TWENTY-three years on from the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) it is clear that the people of Ireland’s lives have not been materially improved. At the time the SDLP said that if republicans gave up armed struggle and violence then republicans could get almost everything that their hearts desired. This isn’t true and the SDLP have never been held to account for that.There is no socialism in Ireland as the workers of Ireland don’t own and control the means and modes of production for their benefit. In such economic conditions it is not surprising that people of Ireland haven’t experienced material improvement to their lives. Ireland is not experiencing a Gaelic revival either. This is not the Irish Ireland that republicans dreamed of, fought for, were incarcerated for and died for. The Irish diaspora aren’t clamouring to return home and it is not as if Ireland has experienced waves of the diaspora returning. Presently there is no evidence that this will occur in the future.
Leinster House and Stormont make no incentives for the diaspora to return home despite the fact it ought to be paramount. If anything, the direction of travel is going the wrong way as more Irish people are leaving the 26 counties than members of the diaspora returning as statistics published by the CSO and reported by The Irish Times confirm. The fact that people are voting with their feet in such a way is an indictment of the society that they’re leaving.
Sinn Féin isn’t helping either, on the contrary the party is making things worse. Mary Lou McDonald advocated the 26 counties joining the Commonwealth of Nations, which is just a fancy new name for the British Empire, and the party is advocating a 32-county Free State inside the European Union which will not address the issues that the working class is facing and it will ultimately satisfy nobody.
Another pernicious way parties such as Fine Fáil, Fine Gael, Sinn Féin and the SDLP have made Ireland a worse place to live is by deliberately making it less religious. This has not alleviated sectarianism, thus begging the question on the point of such an endeavour. It is more perplexing in the light of the Princeton study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences which found that national religiosity eases the psychological burden of poverty.
This is not an accident or mistake. All of the aforementioned parties have voiced support for abortion. Poverty is the most often cited reason by women for procuring abortions. This means that if said parties were to eliminate poverty they would destroy the business model of the multi-billion-pound industry that they support, therefore said parties will never prioritise the complete elimination of poverty even though a cursory glance around Ireland would confirm that such a policy is badly needed.
We ought to remember that poverty elimination was the objective of the world’s most famous socialist whose birthday will be celebrated soon.
ÉAMONN MacGRIANNA
Belfast BT11
Vaccine equality would be best Christmas present
As we come to the end of another challenging year the focus at home this Christmas is on getting the population a booster vaccine to protect against Covid, and in particular the new Omicron strain.
While richer nations are ramping up their Covid-19 vaccine booster programmes, people in the world’s poorest countries are still almost completely unprotected.
The most recent WHO figures show that 66 per cent of people in high income countries have had at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine compared to only 9 per cent in low-income countries. The Africa Center for Disease Control says that in many countries on the continent, including where Trócaire works, the vaccination rates hover at around 1 per cent. This inequity is a shocking injustice.
The emergence of the Omicron variant has highlighted how very limited access to vaccines in low-income countries means that more mutations will inevitably emerge. Vaccine inequity drives health and economic crises globally. The UK, Ireland and other European states must support a waiver on intellectual property on Covid vaccines at the World Trade Organization.
The waiver would temporarily lift patents and copyright on Covid-19 treatments and vaccines that would allow their production to be radically increased. This is the long-term sustainable solution to this global crisis. Pharmaceutical companies currently have too much power and control over where Covid-19 vaccines are produced and at what price. The profit made by vaccine companies is astronomical. Do we care more about profit than human lives?
As we look forward with hope to 2022 we must remember that no-one is safe until we are all safe. The science is clear: the fairest and most effective way to end this pandemic is to ensure that everyone, everywhere has access to Covid-19 vaccines.
SIOBHAN HANLEY
Trócaire, Belfast
Growing inequalities
The rising cost of living is going to have a detrimental impact on many workers and their families unless we begin to address the situation properly.
We are seeing workers crippled by the cost of living, unable to afford household bills, fuel, childcare and even food. More and more workers are being pushed into poverty. This is just not acceptable.
People who are working can’t afford to live – imagine what it’s like for those on disability or benefits? We are relying on charity and the good will of others to help those in desperate need. This can’t continue and it is not addressing the real issue. There has to be more action from our government to tackle this growing problem they can no longer be let off the hook and allowed to deflect responsibility for what is their failure.
Inequalities are growing, children are going to school hungry, families living in cold and damp accommodation or who don’t even have a home. The government must act and must act immediately. We need an honest appraisal of where we are, a strategic plan, investment in public housing, energy companies brought under public control and an increase in the minimum wage and benefits at a very minimum.
GEMMA WEIR
Workers’ Party, North Belfast
Courageous stand
I sincerely and unreservedly congratulate Ann Travers on her courage in standing up to Gerry Adams.
Gerry Adams was president of Sinn Féin, an organisation linked to the IRA, whose members murdered hundreds of Irish men and women and children in this country. Those members of the media who try to portray him as a statesman also carry a certain amount of guilt.
My total sympathy and admiration for her courage are with Ann Travers.
SEAN TINNELLY
Rostrevor, Co Down
