I am writing this on the day Syrizia in Greece reaffirmed their commitment to democracy by putting the question of a bailout to their own people by means of a referendum. For better or for worse, they have handed the power and the responsibility to the people. That is precisely what a democratic government should do.
Jean Claude Junker, President of the European Commission called it “a betrayal”.
There has been a funny shift in the way governments are run in the West over the last four decades, a shift away from respecting the voter as rational humans and thinking of them pretty much as sheep; much like the previous rulers of Ireland the Catholic hierarchy thought of people; their flock.
No matter what the situation, once the Oireachtas is sealed, that’s it for the next five years. The party/parties with the majority will cling to power no matter what and to hell with the bigger picture of how the State and the people fare. In previous decades, it was possible for a government to collapse under the strain of no confidence rebellions from the opposition but those days of men and women of vision and conviction has been largely watered down by the extraordinary deal of winning a lifetime pension for all members of the Dáil and Seanad if an Oireachtas goes the full term.
Who is going to turn that down?
Is there an issue ongoing right now where even one sitting TD would stand up and declare no confidence in a Government budget knowing that they will have threatened the monies due to his/her colleagues as agree and voted upon in EVERY Oireachtas budget since the 1970’s?
Surely the sick situation of people waiting days and dying on trolleys in our overstretched and understaffed A&E departments; the ridiculous planning cartels in our councils and government whereby families are being thrown out onto the street simply because TDs are themselves massive landlords; the ongoing joke of party affiliates and supporters being employed at enormous expense on the public purse in quango positions where the task used to be the responsibility of elected officials; surely the insanity of more austerity heaped on top of a population barely able to meet their basic needs - surely that’s the issue that would cause a public representative to walk from his or her seat in the chamber and leave the Dáil in disgust.
Nope.
The cost of the banking crisis has been put on the people as a whole but also, the government has deployed all of its publicity and media budget to the task of convincing the public of Ireland that the crisis was somehow the Irish people’s fault in general and not the fault of a small cabal of well connected party investors (don’t call them donors, they expect a return on their investments).
By ‘the Government’ I mean the Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael axis which, despite all outbursts and verbal exchanges on Dáil TV do not differ from one another one jot when it comes to how to govern and who is ‘in charge’. It is NOT the electrorate!
This has, understandably led to the people feeling powerless, undermined and patronised. The response to a government who don’t allow the people a say in matters which will dominate their lives for many years to come is to stage a protest.
Now, we’ve seen many protests over the last five years and I imagine we’ll be seeing many more protests at local and national level. The government isn’t for turning on the issue of Austerity.
We’re coming into an election year, despite the ‘silly season’ opinion columns and guesstimates that we are reading in our newspapers. Whichever government is going to put their representatives on that stand opposite the portico of the GPO next Easter; they will want a mandate and not to be still
canvassing for votes. For all four ‘Civil War’ parties the centenary celebrations for the Rising in 1916 will be nothing more than a worldwide coronation for their successful election campaign.You read that right: There is definitely an air of ‘coronation’ to this election. Whoever wins will enter the imaginations of observers all over the world as the ‘natural’ and ‘rightful’ government of Ireland. Both civil war parties know this and are determined to gain the magical number of seats.
There will be protests, marches, sit-ins, occupations and civil disobedience events.
There will be political arrests and vexatious charges brought through the courts.
There will be even more craven betrayals of the ideals of Bunreacht na hÉireann.
There will be slanders and character assassinations of good people who have had enough of misrule.
There will be a steady stream of monies denuded from our state to tax avoiding people who have no rights over these moneys but they know how to threaten, bribe and bully.
but
There will be no vision of how Ireland can move forward and thrive in the 21st Century.
So, beyond the protests and the demands for the truth as to what deals were made and who benefits from the monies brought in through bonds and promissory notes, allow me to introduce you to my party’s Strategy for Change and my personal vision how Ireland can ensure an open and transparent democracy for its people for another one hundred years.
The Irish Democratic Party’s Strategy for Change has fifteen points of direct action which we have all had the opportunity to vote on; here they are:
1 - The introduction and implementation of ‘Participatory Democracy’ into Irish politics where the elected official must consult with his/her electorate before decisions are made and vote in accordance with their wishes.
This is something my party is already doing now. We don’t ask anyone’s permission to make Participatory Democracy reality. We acknowledge that we have to implement Participatory Democracy first if its power of recall can be given to the Irish people. So we have done just that. Every IDP representative will negotiate with his or her constituency party and be subject to recall as of right now.
If an Irish Democratic Party representative doesn’t do as our party members have voted, he or she may be recalled by the party membership by means of a petition. Now wouldn’t that have come in useful over the last few years?
2 - An immediate stop to all repossessions and evictions from family homes until a fair and sustainable solution is achieved for every homeowner and an immediate repeal of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Bill 2013 that enables banks to fast track repossession of family homes.
And isn’t the wisdom of this item perfectly apparent in courtrooms up and down the country right now. Our legal and justice system has become top heavy with overeager registrars/sheriffs who really should reconsider their own legal position before enabling a resource grab on behalf of plaintiffs who clearly won’t cover them when the appeals process happens in earnest. And it will....that is a guarantee.
This is something my party is already doing now. We don’t ask anyone’s permission to make Participatory Democracy reality. We acknowledge that we have to implement Participatory Democracy first if its power of recall can be given to the Irish people. So we have done just that. Every IDP representative will negotiate with his or her constituency party and be subject to recall as of right now.
If an Irish Democratic Party representative doesn’t do as our party members have voted, he or she may be recalled by the party membership by means of a petition. Now wouldn’t that have come in useful over the last few years?
2 - An immediate stop to all repossessions and evictions from family homes until a fair and sustainable solution is achieved for every homeowner and an immediate repeal of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Bill 2013 that enables banks to fast track repossession of family homes.
And isn’t the wisdom of this item perfectly apparent in courtrooms up and down the country right now. Our legal and justice system has become top heavy with overeager registrars/sheriffs who really should reconsider their own legal position before enabling a resource grab on behalf of plaintiffs who clearly won’t cover them when the appeals process happens in earnest. And it will....that is a guarantee.
3 - A full independent banking inquiry with sanctions imposed for fraudulent or reckless behaviour of banks and legal action taken against anyone found to have broken any laws.
Let the punishment fit the crime. Wrong has been done, crimes have been committed, and billion dollar frauds have been enacted and enshrined in both the bank guarantee and the bailout. The main actors in this mess are still feeding on the public purse.
The spirit and the matter of our constitution has been violated by both civil war parties and we will call time on the privilege of members of the Oireachtas. Standing down is not punishment enough for vandalism against our constitutional rights.
4 - A write off of the odious debt that has been imposed on the Irish people and a repeal of the promissory note put forward as collateral by the Government.
Let’s get this one clear: nobody received a mandate to impoverish the country in favour of any banks, ministers, developers, magnates, or European Commissioners. Nobody, dead or alive, enjoyed the legal or political authority to go against the letter of the constitution when it comes to how the nation finances itself.
Odious debt is not enforceable by law as it represents a contract taken under duress.
5 - The rescinding and renegotiation of the contracts signed by previous Governments which grossly undervalued our natural resources to the detriment of the Irish economy!
Well, there have been a few doozys haven’t there? 420 Billion euro of offshore gas and oil resources literally handed over to the state oil company of Norway and Royal Dutch Shell. Land that is Irish now lies in European and private hands to the point that Irish people cannot make use of it under ‘environmental concerns’, and most awful of all, the overt racist and anti-patriotic attitude of NAMA and NTMA where it comes to selling off Ireland’s distressed housing stock. All are unconstitutional when one reads Article 11 regarding revenues and royalties of Irish resources.
Let the punishment fit the crime. Wrong has been done, crimes have been committed, and billion dollar frauds have been enacted and enshrined in both the bank guarantee and the bailout. The main actors in this mess are still feeding on the public purse.
The spirit and the matter of our constitution has been violated by both civil war parties and we will call time on the privilege of members of the Oireachtas. Standing down is not punishment enough for vandalism against our constitutional rights.
4 - A write off of the odious debt that has been imposed on the Irish people and a repeal of the promissory note put forward as collateral by the Government.
Let’s get this one clear: nobody received a mandate to impoverish the country in favour of any banks, ministers, developers, magnates, or European Commissioners. Nobody, dead or alive, enjoyed the legal or political authority to go against the letter of the constitution when it comes to how the nation finances itself.
Odious debt is not enforceable by law as it represents a contract taken under duress.
5 - The rescinding and renegotiation of the contracts signed by previous Governments which grossly undervalued our natural resources to the detriment of the Irish economy!
Well, there have been a few doozys haven’t there? 420 Billion euro of offshore gas and oil resources literally handed over to the state oil company of Norway and Royal Dutch Shell. Land that is Irish now lies in European and private hands to the point that Irish people cannot make use of it under ‘environmental concerns’, and most awful of all, the overt racist and anti-patriotic attitude of NAMA and NTMA where it comes to selling off Ireland’s distressed housing stock. All are unconstitutional when one reads Article 11 regarding revenues and royalties of Irish resources.
6 - Total reform of civil and public service with the emphasis on full accountability to the Irish people, with provision for ‘Recall’ for anyone paid from public funds.
In our hospitals, people who spend more than a week in wards are called ‘bed blockers’ – mostly these people are old and vulnerable and have no safe place to live due to their families not having the means to support them or having already emigrated to seek a better life.
The true ‘bed blockers’ are the senior civil servants and consultants to each department who look to continue on a gravy train many years after their effectiveness has waned. They are the ‘career blockers’ to younger, brighter, and more relevantly educated civil servants who leave public service en masse, frustrated at the lack of opportunity or ability to change a creaking, listing ship; though they know how to.
We never had colonies or an empire so we cannot afford a class of Sir Humphreys, nor will we. A cut off point for public servants at the top level should be ten years in senior positions or 55 years of age across the board.
The time for Charlie McCreevy style ‘largesse’ is long past.
8 - Reform of Central Government where the Government is not only accountable to the Dail but also to the public through the system of ‘Recall’ whereby the Taoiseach, any Minister or TD is singularly responsible. This removes the protection afforded to the Government under collective responsibility.
Following on from the review of public service and local government, what is the point of one chamber of the country’s legislature standing outside of the standards of accountability and responsibility expected of all other public monies using bodies?
Clearly, in a state which actually has an executive council not provisioned for under the constitution, we need to make sure that the Dáil only does what it was elected to do and that is to draw up and present legislation to the senate and that’s all.
We cannot adequately serve the competing and myriad demands of a modern state comprising of over four million people and with pressing issues of international importance in the few sittings of the Dáil (when our TDs can be bothered to show up)
We want constitutional referendum to insert an amendment to create a constitutional separation of powers article which would safeguard the judiciary, the Gardaí, and benefit the people as a whole. We are the only party calling for this.
12 - A commission be set up to determine the benefits or otherwise of alternative energy and to examine safer technologies with emphasis on their long term health implications.
Would you like to know how to kick start Ireland’s economy and ensure that we, as a nation enjoy a quality of life beyond our present dreams? Here’s how. Alternative energy isn’t wind farms in beauty spots or wave farms at river mouths. Alternative energy includes: Kinetic engines run by human beings’ activities, solar power generating roads, zero point energy that is unlimited and safe, geothermal energy, smart homes acting not just as energy gatherers but also as wealth stores.
Ours is the only party that is seriously looking at energy as a resource and also as a possible future currency.
Think about it. Energy is everywhere.
13 -The abolition of the ‘Property Tax’, the ‘Household Charge’ and the ‘Water charge’.
Clearly taxation needs to pay for what it was raised to pay for. None of the above fulfils this obvious function. Abolish punitive taxes and simplify the tax code so that tax compliance increases and the tax burden on the ordinary people lessens.
Economics 101.
14 - An open discussion on the question of our citizens abroad being allowed to vote in Irish elections – many of whom were forced to leave Ireland.
There is a lot of debate out there about people living abroad having a say in what our government decides. Many are for it and many are against. The question, however, misses a very great point and one that is uniquely Irish. We have emigrants literally everywhere! If there was a base founded on the moon the first facility built there would be an Irish Bar.
Our party would open the debate on having TDs representing our emigrant Irish based on constituencies such as Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, etc. Imagine the input we would receive into our decision making process as well as the influence we would wield internationally with this simple solution.
15 - A referendum to be held on EU membership and the Euro pending the results of a full and open public debate on the pros and cons of our membership and a feasibility study.
Now what other party in Ireland is prepared to commission a professionally led, internationally recognised feasibility study which provides without fear or favour the benefits and the drawbacks of our membership of both the EU and the Euro currency (if there still is one after this weekend)?
Only the Irish Democratic Party will trust the Irish electorate to make up their minds on truly historical questions given the full facts and a significant period of debate.
Which brings me back to where I began this blog.
Only the Irish Democratic Party believes enough in democracy to freely return its powers into the hands of the Irish people where it should have been since the foundation of the state.
If you think your favourite party would do the same, pick whichever strategy or combination of strategies that appeal to you and ask your representatives about them when they come knocking on your door this summer.
This is your new deal.
In our hospitals, people who spend more than a week in wards are called ‘bed blockers’ – mostly these people are old and vulnerable and have no safe place to live due to their families not having the means to support them or having already emigrated to seek a better life.
The true ‘bed blockers’ are the senior civil servants and consultants to each department who look to continue on a gravy train many years after their effectiveness has waned. They are the ‘career blockers’ to younger, brighter, and more relevantly educated civil servants who leave public service en masse, frustrated at the lack of opportunity or ability to change a creaking, listing ship; though they know how to.
We never had colonies or an empire so we cannot afford a class of Sir Humphreys, nor will we. A cut off point for public servants at the top level should be ten years in senior positions or 55 years of age across the board.
7 -Total reform of Local Government with more powers allocated to councillors and directly elected ‘Provincial Administrators’ to replace politically appointed City and County Managers.
This is so long overdue! How often have Irish people shaken their heads in disbelief when they see that a person who has a history of throwing public money at unwanted and unnecessary ‘White Elephant’ investments getting yet another plum appointment on yet another acronym quango? No accountability = no plum job. Both civil war parties have their ‘golden circles’ of cronies and party investors.
The architecture of a republic demands a hierarchy of budget and accountability to ensure that the money coming into central coffers is wisely and honestly distributed. Your tax income is not the minister’s ‘gift’ to dispense to his/her pals and local constituency.
This is so long overdue! How often have Irish people shaken their heads in disbelief when they see that a person who has a history of throwing public money at unwanted and unnecessary ‘White Elephant’ investments getting yet another plum appointment on yet another acronym quango? No accountability = no plum job. Both civil war parties have their ‘golden circles’ of cronies and party investors.
The architecture of a republic demands a hierarchy of budget and accountability to ensure that the money coming into central coffers is wisely and honestly distributed. Your tax income is not the minister’s ‘gift’ to dispense to his/her pals and local constituency.
The time for Charlie McCreevy style ‘largesse’ is long past.
8 - Reform of Central Government where the Government is not only accountable to the Dail but also to the public through the system of ‘Recall’ whereby the Taoiseach, any Minister or TD is singularly responsible. This removes the protection afforded to the Government under collective responsibility.
Following on from the review of public service and local government, what is the point of one chamber of the country’s legislature standing outside of the standards of accountability and responsibility expected of all other public monies using bodies?
Clearly, in a state which actually has an executive council not provisioned for under the constitution, we need to make sure that the Dáil only does what it was elected to do and that is to draw up and present legislation to the senate and that’s all.
We cannot adequately serve the competing and myriad demands of a modern state comprising of over four million people and with pressing issues of international importance in the few sittings of the Dáil (when our TDs can be bothered to show up)
9 - An end to Government appointment of the Judiciary as this contravenes the doctrine of separation of powers.
Decades after the Kerry babies’ scandal; after the Donegal murders; after the Black Widow trial; after so many unsafe convictions and contradictions between circuit, district, high, and supreme courts, does this really need to be debated?
Ministers and Taoisigh have no business attempting to influence how the law works in Ireland. It is already becoming apparent that there is one law for the rich and another law for the poor. Before all confidence in the criminal justice system and basic respect for the law evaporates forever this NEEDS to happen.
Decades after the Kerry babies’ scandal; after the Donegal murders; after the Black Widow trial; after so many unsafe convictions and contradictions between circuit, district, high, and supreme courts, does this really need to be debated?
Ministers and Taoisigh have no business attempting to influence how the law works in Ireland. It is already becoming apparent that there is one law for the rich and another law for the poor. Before all confidence in the criminal justice system and basic respect for the law evaporates forever this NEEDS to happen.
We want constitutional referendum to insert an amendment to create a constitutional separation of powers article which would safeguard the judiciary, the Gardaí, and benefit the people as a whole. We are the only party calling for this.
10 - An end to political appointment of all senior Gardai whose positions must not be seen to be compromised and to ensure public confidence.
Policing in modern Ireland is no game and certainly not a political game. Looking at the last three years; respect for the Gardaí Síochana has plummeted to a dangerous level. The Gardaí are the protectors of the people’s rights they should never, ever become the militia of any government. Even being seen to be thus places many lives at risk and NO economic policy is worth one citizen’s life.
The Gardaí should never be placed in the position that they must ‘bend’ the law to ensure a government’s wishes. Individual Gardaí walk in daily danger for us and to force them into an antagonistic position against citizens exercising their constitutional right to assembly and protest is a crime and my party will fully pursue any senior Garda commissioner, civil servant or minister for justice who endangers Irish lives.
11 - The removal of Hydroflourocillic acid from our water as it is an unwanted and unnecessary toxin.
The arguments for flouridated water are easily outweighed by scientific opinion, economic necessity and basic common sense. Pure water is what the Irish people have paid for through their road tax, rates and USC; pure water is what they deserve.
If any party wants Irish people to drink water treated with the by-product of the aluminium extraction industry, then they should PAY the Irish people to do so.
Policing in modern Ireland is no game and certainly not a political game. Looking at the last three years; respect for the Gardaí Síochana has plummeted to a dangerous level. The Gardaí are the protectors of the people’s rights they should never, ever become the militia of any government. Even being seen to be thus places many lives at risk and NO economic policy is worth one citizen’s life.
 |
| Gardaí are citizens too. |
The Gardaí should never be placed in the position that they must ‘bend’ the law to ensure a government’s wishes. Individual Gardaí walk in daily danger for us and to force them into an antagonistic position against citizens exercising their constitutional right to assembly and protest is a crime and my party will fully pursue any senior Garda commissioner, civil servant or minister for justice who endangers Irish lives.
11 - The removal of Hydroflourocillic acid from our water as it is an unwanted and unnecessary toxin.
The arguments for flouridated water are easily outweighed by scientific opinion, economic necessity and basic common sense. Pure water is what the Irish people have paid for through their road tax, rates and USC; pure water is what they deserve.
If any party wants Irish people to drink water treated with the by-product of the aluminium extraction industry, then they should PAY the Irish people to do so.
12 - A commission be set up to determine the benefits or otherwise of alternative energy and to examine safer technologies with emphasis on their long term health implications.
Would you like to know how to kick start Ireland’s economy and ensure that we, as a nation enjoy a quality of life beyond our present dreams? Here’s how. Alternative energy isn’t wind farms in beauty spots or wave farms at river mouths. Alternative energy includes: Kinetic engines run by human beings’ activities, solar power generating roads, zero point energy that is unlimited and safe, geothermal energy, smart homes acting not just as energy gatherers but also as wealth stores.
Ours is the only party that is seriously looking at energy as a resource and also as a possible future currency.
Think about it. Energy is everywhere.
13 -The abolition of the ‘Property Tax’, the ‘Household Charge’ and the ‘Water charge’.
Clearly taxation needs to pay for what it was raised to pay for. None of the above fulfils this obvious function. Abolish punitive taxes and simplify the tax code so that tax compliance increases and the tax burden on the ordinary people lessens.
Economics 101.
14 - An open discussion on the question of our citizens abroad being allowed to vote in Irish elections – many of whom were forced to leave Ireland.
There is a lot of debate out there about people living abroad having a say in what our government decides. Many are for it and many are against. The question, however, misses a very great point and one that is uniquely Irish. We have emigrants literally everywhere! If there was a base founded on the moon the first facility built there would be an Irish Bar.
Our party would open the debate on having TDs representing our emigrant Irish based on constituencies such as Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, etc. Imagine the input we would receive into our decision making process as well as the influence we would wield internationally with this simple solution.
15 - A referendum to be held on EU membership and the Euro pending the results of a full and open public debate on the pros and cons of our membership and a feasibility study.
Now what other party in Ireland is prepared to commission a professionally led, internationally recognised feasibility study which provides without fear or favour the benefits and the drawbacks of our membership of both the EU and the Euro currency (if there still is one after this weekend)?
Only the Irish Democratic Party will trust the Irish electorate to make up their minds on truly historical questions given the full facts and a significant period of debate.
Which brings me back to where I began this blog.
Only the Irish Democratic Party believes enough in democracy to freely return its powers into the hands of the Irish people where it should have been since the foundation of the state.
If you think your favourite party would do the same, pick whichever strategy or combination of strategies that appeal to you and ask your representatives about them when they come knocking on your door this summer.
This is your new deal.
2 comments:
Thank you Garalt Canton for your excellant blog IDPs particapatory democracy is the only way that irish people can move forward .We have been lied to by a corrupt system which is aided and abetted by a print and television media.
Thank you in turn Zillig. It's just getting to me having to read the Irish InDOBendent each morning. It's good to get some feedback.
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