Month: October 2009
Greens: No Fees – Cuts and Nama instead
In the new programme for government, the Green Party ruled out the reintroduction of college fees – but this is in reality a thin cover for the absolutely rotten deal for students, workers and young people that the craven and power-hungry Greens have signed up to.
80th anniversary of the Wall Street Crash
Scant attention has been paid to the 80th anniversary of the October 1929 Wall Street Crash. Preoccupied with their own present devastating global crisis, the moneybags, the capitalists, can hardly repeat their theme of yesterday – “it can never happen again” – when dealing with 1929. How much of it really has happened again? And what are the underlying causes of today’s crisis?
Abbey sacks set builders in outsourcing move
The Socialist Party spoke to a member of the Building and Allied Trade Union who works at The Abbey Theatre where there is a dispute brewing over the outsourcing of jobs.
Tommy Sheridan – a socialist fighter on a worker’s wage
Tommy Sheridan is standing in the Glasgow North East by-election on 12 November. Standing as a "Workers' MP on a Worker's Wage" for Solidarity - Scotland's Socialist Movement - Tommy contrasts strongly with the disgraced former incumbent, Michael Martin (now Lord Martin of Springburn), whose resignation as Speaker and as an MP, triggered this by-election, in an area that has been represented by Labour since 1935.
FIFA Shifts the goalposts
The Republic of Ireland face an uphill struggle to qualify for the 2010 World Cup following a controversial ruling by football’s governing body. FIFA has seeded the teams in the World Cup play-offs to ensure that the big countries have an easy as possible passage to next summer's tournament.
Green Isle – “Goodfellas” sack workers to break union
Nearly 35 engineers at Green Isle Foods in Naas have been on strike since 31 August to defend three of their colleagues from being sacked on trumped up charges of breaching the company’s IT policy. The sackings are an attempt to break the workers’ union, the TEEU at Green Isle.
Daily Mail – homophobic attack on Boyzone singer
Daily Mail journalist, Jan Moir, has provoked outrage with a blatantly homophobic column attacking the recently deceased Boyzone singer, Stephen Gately.
One billion cuts plan for health service
"HEALTH CUTS hurt the old, the sick and the handicapped" was the cynical slogan used by Fianna Fáil in the 1980s to get re-elected. On doing so in 1987 they went on a rampage of devastation in the health service. They are now prepared to do it again this time with the complicit support of the Green Party.
Defend public sector jobs, pay, pensions and services
According to Brian Cowen, Enda Kenny, Michael O’Leary and the ESRI, the public sector is overpaid, overstaffed and inefficient and the best way to end the economic crisis is to sack thousands of public sector workers and cut the pay and pensions of the rest!
All out on 6 November – For a 24 Hour general strike
There can be no doubting that Ireland is a country of Them and Us. For them: NAMA’s €54 billion, €1 million for ex-FAS boss, €216,000 expenses for John O’Donoghue. For us: pay cuts, social welfare cuts, child benefit cuts, health cuts, education cuts, new taxes. €4 billion worth of cuts this December to hit the quality of life of every working class man, woman and child!