Republican News · Thursday 3 April 2003

Creeping privatisation rejected

BY JOANNE CORCORAN

Support for the new policy document on Private Finance Initiatives and criticism of government cutbacks were the main themes in the economy debate at last weekend's Ard Fheis.

North Monaghan County Councillor Brian McKenna dealt with government cutbacks and said it was "a long way from Fianna Fáil/PD pre-election promises and the reality of a right-wing government that has incensed the Irish public after less than a year in office". McKenna listed a range of draconian measures, including "the axing of the first-time home buyer's grant, the cut in the school building programme, the social housing cuts, the shortfall in the health budget, and the cutting of 5,000 Community Employment places".

He added that Sinn Féin would campaign as a party for a new vision of the Irish economy "organised and managed for the benefit of all and not for the profit of the few".

Frances McCole, on behalf of the Dublin Cúige, echoed this call for a new policy document setting out Sinn Féin's alternative socialist economic agenda. She argued that the party needs to start the debate on the economic structures that would underpin the socialist structures that Sinn Féin is demanding.

"It is important that we realise that economics is not just for capitalists," she said. "We, as socialists have to grasp and understand economics as well."

Pat Tobin spoke on behalf of the Pat Cannon Cumann in Donaghmede, which proposed a motion calling for the scrapping or suspension of SSIA Savings Schemes.

"This scheme is immoral. A society is judged on how it values its most vulnerable. This scheme gives the most affluent of our society §1 for every §4 they save."

"How will McCreevy pay for this? There have been casualties already, hospitals have had their budgets cut, first time buyers have lost their grants.

"The setting up of this scheme was a cynical ploy on the government's part. It was closed just before the General Election, leaving a feelgood factor, and will give its first paybacks just before the next General Election, which will create another feelgood factor."

Lucilita Breathnach argued on behalf of the Ard Comhairle against the motion. She said that Sinn Féin supports sharing the wealth. She accepted that the system benefits those who can afford to invest, but pointed out that the people who would really suffer if the SSIA was scrapped at this stage would be the low paid workers and unemployed who bought in to the scheme. She added that if Sinn Féin was in government, it would introduce broader schemes to make sure everyone benefited from the state's wealth.

A representative from Ógra Shinn Féin argued against the involvement of private enterprise in public service projects. "Education is a basic service, and should not be there for profit. Health is also a basic service, and you can see already that the more money you have, the better treatment you will receive. Public services are a basic right for everyone and private enterprise, in the form of Public Private Partnerships and Private Finance Initiatives, cannot be allowed to benefit financially from them."

Other delegates argued that workers in PFI schemes tend to have the worst pay conditions and praised Sinn Féin's new policy document, 'Private Finance Initiative, as a brilliant, comprehensive economic document.

John Campbell, speaking on behalf of the MacDonagh/Farrell Cumann in UCD, ended the debate by calling for the Ard Fheis to petition the ICTU to launch a daily left wing paper, and supporting the doubling of the minimum wage.

"People have said that increasing the minimum wage is economically not viable, but I want to say-who is it not viable for?

"We are coming out of a time of economic success, and it is an absolute disgrace what some people get paid in this country."

The motion on the SSIA schemes was defeated, while all other motions in the section were passed.