Video of Dublin Lisbon Treaty Debate

MEP and Dublin West candidate for the general election Joe Higgins commented:

"This weekend the annual conference of the Socialist Party takes place against the political and economic backdrop that points towards years of savage cutbacks, high unemployment and mass emigration of our youth unless a serious political challenge to the establishment consensus is built allied to a fightback in the form of mass protests and strike action.

The Government plan to introduce a property tax on the family home and a water tax by 2014. They are introducing a household charge in January as an “interim measure” for 2012 and 2013. The charge will start at 100 euro for 2012. It will be levied on 1.6 million households or 86% of all households in the state.

Since publication of this article, further details of how the tax is being introduced have come out, these can be read in this article by Joe Higgins TD.

The comment of the Labour Party to imposing austerity as part of the next government is increasingly clear. In agreeing to the target of reducing the budget deficit to 3% by 2014, Labour is pledging to implement cutbacks and attacks similar to those of the current government.