Government must now fulfil fiscal treaty campaign promises – Kelly

The Fine Gael/Labour government must immediately begin to deliver on promises of investment, stability and recovery given during the recent fiscal treaty campaign, according to a Wexford Councillor. Sinn Féin Cllr Anthony Kelly said that he hoped for the sake of the nation that the government would not renege on these promises as they had on similar pledges made before the last general election.

“The government promised investment, stability and recovery if Ireland ratified this treaty,” Cllr Kelly said. “They promised mass job creation and fairer budgets. They must begin to deliver on these promises immediately, with action instead of tired old rhetoric. They need to deal concisely with the mass unemployment epidemic in this country. They need to stop turning a blind eye to the emigration cycle that is causing so much heartache to families across this state. They must stop the policy of using emigration as a safety valve, venting out our young people in a vain effort to keep the live register figures stable. They must tackle the mortgage crisis.”

Will Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fail keep their promises
about the fiscal treaty or were they telling porkies again?

“It is clear that a majority of people have rejected austerity. Forty percent of voters rejected it directly last Thursday, while half the eligible electorate rejected the policies of austerity by not voting. Fine Gael and Labour need to acknowledge what a bad reflection it is upon a sitting government to have only half the electorate turn out to vote. People feel disenfranchised and it is quite obvious that the bullying and scaremongering tactics used by some members of the yes camp over the past few weeks may have won the election but certainly did not win the hearts of the Irish people.”

“Breaking the promises made in this referendum campaign will only lead to more people rejecting the political system. It is essential that the government moves quickly to begin to fulfil their fiscal treaty campaign promises. Sinn Féin will be there, in our capacity as the largest party of opposition in the state, ready to hold them and their allies in the Fianna Fail party to account every step of the way. We will not allow the Irish austerity troika of Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fail to get away with breaking their election promises once again.”