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25 November 1999 Edition

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Workers in struggle: A socialist republic in the 21st century

BY ROBBIE MacGABHANN

     
Do we really want an economy where low wages, long hours and monotonous labour is a measure of economic success?
There is a common misconception at work in the Irish media and in Irish political life that the ramifications of the Good Friday Agreement apply solely to the people of the Six Counties.

The stalling on delivering on the Good Friday Agreement over the hook of decommissioning has merely amplified this misconception.

Sinn Féin have consistently emphasised the all-Ireland dimension as crucial not just in the case of all Ireland bodies and cross-border institutions. It is also crucial in the commitment given by both the London and Dublin Governments to ``the principles of partnership, equality and mutual respect to the protection of civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights''.

When republicans look at the 26 Counties, we see a society where many of these rights are being transgressed. The 26-County state is clearly a wealthy society but is this wealth shared equally or fairly? - No.

Is there a real partnership between the communities we live in, the business community, the trade union movement and the farming organisations? - No.

Wherever you look, whether it be the 38,000 people on hospital waiting lists, the 46,000 people on local authority housing waiting lists, the homeless, the schoolchildren without books or proper facilities and the refugees treated like criminals, you see a society that systematically excludes people rather than includes them.

On a very basic level, the commitments made in the Good Friday Agreement are not being delivered to a large section of the Irish people.

Sinn Féin spokespersons have consistently stated that they see the creation of a lasting and just peace in Ireland as the first step towards a new Ireland. As James Connolly put it when describing the need to create an Irish socialist republic, it is ``the point of departure''.

The core theme of Irish republicanism, from Tone through to Davis, Pearse and Connolly to the present day is a commitment to the creation of the economic and social conditions where the Irish people are truly free. Many people dismiss this as an abstract ideal. They are wrong. Irish republicans believe these are fundamental and achievable rights.

In 1999, this republican ideal means a commitment to building a society and an economy where everyone has a meaningful job, with a wage that allows them and their families to have a dignified standard of living.

Much has been made in Dublin Government circles of the amount of jobs created in the 26-County economy in recent years. Almost no attention has been paid to the wages and working conditions of thousands of these new workers.

Do we really want an economy where low wages, long hours and monotonous labour are a measure of economic success?

Republicans want to create a society where everyone has proper housing in properly planned communities with schools, health services, leisure facilities and shops. The market system has shown that it cannot deliver this basic requirement, so Sinn Féin believes it is up to government to intervene by building more houses, by taxing speculators, by controlling the price of land, by increasing capital gains tax on speculators and cutting stamp duty.

Republicans want to build a health service that is not riven by tiers, one more exclusive than the next, selling services only to those who can afford to pay. We want a health service that guarantees quality treatment quickly to all.

It is inexcusable that as more and more diseases are medically treatable, less and less people can afford the treatment. How did it happen that we can treat brain tumours, chronic cancer and heart disease but we cannot guarantee immediate treatment to accident and emergency patients? We cannot even guarantee them a hospital bed.

Wherever you look in Irish society, inequality is rife, whether you focus on taxation, education, employment creation, public transport regional development.

There has been an endless amount of comment about the new millennium, most of it meaningless hype. However, no matter what your perspective, there is no doubt that it is a milestone in human history. What better objective could there be for a new century than the aim of delivering social justice for the Irish people? This is what Sinn Féin will be campaigning, lobbying and working for in the 21st century. It is a new point of departure towards building a socialist republic. One wonders where the other parties will be.

An Phoblacht
44 Parnell Sq.
Dublin 1
Ireland