SWP Statements

IRELAND IN RECESSION OFFICIAL.

NO TO PAY FREEZE,

NO TO CUTS IN PUBLIC SERVICES

Socialist Worker says:

NO TO A PAY FREEZE

TAX THE RICH TO FUND PUBLIC SERVICES

The ESRI and government statistics show Ireland is now officially in recession. After months of denying that the credit crunch and global financial crisis would hit Ireland hard, economists and bosses are now calling for drastic cuts in public spending.

The rich in Ireland made a fortune out of the Celtic Tiger, €41 billion in capital gains from investments in land, property and equities between 2004 and 2007. There are 450 people with at least €10 million each and one hundred people with at least €100 million.  The rich account for less than 1 per cent of the population. In 2007, this 1 per cent had an asset base of €100 billion – more than a third of national non-residential wealth.

It is they who should now be made pay higher taxes to fund our public services instead of cutting back in already threadbare services.

Bosses want to make workers carry the cost of the recession through pay freezes and cuts. They want to start a new ‘race to the bottom’ – as Hibernian Insurance is doing by outsourcing jobs to India, despite making €326 million in profit last year.

Unions need to fight to defend every job and stop any cuts in public spending – make government raise taxes on business and the rich to fund the shortfall.

The NO vote to Lisbon was a brilliant example of workers standing up to the bullying of the business elite and demanding a different, a better, social Europe.

The recession and financial crisis is exposing the real agenda that was behind the Lisbon Treaty – the business agenda. EU and Irish bosses need Lisbon to further their exploitation of European workers and workers in the third world. Phrases such as ‘securing Europe’s place in the world’ is code for further privatisation and militarism in Europe and elsewhere.

They are now trying to scare people who voted NO with threats of forcing Ireland to leave the EU. All of these threats are based on lies, the world did not fall apart after France voted NO, only the plans of the neo-liberals were derailed.

The fallout from the NO vote also exposes the fake democracy we have under capitalism. Instead of listening to the people, supposedly the highest authority in democracies, we are told we will have to vote again. The EU governments only listen to the corporate elites – they don’t give most EU citizens a vote, disregard the vote if they lose or make us vote again until we ‘get it right’.

The Lisbon Treaty should be scrapped. There should be no re-negotiation and no second referendum. We now have a chance to put a different plan for Ireland and Europe on the agenda –a Europe for people not profit – join the socialists to help fight for it!

If you would like to join the SWP or get more information about our policies and activities contact Kevin on 086-3074060 or email swpballymun@eircom.net