Sinn Féin hold protest at "obscene bail-out" and family taxes

Sinn Féin in the county held a protest over the weekend distributing cards for members of the public to sign and give to local Fine Gael and Labour politicians calling on them not to hand over one and one quarter billion euro to bail out Anglo Irish Bank this Wednesday.

Spokesperson for North Wexford Sinn Féin, Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin said : "It is absolutely obscene that over the coming weeks this government will hand over 3.1 billion euro of our money to bail out a private, toxic bank which is now defunct and is not even covered under the terms of governments bank guarantees. They plan to give this amount every year for the next ten years! To fund this obscenity Wexford's Fine Gael and Labour politicians and their colleagues plan to slash funding for education and health and close some small country schools and nursing homes. Funding will also come through the imposition of further punitive family taxes such as the household, water and septic tank charges among many stealth taxes. We must let them know in no uncertain terms that they are not doing it in our name."

Meanwhile Sinn Féin are campaigning countywide to stop the household, water and septic tank charges. Sinn Féin's Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin responding to comments on the issue from local Fine Gael senator, Michael D'Arcy said:
"Local Fine Gael Senator Michael D'Arcy who supports the household charges has said that the government are "forced to go down this road".

No, they are not.They could follow Sinn Fein’s proposal to introduce a progressive tax regime which links tax levels to ability to pay. The Household charge doesn’t do this. It ill-conceived and inequitable and will place unimaginable hardship on many families who are already struggling financially.It is completely unfair as it is a flax tax. How can a flat rate tax on every household, which will see the owners (perhaps unemployed) of a two bedroom semi paying the same as a millionaire owner of a mansion, be regarded as fair?

The Fine Gael Senator has downplayed the charge comparing it to "a T.V. license fee" and a local Labour councillor as to paying for "Sky Sports". The harsh reality is that when you add it to proposed water taxes, septic tank charges, the universal social charge and several other new levies it amounts to a lot. And there is every possibility that once householders are registered the tax will sharply increase over coming years.
The government has done a complete u-turn on its pre-election promises.

“Sinn Féin has been consistent in its opposition to the Household Charge and in the coming weeks and months we will be holding public meetings across County Wexford to inform and organise an effective grassroots campaign. Our elected reps will continue to bring motions before their councils calling for a reversal of the tax and we will go on picketing the offices of government politicians in the county. A Sinn Féin motion calling for the immediate reversal of the controversial Household Charge was defeated at a recent meeting of Wexford Borough Council with Fine Gael, Labour and also Fianna Fáil refusing to support it."

Wexford Sinn Féin at Anti Household Charge meetings

Members of Wexford Sinn Féin attended the recent Anti Household Charge meetings in County Wexford. Cllr Anthony Kelly led the Sinn Féin delegations which attended the last Thursday night’s meeting in Whites Hotel and last night’s meeting in the Scaville Lodge in Duncormick. Cllr Kelly, who recently brought a motion calling for the full reversal of the Household Charge before Wexford Borough Council, was delighted with the high attendances at both meetings and said that the fight to force the government to reverse this unjust tax is well and truly on.

Cllr Kelly reminded people in attendance that while the government was saying revenue generated from the household tax was needed to fund local government, they were happy to hand over money to pay off unguaranteed, unsecured bondholders. Before attending last night’s meeting in Duncormick, Cllr Kelly led a protest against the handing over of this money in Wexford towns Bullring.

Cllr Kelly said;
“Last Autumn the Fine Gael and Labour government handed over €700 million to an unguaranteed Anglo bondholder. Next Wednesday they are going to hand over €1.25 billion to another unsecured bondholder. This money could have been used by the state to fund services as an alternative to the Household Charge.”

Further charges are coming down the line.

Wexford Sinn Féin have already organised county wide meetings against water charges and we intend to meet with frightened rural communities about the septic tank tax in the coming weeks. Sinn Féin is also intent on overturning the Household Charge. Our TDs are fighting to have the unfair tax reversed in the Dail and to aid this our local councillors are bringing motions before the town and county councils of Ireland.

Stop the Handover Protests across Wexford tomorrow (Sat 21st)

A “Stop the Handover” Picket will take place tomorrow (Saturday 21st) at 2pm in the Bullring to protest the Irish Governments pay out to unguaranteed, unsecured bondholders. Similar demonstrations will be held across the county. Wexford Sinn Féin are organising the events which will highlight the handing over of €1.25 billion next Wednesday to Anglo Irish Bank bondholders, and are inviting all people who reject this handover to come and make their voices heard.

Cllr Anthony Kelly said;
“Next Wednesday the Fine Gael and Labour government are going to hand over €1.25 billion to another unguaranteed Anglo bondholder. This is at a time when members of the government are saying that they are prepared to send homeowners who refuse to pay the household charge to jail.”

“The saving of €1.25 billion would mean that there would be no need for a household charge. No need to defy the wishes of the majority of Irish people by taxing their hard earned homes. No need to scare the most vulnerable members of our society into believing that they will end up in jail. Our government had a clear choice here and they have made an unbelievable decision; they have chosen unsecured bondholders ahead of the welfare of their own people.”

“Sinn Féin completely opposes these handovers. We held a protest when €700 million was handed over last October and we will continue to protest and highlight this ludicrous state of affairs. The Irish Government needs to be held accountable for failing the people in such a startling obvious and blatant misappropriation of state funds at this critical time.”

“I would call on the three government TDs in County Wexford, as well as the many coalition reps on our local councils, to make their opinions on the handovers known and, if they are unwilling to try to stop this heinous situation, do the honourable thing and resign immediately.”

Household Charge Reversal motion defeated by “out of touch” Council

A Sinn Féin motion calling for the immediate reversal of the controversial Household Charge was defeated at last Monday night’s meeting of Wexford Borough Council. The motion was proposed by Sinn Féin Cllr. Anthony Kelly and supported by Green Party Cllr. Danny Forde. Eight councillors voted against reversing the Charge.

At the meeting Cllr Kelly said;
“This charge is ill-conceived and inequitable. The Government knows this because now they’re saying it’s an interim tax. It’s going to place unimaginable hardship on many families who are already struggling financially.”

Labour party Cllr Joe Ryan accused Cllr Kelly of playing the populist line and said, “If it’s something to do with Sky Sports people have no problem paying but they resent paying money to the local authority.”

Cllr Kelly reacted angrily to this stating that it was Fine Gael and Labour who had plundered local government finances and were now seeking to compensate for it by taxing homes. Cllr Kelly also said that the government had done a complete u-turn on its pre-election promises.

Afterwards Cllr Kelly said;
“The Household Charge is a desperate attack on low and middle income earners,” Cllr Kelly said. “It will be another terrible burden on those suffering most as a result of this recession. Last Monday night I tabled a motion before Wexford Borough Council calling for the immediate reversal of the Household Charge. It was defeated by eight votes to two, with only Cllr. Danny Forde supporting my motion. Among those who supported Coalition Councillors at the meeting were Independents and Fianna Fail reps, the so called opposition.”

“The Household Charge is almost universally accepted as being inherently wrong in both its function and its roll out, and is viewed as yet another unfair tax on ordinary people. The Wexford Borough Councillors were elected by these very people to serve their best interests and respect their views. When Councillors voted against what the people on the street are saying, then it suggests to me that they are totally out of touch with the desires and fears of their constituents. This is unforgivable.”

“Where I expected Fine Gael and Labour Councillors to support their government and vote against my motion, I am deeply shocked and disgusted that reps belonging to the so called main opposition party chose to vote against this motion. In doing so, they have revealed Fianna Fail’s full unwavering support for the Household Charge. This is proof that Fianna Fail is no opposition party.”

“Sinn Féin has been consistent in its opposition to the Household Charge and in the coming weeks and months we will be holding public meetings across the county to inform and organise an effective grassroots campaign. Our elected reps will continue to bring motions before their councils calling for a reversal of the tax and we will go on picketing the offices of government TDs in the county.”

Ultra regressive Household tax must be reversed – Barron

New Ross Sinn Féin has said that the €100 Household Charge is an ultra regressive tax which must be reversed immediately before it can inflict further deprivation on the most hard-pressed of Irish families. Spokesperson Ger Barron said that Sinn Féin were fully opposed to the charge and leading the opposition to it in the Dail and in councils around the country despite not calling for a campaign of non payment.

Mr Barron said;
“A progressive tax regime links tax levels to ability to pay. The Household charge doesn’t do this. In fact it completely disregards the ability to pay. Sinn Féin fully opposes this unfair tax and though we are not jumping on the ‘Don’t Pay’ bandwagon, we will certainly support anyone who decides not to pay the charge. Sinn Féin will lead the fight to have this charge reversed in the Dail and in local councils across Ireland.”

“There are hundreds of thousands of families, some entirely dependent on social welfare, who own their homes and are living in poverty but won’t qualify for a waiver from this tax. Many old aged pensioners will not qualify for the waiver. The government would lead us to believe that the conditions of this tax are completely equitable. In truth everything about the Household Charge is entirely unfair. How can a flat rate tax on every household, which will see the owners of a two bedroom semi paying the same as the owner of a mansion, be fair?”

“Sinn Féin respects and stands by the decision of those who cannot pay or choose not to pay the charge but we are not calling for non-payment. At a time when Irish families are already struggling, it would be reckless and morally wrong for us to call for a campaign of non payment which could leave thousands with legal bills that they may not be able to pay. We would urge people to be fully aware of possible consequences before taking any action which could leave them with further bills to pay.”

“Sinn Féin has been consistent in its opposition to the Household Charge and in the coming weeks and months we will be holding public meetings across the county to inform and organise an effective grassroots campaign. Our elected reps will be bringing motions before their councils calling for a reversal of the tax and we will continue to picket the offices of government TDs in the county.”

Mistake was government’s, not pensioner’s – Kelly

Cllr Anthony Kelly has said that the recent pension tax debacle was the mistake of the government, not old age pensioners. The Wexford Sinn Féin councillor described the government’s handling of the situation as shambolic and a damning indication of what Fine Gael at the helm of power really means for ordinary people.

“The government’s treatment of 150,000 pensioners who were sent letters from the department of revenue telling them that they might be claiming more than they are entitled to is outrageous,” Cllr Kelly said. “I want to insure people who received these letters within my constituency that they are not to blame and that the fault lies solely with our government. It is incredible that only now are two departments, revenue and social protection, sharing information on people claiming state pension, and the result of this revelation is that innocent pensioners are being treated like common thieves by the government.”

“In a week when our people faced the introduction of an increased VAT rate, household charge and increased fuel and motor taxes, Fine Gael and Labour sent 150,000 old age pensioners another late Christmas gift in the form of these degrading letters. Did they not have enough to worry about I wonder?”

“The government’s handling of this situation has been shambolic. Not only do they owe every one of the 150,000 affected pensioners a sincere apology, a full enquiry should also be launched to discover how such a gross action was allowed to happen. This pension tax debacle has been a damning indication of what Fine Gael at the helm of a government really means for ordinary people across this island.”

Price cap must be placed on private waste operators

Cllr Anthony Kelly has said that he was against the sale of Wexford County Councils refuse service and fears that the people of the county will face increasing bin charges in the years ahead unless measures are taken to cap charges immediately. The Wexford Sinn Féin Rep. has also called on Wexford County Council to insure that there will be no redundancies by redeploying their refuse collection workers in other areas.

Cllr Kelly said;
“Wexford Sinn Féin is opposed to the privatisation of the council waste collection service. We believe that in the long term this could leave the door open for private refuse companies to introduce huge price increases. I understand that promises have been made to leave fees unchanged for this year, but what about next year and the year after that? Sinn Féin will be calling on the Minister to introduce new regulations to govern what these private companies can charge and to impose a price cap.”

“I am also concerned that Wexford County Council refuse workers may become victims of this sell off. The Council needs to redeploy these workers as soon as possible and insure that there will be no redundancies as a result of the sale.”

“The selling of the County Councils refuse service at a time when Minister Phil Hogan is asking every household to pay an annual charge to cover local authority services is bewildering. Are the people of County Wexford to believe that their €100 Household Charge is going to cover local authority services when privatisation is the current buzz word in most council chambers? Is it to be a case that we must pay more for less?”

Sinn Féin pushes for full reversal of household tax

As Families across the Country face a raft of new taxes and levies which will come in to operation from new years day Wexford Sinn Féin has issued a New Years warning to the County’s Government TDs to urge Minister Hogan to reverse the household charge and drop all plans for the implementation of a property tax. The party’s elected reps in County Wexford have vowed to bring their demand for a full reversal of the household charge before their councils and to fully support the campaign by Sinn Féin TDs to have the legislation dropped immediately.

Cllr Anthony Kelly said;

“Taking into consideration the exemptions, The Household Charge is still an ill conceived attempt by the Government to raise revenue and is a desperate attack on low and middle income earners. Families, many of whom are caught in the negative equity mortgage trap, are faced with increases to VAT, motor, home and health insurance. All these increases amount to a huge hike in the everyday cost of living.”

“The Government cannot camouflage these charges by calling them property taxes or by any other name. They are Home Taxes. Sinn Fein is asking the people of Co. Wexford to draw a line in the sand and send a clear message out to the Government that enough is enough. Though not calling on people not to pay the charge, Sinn Fein feels that the decision not to register or pay these taxes is up to each individual, as is which form of protest they make.”

“Sinn Féin intends to lead the opposition against the household charge. Our TDs will fight tooth and nail for the reversal of this charge in the Dail, as will every single one of our elected reps across this state. We were elected to fight for our constituents and that’s exactly what we will do. We will insure that County Wexford 's three coalition TDs will be forced to see the terrible effects of, and public opposition to, their government’s unfair charge every time they turn around in the constituency in 2012.”

year of missed opportunities, failed “slash and burn” policies and spineless politics

Sinn Féin in North Wexford has slammed government parties for what it calls a "year of missed opportunities, failed “slash and burn” policies and spineless politics."

"Fine Gael and Labour lied their way into government with promises of a totally new direction. They have broken nearly all of these promises in education and many other areas," according to North Wexford Sinn Féin Spokesperson, Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin.

"Schools in the Gorey area have already lost teachers. Increasing the pupil-teacher ratio will mean further job losses in a number of local schools (unions fear as many as 2,000 teaching jobs across the state) and even worse over-crowding in classrooms, which are already the second largest in Europe. Parents groups throughout Co. Wexford who have been lobbying politicians during the teacher unions Education Week are to be commended. These efforts need to intensify.

The waste of public money has been incredible - 700 million euro handed over to unguaranteed bondholders and speculators in Anglo Irish Bank last month and plans to give away a further 1.2 billion of public money to a failed bank next month. You just couldn't make it up! At the same time Labours Minister Howlin makes a half-hearted effort to tackle the pension’s scandal, which will take just €1 a day off Ray Burke and leave Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen to live off €147,000 a year, which is nothing more than a pathetic tokenistic gesture.

Meanwhile Fine Gael Senator Michael D’Arcy criticises the Croke Park Agreement last week claiming that those of us who work in the public service are “protected in a cocoon"; that there was a "national emergency" and "we have to be brave and we have to do what is right". Indeed we do! As Sinn Fein proposed in their 40-page fully costed alternative budget proposals: start by cutting politicians salaries; introduce a 48% third rate of tax on salaries in excess of 100 thousand euro; cap the wages at the top of the public service at this amount; end wasteful spending; introduce a wealth tax on assets worth more than 1 million. Stop handing over billions of public money to private speculators and unguaranteed bondholders. Take this approach and then there would be no need for cuts to education or any other public services. In fact we could then invest in education, which is fundamental to our future economic prosperity. A point that has been emphasised again and again by parents, teachers, economists and business leaders. It is obvious to ordinary people what group in Irish society live in a cocoon!

However, this government’s policy is to continue protecting the high rollers while at the same time lining up cuts to child benefit, increases in student registration fees and the failed policies of austerity which are depressing the local economy resulting in forced emigration. Two local examples starkly and shockingly illustrate their failure - 12 players off the Camolin football panel are now in Australia and almost half the Bunclody team that won the county championship just two years ago have also emigrated. According to the ESRI, emigration will increase in 2012.

So contrary to the hand-wringing from Fine Gael and Labour, little has in fact changed. It has been a year of missed opportunities, failed “slash and burn” policies and spineless politics. "

Budget of Broken Promises will make the innocent pay again – Kelly

Wexford Sinn Féin Councillor Anthony Kelly has accused the government of targeting the vulnerable and low and middle income families with the same failed austerity budgetary measures as pursued by Fianna Fáil. Cllr Kelly said that Enda Kenny’s State of the Nation address had simply rubbed salt into the wounds by admitting that the people of Ireland were not responsible for the economic crisis on one hand, while supporting a budget which unfairly penalises them on the other.

“Once again the innocent are being made pay for the mistakes of government and the elite,” Cllr Kelly said. “The decision to cut fuel allowance by €120 will have a devastating impact on the most vulnerable and it is a decision that will literally cost lives. Cuts to disability rates for younger people and raised student fees show that this government is intent on bleeding our youth out of the country. Today many young people were given a choice; emigration or poverty.”

“By cutting child benefit for 3rd and 4th children, Back-to-School Allowance, payments for lone parents on CE and some job seekers’ payments the Minister is sucking €475 million out of local economies. This will obviously result in further economic collapse and more job losses. The end result is less people paying tax and more people on the live register.”

“The savage cut of €543 million from the health services will finish off many hospitals around the country and further escalate the dangerous ‘trolley crisis’. There are over 2,000 public hospital beds currently closed due to cutbacks. 3,100 nursing and midwifery posts have already been lost due to the recruitment embargo. Thousands more front-line posts will be lost over the next three years. It is scandalous that €50 million is to be cut from disability, mental health and children’s services. Services from hospitals to home helps, from primary care to mental health, from nursing home care to child services will be reduced.”

“Sinn Féin has continuingly argued that those who can afford to pay more should do so. This year alone the gap between the wealthiest 20% of the population and the poorest 20% has increased by 25%! It’s a staggering statistic that has clearly gone over the head of Fine Gael and the Labour party. Despite admitting that the Irish people are not responsible for the mistakes of the Irish elite, these parties have chosen to implement Fianna Fail like austerity measures rather than impose new taxes on the wealthy. This carnival will go down in history as the budget of broken promises.”