Referendum defeat for Irish Government:

IRISH PEOPLE REJECT
GOVERNMENT
POWER-GRAB:

The Government’s proposal to abolish Seanad Éireann (Irish Senate) was defeated in yesterday’s Referendum. On a poll just short of 40% the result was: Yes: 591,937 (48.3%), NO: 634,437 (51.7%).

There was a clear east-west geographic divide in the country with Dublin and the eastern counties voting solid NO and southern and western counties voting Yes, but, only by the narrowest of margins in most cases.

No Dublin constituency recorded a Yes vote, a staggering defeat for the coalition government of Fine Gael and the Labour Party. For Labour, already under severe pressure because of the IMF/EU austerity budgets and showing only 6% support in the latest opinion polls this bodes badly for their chances in next year’s local government and European Parliament elections when the results of this referendum will still be fresh in voters’ memory.

Analysis will continue in the next few weeks of the various aspects of the NO vote, a cross-party, non ideological event but, a clear implication of serious mistrust of government intentions whatever proposal is being put forward. The political credibility of An Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny, is severely dented since this proposal was initiated by him as a personal project and pursued without much logical input from himself and with a damaging refusal to engage in any public debate about the issue he was asking the electorate to support.

With large quantities of egg-on-face, the Government must now deal with a hostile public and a coterie of hostile but determined and intellectually able Senators who campaigned against the abolition and who managed to throw out a government measure the day before the Referendum. The Government have already set-up a “Constitutional Convention” to discuss amendments to the Constitution but, for unknown reasons failed to submit their senate abolition proposal to this body, a political mistake as now demonstrated by today’s result.

Even though the Government has a comfortable majority in Dáil Éireann, the lower house, this has been fraying at the edges with four Labour members and four Fine Gael members already outside the Party whip adding to their many political headaches as the next electoral test looms in 2014. Further, next week’s State Budget is likely to be as controversial as the previous ones even though it is the last of the IMF/EU supervised ones. The economy has not grown sufficiently fast for a relaxing of the constraints on State finances which would allow them to try to restore some political popularity in the short term.


In a typically opportunist but, astute move Opposition Leader, Mícheál Martin’s, Fianna Fáil Party, which led the previous government of boom and then bust, took up the NO side campaign, a novelty for them since they have spent the last forty years campaigning for YES votes on every occasion for further integration with the unelected Brussels Bureaucracy and fully supported the militarisation of Europe as well.

The result is also a setback for rising Opposition party, Sinn Féin, who now seemed to have made a serious tactical mistake in joining the YES Campaign despite earlier instinctive misgivings by party leader, Gerry Adams.

All this makes for an interesting political scene in Ireland for the next few months.

Vote NO in Referendum:

ATTACK ON DEMOCRACY

BY ARROGANT

GOVERNMENT:

 

 

Today’s Referendum on abolition of Seanad Éireann (Irish Senate) the second house of the Oireachtas (Legislature) purports to be a “reform” but is merely a power-grab by the government with the largest majority ever in the history of the State and citizens should carefully consider whether they want this government to have untrammelled power without possibility of legislative scrutiny which, admittedly in limited fashion, was provided by Seanad Éireann since it was established in the 1937 Constitution.

The Government case is based on the narrowness of the electorate which elects the members and the cost, which they have stated is €20M but, this has been proven to be greatly exaggerated by political observers. Since the form of election is entirely a matter for the politicians it is they who are responsible for the failures to reform the system over 75 years not the Seanad itself, which has always been controlled by the parties in the other house, Dáil Éireann.

Their proposed abolition amendments to be voted on today have not been discussed in any detail in any public forum and the sneaky abolition of Article 27 of the Constitution which provides for a petition to the President to proclaim a referendum on any Dáil bill which a proportion of members consider should be referred to the people has not been debated except on last night’s Vincent Browne debate on TV3. No mention ever given on national broadcaster RTÉ.

The Government has not proposed any alternative legislative proposals other than vague promises to give additional powers to parliamentary committees which will still have the party whip applied and the majority of chairpersons still nominated by the Government. So much for “reform” which has been the main slogan of the government supporters in this referendum. With their overwhelming majority in Dáil Éireann they can easily ignore the Opposition and carry on as usual but, without even the feeble voices in the Seanad to question their authority. In effect, they are asking for a blank cheque from the people in this political scam.

No government should be given blank cheques! Let them put their money where their mouth is and produce genuine reform legislative proposals which can be seen and debated in public. Therefore, vote NO in today’s referendum.

 

 

 

 

DON'T LAND HERE!

TIME FOR IRISH
GOVERNMENT TO
HALT U.S. ABUSE OF
SHANNON AIRPORT:

Two years ago, Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) and Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs,

Eamon Gilmore, made a public statement at a conference of the Labour Party in Dublin on the presentation for the formation of a coalition government with the Fine Gael party that, as part of that government's programme, international law would be enforced at Shannon Airport. It's long overdue now that Mr Gilmore should honour that promise and halt the abuse of Shannon Airport by the US Military which has been carried on since the start of the Iraq War in 2003.

Mr Gilmore stated this week that the Syrian crisis should be resolved only by procedures

provided by the UN. With US President Obama declaring publicly that he intends to launch aggressive military strikes against the sovereign state of Syria contrary to article 2.4 of the UN Charter in the near future, the Irish Government must immediately carry out its obligations under the Charter and refuse any facilities either preparatory or active on Irish territory for what has been declared illegal acts of aggression by UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon.

There is also a Constitutional obligation on any Irish Government to comply with provisions of International Law in the case of any conflict between member states of the UN. There should be no more delay now on this issue and the US should be served notice forthwith that their aircraft will no longer be allowed land or transit Irish territory in pursuit of illegal war aims. A similar declaration was made by the government of neutral Austria this week.

In blatant disregard of international conventions on human rights, arms control, respect for neutral states, the US has shamelessly misused the facilities at Shannon for "rendition" flights, transport of illegal chemical weapons - White Phosphorous- to Israel in 2008-9 for its criminal attacks on the civilian population of Gaza, then vetoed UN resolutions condemning Israeli war crimes against the Palestinian people; supported Israeli piracy in attacking Irish ships travelling to Gaza with humanitarian aid; the kidnapping, assault and illegal detention of Irish citizens attempting to aid the people of Gaza.

Time for the Irish Government to stand up against US Imperialist bullying, support the UN and international law, implement an independent foreign policy consistent with our sovereign democratic Republic and defend the interests of the Irish people as its first and most important duty.

 

Supreme Court slams Government

Supreme Court allows appeal

in referendum bias case:

The Supreme Court has ruled today that the Government spending of public money on an information campaign on the Children's Referendum was not fair, impartial or equal and violated constitutional law. The appeal was heard by a five judge Supreme Court comprised of the Chief Justice Ms Susan Denham, Mr Justice John Murray, Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman, Mr Justice Niall Fennelly and Mr Justice Donal O'Donnell.

The Court held that the information in leaflets and on a website did not conform to the required principles laid down by a landmark judgment in 1995, known as the McKenna judgment. This was a previous judgement granted to former Dublin MEP, Patricia McKenna who challenged and won her case against the Government spending public funds on its own political propaganda in referendums.The principles prohibit the use of public funds to promote a particular outcome in a referendum.The Court ruled that extensive passages in the booklet and on the website did not conform to these principles. The material also included a misstatement (in other words; lies)

In a unanimous decision, the Court granted a declaration that the State acted wrongfully in spending public money on the website, information booklets and advertisements in relation to the referendum. The case was taken by Mark McCrystal of Kilbarrack Road in Dublin who claimed the Government was wrongly using €1.1m of public funds to promote a Yes vote, something which was not allowed under the McKenna Judgment.  Mr McCrystal had sought a declaration that the respondents were not entitled to use public money on a website, booklet and an advertising campaign concerning the referendum. He also sought an injunction requiring the State to remedy the situation. However, the Court did not grant an injunction as the Court assumed the State will stop distributing and publishing the material.

The Government had denied their information campaign was biased towards a Yes vote.The case was given priority by the Supreme Court as the referendum takes place on Saturday.The full reasons for the decision will be given next month.The link to the Children's Referendum website, www.childrensreferendum.ie, has been deactivated.

Meanwhile, IRISH TIMES  journalist and No campaigner, John Waters, has said that the Children's Referendum would be a "breach of natural justice" following the ruling. Speaking on the RTÉ radio this morning, Mr Waters said the Government had misappropriated public money in breach of the McKenna Judgment, and if there was a Yes vote, it would be "contaminated".He added that in seeking to change the Constitution, the Government had behaved unconstitutionally. On RTÉ television's "Frontline" programme on Monday, Mr Waters trounced Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald's false arguments supporting the so-called "Children's Rights" referendum amendment to the Constitution which is to be voted on next Saturday.

The full programme can be viewed here:

http://www.rte.ie/news/player.html?thefrontline#programme=The%20Frontline

It is quite apparent that the majority of Yes supporters in this audience are professionals who have a vested interest in the expansion of state imposed child-care services from which they will derive financial benefit and the majority of NO supporters there are ordinary people who wish to preserve the rights of all citizens, including children,(who are citizens from the moment they are born) against further state intrusion into family life by means of this spurious referendum.

                                     The cover of the illegal booklet issued by the Government

Caught out again in blatant illegality and misuse of public funds, the Government's cynical power grab and attempt at diminishing parental rights and thus, the children's natural rights to association with their parents already enshrined in the Constitution is exposed for the sleazy anti-social proposition it is.

It has emerged in the news coverage that Minister Fitzgerald was the principal author of the condemned booklet and, in defence, she stated that she had sought and got advice from the Attorney General, Máire Whelan, on the legalities. Both of them should now resign having wasted over €1M on an illegal publication at public expense.


Mark McCrystal and Kathy Sinnott outside the Supreme Court after the judgement was delivered:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=clGS4zjakuo

Full text of Supreme Court judgment see here:

http://blagaroon2.blogspot.ie/2013/01/govt.html

Defend Our Constitution! 
Vote NO on Saturday, 
November 10th.

 

FearFeasaMacLéinn

Áth Cliath/Dublin

Samhain/November 08 2012