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1 June 2020

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With the pain of the COVID-19 pandemic comes the promise of a better world

Leas Uachtaran Michelle O'Neill

We must build world-class and resilient public services that all of us can rely on from cradle to grave. We must provide everyone with a wage on which they can live with dignity. We must eliminate the deprivation we see all around us and the decay of our natural environment. - Michelle O'Neill

Since February, the COVID-19 pandemic has gripped the world. In that time we have all paid a staggering human cost, not least in the hundreds of thousands of people who have perished.

In these tragic circumstances, it’s difficult to think about the economic impact of the crisis. But at this point the impact is already clear – we are in the midst of the sharpest economic recession in centuries.

Despite unprecedented economic intervention from states around the world, the world economy will be hit hard, and unemployment will rise, disproportionately targeting the least well off in society, young people, and the vulnerable.

But this human tragedy has brought into focus the workers who form the bedrock of our society. The nurses and doctors that risk their own health to save lives, the public transport workers who are keeping us connected, and the key workers who provide us all with the vital frontline services we need.

So as we all face the challenge of rebuilding our economy and society in the wake of this crisis, we stand at a crossroads. One path can lead us to a new economy, based on security, safety and compassion for all. We need to carry these values into the post-pandemic world 

The other path leads back to a recent past, where governments slash public spending, attack public services, and target the most vulnerable to pay for tax breaks to millionaires.

Now is the time to begin planning for a fairer, greener, and safer economy for all, and to resist another devastating bout of Tory-imposed austerity.

We must build world-class and resilient public services that all of us can rely on from cradle to grave. We must provide everyone with a wage on which they can live with dignity. We must eliminate the deprivation we see all around us and the decay of our natural environment.

Sinn Féin believes this must be achieved through a Just Transition; an economic plan that addresses the problems of the past, defends against the COVID threat of the present, and tackles the threat of climate change in the near future.

Caoimhe Archibald and David Cullinane.

Our economic plan involves protecting and creating as many jobs as possible so that people can get back to work, promoting more high-skilled jobs and a living wage, creating low-carbon homes to reduce emissions and tackle fuel poverty. It means investing in house building, upgrading the health system, simultaneously creating jobs and better meeting the needs of the public. It means building essential public transport infrastructure, especially in isolated rural areas, and harnessing the abundance of our vast renewable resources to provide cleaner and cheaper energy for all.

We need meaningful fiscal and financial powers to invest in our economy, and borrow at record-low interest rates to transform our society. 

Never again can our health service and frontline workers be so undervalued and underpaid. Never again should people in a society as rich as ours be asked to choose between a hot meal and a warm home. Never again can we ignore the climate emergency in the name of protecting corporate profits.

As we all work together to confront and defeat this deadly virus, let us commit to a fairer, greener and more dignified society for the future. We must never forget the pain and tragedy of these days in 2020. They will follow us for the rest of our lives, but they can also lead us to a better and safer future for all.

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Contributions from key figures in the churches, academia and wider civic society as well as senior republican figures

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