggling house-

holds forgo to pay the water tax. Instead of answering she waffled on about

Belfast, singing of songs, something about un-employed people having no ambition and bi-zarrely, her efforts to increase peoples’ incomes by taxing them more!

IT’S ALL FIANNA FÁIL’S FAULT!Then there’s the old chestnut of, ‘it’s Fianna

Fáil’s fault’. We all know the last crowd are to blame for crash but let’s face it; Fine Gael and Labour have made a bad situation a lot worse. Families and SMEs alike are still struggling with high levels of debt, you’ve less money in your pocket, family homelessness is at crisis levels and your loved ones are still languishing on hos-pital trollies when they need urgent care.

Yet despite the deeply unfair policies of this government its party leaders try to palm off even their most recent decisions on Fianna Fáil.

Take the sale of the states 25% share in Aer Lingus. In setting out Sinn Féin’s opposition to the sale Mary Lou McDonald called on the Tánaiste

to explain why Aer Lingus pensioners have been given a short shrift, noting in particular deferred pensioners who have been treated shamefully by the company and government.

Joan Burton laid the blame at Fianna Fáil’s door for legislation introduced six years ago – but the reality is Labour and Fine Gael voted down Sinn Féin amendments to legislation that would have provided added protections for the very same pensioners. Bring on the election!

Answering the hard questions...OR TALKING WAffle?

“Week after week the Taoiseach has put his best patronising face forward, as he inelegantly dodges the tough questions

Mary Lou McDonald and David Norris were just two of

the politi-cians who

were asked to remove ‘Vótáil Tá’

badges during the ref-erendum by Leinster House authorities.This is certainly not the first time this

has been an issue. There is a concerted attempt to remove politics from the corridors and cham-bers of Leinster House. The Proclamation may be on display and likenesses of Cathal Brugha and Constance Markievicz proudly dis-played – but when Sinn Féin attempt to honour those republicans with a simple Easter Lily it throws the Establishment into a fit of hysteria.

Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flana-gan even went so far as to seek a re-port from the Ceann Chomhairle on the wearing of such emblems by Sinn Féin deputies. He was noticeably quiet on the wearing of the poppy, however.This might seem like a small issue – it is part of a bigger problem and culture that permeates throughout Leinster House. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour may occasionally clash in the chamber – but in reality they are cut from the same cloth. They have no discernible difference in their policies. Their politics is the poli-tics of being in power for the sake of being in power. Inside Leinster House they have for too long been insulated from the real cut and thrust of politics, and from the ef-fects their actions in government have on ordinary people. Leinster House was

for too long a “green zone” where the idea of real politicians or real politics crashing through the railings was a far off dystopian nightmare.This cosy consensus of backslapping in the corridors and pantomime fights in the chamber has been rocked to its core with the arrival of Sinn Féin and other parties who are making a differ-ence, and aren’t ashamed of wearing their politics on their sleeve.

The Marriage Equality referendum shone a spotlight on some of the more archaic practices within Leinster House. While politicians are elected on political platforms, to make political change and drive political ideas – the thought of them wearing their politics on their sleeve – or their lapel – is still frowned on in this historic building.

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