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.

US MILITARY BUILD-UP AT SHANNON:

UPSURGE IN US MILITARY
TRAFFIC AT SHANNON AIRPORT:

A significant increase of US Military traffic at Shannon Airport, Co Clare, Ireland, close to Limerick City in the West, Atlantic  coast,  was reported by local observers this week. On Saturday alone, at midday, four US military aircraft plus an air refuelling tanker aircraft and one Omni AIR (Contracted by the US military) troop carrier were landed on the tarmac. In addition, a fuel tanker vessel was observed at the marine fuel delivery point in the estuary on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Local Peace group, Shannonwatch, issued the following statement:

"Number of U.S. Military Aircraft at Shannon Raises Concerns

Shannonwatch, 8 Sept 2013

Shannonwatch have called on the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eamon Gilmore, to clarify the significance of several U.S. troop carriers and other military aircraft at Shannon Airport in the run-up to what might well be a U.S. led attack on Syria. As U.S. President Barack Obama continues to look for support for an attack that would have serious repercussions for the Syrian people and the region as a whole, the organisation calls on the Irish government to make its opposition clear by immediately ending the U.S. military use of the airport.

In the last week Shannonwatch recorded14 U.S. military aircraft as well as four troop carriers at Shannon Airport. The military aircraft included Hercules C-130s operated by the U.S. Air Force and Navy,and two KC-10s. The KC-10 is a military version of the DC-10 and is used by the U.S. Air Force for transport and aerial refuelling. The presence of the KC-10s at Shannon could indicate that other US military aircraft are being refuelled in or near Irish airspace. 
Shannonwatch are particularly concerned at the fact that on Saturday Sept 7^than armed man in army clothing was seen beside one of the U.S. Air Forces’ Hercules at the airport. “This man was either part of a support service being provided by the Irish army to the U.S. military, or the unauthorised presence of an armed U.S. soldier on Irish soil” said Shannonwatch spokesperson Edward Horgan. “If it was an Irish soldier providing support for the U.S. military,it calls our neutrality into serious question. If it was a U.S. soldier, it is a violation of Irish law as well as our neutrality, since the U.S. does not have permission to have weapons on its military aircraft at Shannon”.

The situation regarding the presence of weapons on U.S. military flights at Shannon was outlined by the Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamonn Gilmore in June of this year. In answer to a written parliamentary question he stated that permission for foreign military aircraft, including U.S. aircraft, to land at Irish airports is given only on condition that the aircraft are unarmed, carry no arms, ammunition or explosives and do not engage in intelligence gathering and that the flights in question do not form any part of military exercises or operations.

“It is inconceivable that U.S. military aircraft transiting Shannon airport would not be carrying armed personnel” said Edward Horgan. “The only way to be sure that they are not is to inspect them. But despite being asked repeatedly to do so, the authorities refuse”.

On 7^th September Shannonwatch also recorded a U.S. Army C-12 twin-engine turboprop aircraft at Shannon Airport. C-12’s are used for various duties, including embassy support, medical evacuation, as well as passenger and light cargo transport. Some C-12’s are modified with surveillance systems for various missions.

“It is not clear if the C-12 seen at Shannon on Saturday was carrying military cargo or not” noted Edward Horgan. “Given the risks associated with a U.S. military attack on Syria, it is more important than ever to inspect these aircraft now”.

On Sunday 8^th September two Omni Air International troop carriers departed from Shannon. “This means hundreds of troops passing through a civilian airport. Shannon is not equipped to deal with potential attacks on an army that may be now be preparing to attack Syria, having already invaded Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya over the last decade” said the Shannonwatch spokesperson. In addition to the U.S. military planes at Shannon this week, Shannonwatch also identified a Gulfstream Aerospace G-1159A Gulfstream III that is reportedly leased by the Italian Air Force. It is not the first time it has visited Shannon but its presence in a supposedly neutral country is worrying. While Shannonwatch welcomes the Italian government’s statement that they will not take part in any US-led attack on Syria without full UN authorisation, there are nonetheless questions to be answered about the Italian Air Force presence in Shannon at the same time as the US Air Force according to their spokesperson Mr. Horgan.

“Because of the unusually high level of military activity at Shannon over the weekend, we are asking the Minister to immediately clarify whether or not the airport is being used to assist in the build-up to an attack on Syria, and to make a statement on the matter. As the Minister for Foreign Affairs it is his duty to ensure Ireland is not complicit in another illegal attack on a Middle Eastern country by the U.S. And the only sure way to do that is to end their use of Shannon Airport now.”

The presence of an Italian Air Force aircraft is an unusual occurrence, particularly as the Italian Government has publicly stated that Italy would not participate in any US-led attack on Syria. The arrival of two marine tankers signifies that other US aircraft are being re-fuelled in Irish airspace contrary to Irish and International law on military air traffic. The citizens of nearby Limerick City are particularly concerned at this increase in military traffic at what is a civil airport and the consequent danger of accidents with aircraft carrying large quantities of fuel and high-explosive weaponry.

The Irish Government must immediately answer these serious public concerns.

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

'Hulk' Hogan bats wide again...

The 'Hulk' Hogan in his usual place.

'HULK' HOGAN BATS 

WIDE AGAIN:

Government Ministers caught out praising

illegality :

As the Dáil resumed on Tuesday, Environment Minister Phil 'Hulk' Hogan waded in to the controversy over the letters from Clare County Council received by students applying for University and College maintenance grants threatening to withdraw the grants unless information was supplied proving that their parents had paid the so-called "household charge" introduced by Hogan earlier this year as part of the austerity programme of the Government's commitments to the EU/IMF bailout which the State is engaged in currently.

The "Hulk's" bullying attitude was apparent again as he endorsed the actions of Clare County Council as "reasonable" when they were nothing less than a crude attempt at intimidation of students and their parents in another failed attempt to extort money from families already under financial pressure from the severe economic crisis. Swift protest action by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), however, forced the Clare County Council and others who were hinting at doing the same, to back-off of one of the meanest and  most despicable attempts by the Government in trying to enforce the despised and unpopular "household charge". USI's action also exposed the clear illegality of this move which could have been easily made known to the Hulk by his officials before he made his foot-in-mouth statement in Dáil Éireann. Another example of Ministers in this Government showing absolute contempt for the people who elected them and forgetting that they are not members of a sovereign parliament like Westminster, but, subject to the sovereignty of the people under our republican Constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann.

That a government minister, sworn to uphold the Constitution on taking office, would, in contemptuous ignorance, declare an obvious illegality to be "reasonable" is grounds for having such individual declared unfit for office. But, such is the low standard of our current batch of politicians, this is unlikely to happen anytime soon. The Minister for Education, Ruairi Quinn, former Leader of the Labour Party and once a respected figure on the Left, joined the controversy in similar vein agreeing with Hogan that the County Council actions were "reasonable", again showing ignorance of the law in that his Department provides the funding for the college grants and the local councils only carry out the administration and have no function or authority to delay or vary the provisions already stated in legislation.

 Ruari Quinn,(Labour), Minister for Education.

Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny was forced to admit to the Dáil yesterday that, as ascertained by USI and their legal advisers, County Councils were acting illegally in threatening to withdraw grants which were not funded by them but by the Department of Education. Nevertheless, there was no apology from Kenny or his ministers for the anxiety and stress caused to the students and their families by this crude attempt at bullying extortion. The so-called "household charge" is itself of dubious legality and will be challenged in the Courts. Aspects of its administration are also illegal due to serious flaws in the supporting legislation. The Government is on a loser in this and the sooner they realise this the better. In particular, the Labour members of the government should give themselves a revision course in the Constitution before they parrot the stupidity and ignorance of the likes of 'Hulk' Hogan.

 

FearFeasaMacLéinn

Áth Cliath/Dublin

MeánFhomhair/September 20 2012

CABINET RIFT ON HEALTH CUTS:

   Disabled people protest outside Government Buildings in Dublin today.

                     (Photo :PA)

HEALTH CUTS WITHDRAWN 

AS CABINET RIFT 

EXPOSED:

The first meeting of the coalition cabinet ahead of the new Dáil session, two weeks from now, had to face massive protest from across the country to dramatic cuts in public health services announced in peremptory fashion by the Health Service Executive on Friday as Health Minister, Dr James Reilly, became the Invisible Man while the storm of protest raged across the media over the weekend.

Senior figures in the Labour Party half of the Coalition reacted strongly. Labour Party chairman, Colm Keaveney, said the €130 million in cuts to home help and services for high-dependency patients announced last week are unacceptable and said he expected the Taoiseach to review the decision at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Speaking on RTÉ radio soon after the HSE announcement, Mr Keaveney said the cuts were unjust and should be reviewed by the HSE and the Minister for Health Dr. James Reilly "as a matter of urgency." “It is my belief that we can identify savings of €130 million rather than focusing on an unjust cut. These cuts are in my view unacceptable and the Minister and HSE should review them as a matter of urgency,” he said. He said members of the Labour Party had contacted him with alarm and concern after the cuts were announced. “I understand there is a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday and I would hope and expect the Taoiseach would ensure we would review this situation to the satisfaction of vulnerable people who are concerned about the delivery of services,” he said. He was joined later by North Dublin TD, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and Tánaiste (Deputy Premier) Éamonn Gilmore who said it was “regrettable” the HSE had announced cuts in services. “Every organisation, every department and every service has to obviously work within budget,” he added. Mr Gilmore said the priority would be to ensure services needed by people requiring care and assistance would continue to be provided.

Against that background, Ministers arrived for today's Cabinet meeting to face a poignant demonstration outside Government Buildings in Dublin by a large number of disabled people in their wheelchairs who stated their dismay in the reduction of their support services which would leave many of them confined to institutions, at greater expense to the state, than continuing with the current levels of service. Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Enda Kenny, avoided the protest by arriving early.

Of the eight cost-cutting proposals in the HSE plan outlined last week, at least three will affect older people or the disabled exclusively. Services for both groups are likely to be seriously affected by a 600,000-hour cut in home help hours, as well as a reduction of 200 home care packages and a €10 million reduction in hours for personal assistants for people who need high levels of support trying to live independently. Health minister, Dr James Reilly has consistently championed the care of patients in the community in preference to long-term stays in hospital, but advocacy groups predicted the effect of the cuts would be to increase hospital admissions. “If this culture of homecare cuts continues, children with life-limiting conditions will end up back in hospital unnecessarily, which nobody wants and which costs nine times more than homecare,” said Jonathan Irwin, chief executive of the Jack and Jill Foundation.The HSE had said “the impact of these reductions will be minimised by ensuring that services are provided for direct patient care”.

The outcome of today's Cabinet meeting was an embarrassing climbdown by Government with a withdrawal of the €10M cut in Personal Assistants for disabled people. The repercussions, political and financial, will continue as the €500M overrun in the health department budget for this year will require more debate and controversial decisions in the lead up to the December Budget for 2013 is put before Dáil Éireann. Obviously, with such a big hole in the Health budget, the argument for cuts will continue inside the Cabinet.

The consequences for the Labour Party leadership will be significant as Colm Keaveney's sharp condemnation of the proposed health cuts resonates with unrest and dissatisfaction within the Labour Party rank and file membership. Keaveney was elected Chair of the Party at this year's Annual Conference, in Galway, despite the hierarchy's determined efforts and bureaucratic manoeuvres to prevent him being elected which caused uproar at the conference centre while outside,  several thousand protesters from various political and civil groups besieged the building.

At government level, so far there has been no explanation from Minister Reilly of his failure to control expenditure in his Department. His usual combative and "Lone Ranger" style of politics strangely absent on this occasion. The issuing of the announcement via the HSE and the failure of Minister Reilly to alert Gilmore and the other Labour ministers including the two in the Health Department, Róisín Shorthall and Kathleen Lynch, added considerably to the cabinet tensions.

The severity of Budget cuts in Ireland since the state was forced into a bailout situation by the European Central Bank and the EU Commission with the IMF added as third party, are part of a worldwide agenda of the robber Banks and the Capitalist Financial Elite to make the majority of the population pay for the criminal debasement of the financial sector which is the direct cause of the crisis in the developed capitalist countries, and in our particular case, the Eurozone. There is now a determined and organised agenda to destroy the social welfare structures of European states in the interests of the Criminal Bandit Elite. 

While vicious hardship is being imposed all over Europe and the USA, the twin citadels of World Corporate Capitalism, 92,000 persons of the Criminal Elite have, between them, stashed more than $21 Trillion in tax havens across the globe. This shows that the financial "crisis" is being manipulated by these criminals to enrich themselves further at the direct expense of the rest of us and are boastful enough to declare publicly, as Mario Draghi, head of the ECB, said in an interview in the "Wall Street Journal", last year, "The European Social Model is over". This is a real challenge to the forces of the Left all over Europe which, regrettably, is not being met by the Irish Labour Party and European Social Democracy as a whole.

FearFeasaMacLéinn

Áth Cliath/Dublin

Meanfhomhair/September 4 2012