LEINSTER HOUSE | SINN FÉIN TDs PUT PRESSURE ON GOVERNMENT ON ALL FRONTS

Challenging the punishment of taxpayers for sins of banks and bond-holders

AS Sinn Féin in the Six Counties gears up to complement the party’s success in the Dáil elections in the 26 Counties, Sinn Féin TDs in Leinster House have wasted little time in putting pressure on the new Government on all fronts - on the economic crisis, jobs and international affairs.
Sinn Féin has been the foremost radical voice in the Dáil and in the media, giving a voice to what hard-pressed ordinary families feel - and offering solutions.
The launch of Sinn Féin’s campaign to abolish the Universal Service Charge (see Page 7) is one element of the party’s campaign to defend working families.
The effective economic collective punishment of taxpayers to continue bailing out the banks and bond-holders has been to the forefront of Sinn Féin’s agenda. This follows the party setting down a marker by having the House adopt its motion of censure of former Fine Gael fund-raiser Michael Lowry TD following the publication of the Moriarty Report.
Sinn Féin Agriculture spokesperson Michael Colreavy TD highlighted the fact that farm families are paying the cost of the folly of city bankers when he described cuts to the number of farmers eligible for the Agricultural Environmental Options Scheme by a fifth and reductions in payments as “a crushing blow to low-income farmers”.
He warned the Fine Gael/Labour cuts would “herald a new era of farming poverty in marginal areas”, saying:
“This will come as a crushing blow to farmers, particularly those farmers on low incomes. The decision to reduce the maximum payment to €4,000 will effectively halve the income of thousands of farmers. Many others will be turned down for the scheme as the previous Government committed to 10,000 applicants - the new scheme is limited to 8,000.
“It does not make any kind of economic sense to take this money out of one of the few functioning areas of local economies. It is now clear how the new Government intend to fund the bank bail-out. It is not acceptable.”