Establishment Parties record show proposals for political reform not credible

In a statement, Cllr. Richard Boyd Barrett, People Before Profit Alliance (PBPA) has said that proposals now being made by the establishment political parties – Fianna Fail, Fine Gael & Labour – had little credibility given their previous records.
Cllr. Boyd Barrett said that any party willing to sign up to the IMF/EU package was effectively signing away Ireland’s democracy and handing the country over to unelected bureaucrats in the EU and IMF – rendering meaningless talk of political reform.
He added that all the main parties were part of a ‘cosy club’ that had resisted any serious attempts at political reform for decades because of personal and party self-interest.

The stark example from Dun Laoghaire, outlined below is evidence of this. Cllr Richard Boyd Barrett, PBPA candidate for Dun Laoghaire said: “Fianna Fail’s conversion to political reform is a joke. They have just handed over control of the economy and our country’s future to unelected officials in the IMF/EU to protect the interests of bankers and speculators and they have the cheek to talk of political reform. It’s laughable. Fianna Fail are the problem not the solution to our political woes. They have developed cronyism, ‘cute hoor’ politics and ruthless ambition to a high art form. Their proposals for changes in our political system are just another political stroke to hang onto power.
Fine Gael’s and labour’s talk of political reform is also hollow. They also are agreed to an IMF/EU package that gives power to unelected bureaucrats and the financial markets to dictate economic policy in this country for the foreseeable future.
The fact that Enda Kenny scrapped the ban on corporate donations when taking over the leadership of Fine Gael and has since deliberately sought after and received political donations from NAMA developers who have bankrupted this country, also tells its own story. How Labour can seriously propose to enter government with a party that is so nakedly part of the golden circle that has wrecked this country’s economy is beyond me.
At local council level Fine Gael and Labour are every bit as bad as Fianna Fail in their eagerness to get their people appointed to boards and other positions, particularly where there is money attached to the position.
In Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Council, Fine Gael and Labour, who control the Council, fiercely resisted and voted down several motions that I put forward over the last year, proposing to cut junkets and conference expense scams. Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Labour divvy up a significant conference expenses (junket) budget – for dozens of trips to plush hotels in Ireland and abroad to conferences that have nothing to do with real council business. When I proposed cutting this budget and introducing more accountability on conference expenditure they all voted against the proposal and heaped invective on me for even raising the issue.
If this is what the Fine Gael – Labour alternative is like at local level in the Labour Party leader’s own constituency, what hope is there they will be any better if they form the next government?
In reality, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labour are all part of an over-paid, self serving, personally ambitious cosy club, where issues and principles come a very poor second to self-interest.
PBPA believes that real political reform could only occur by breaking up the 3-way political establishment, implementing drastic cuts in politicians pay and perks, introducing more direct forms of direct and participatory democracy, and taking radical action to deal with wealth inequalities in society in general, which were corrupting political structures.
PBPA’s proposals include:
Scrap the IMF/EU deal – Real democracy in dealing with the economic crisis.
Major cuts in TD’s salaries and pension entitlements to put them in line with average earnings.
Pay for politicians, top civil servants and those paid from the public purse to be capped at €100,000 per year – End expense scams and junkets at national and local level.
Slash the number of quangos – Greater public oversight in all appointments to state boards and semi-states.
Ban corporate donations, lower limits on individual donations, lower limits on election spending.
Abolish the elitist senate – create citizen’s assemblies at a local and national level, based on re-callable, non-professional delegates from workplaces, communities, young people, students, pensioners and sectoral groups.
Reduce the power of unelected County managers and top officials – directly elected mayors.
The only way to clean up our political system is to drastically cut the pay and pensions of all politicians and the top civil servants so that their incomes and lifestyles are somewhere in line with those they are supposed to represent.
Corporate donations should obviously be banned but we also need to put serious limits on donations and election spending, which skew the democratic process in favour of those who have the most money.
Crucially, we need to deal with wealth inequality in society generally. You can separate the issue of the democratic deficit form the gross inequalities in our society. As long as a small minority have vastly more wealth than the majority in society they will use that wealth to influence the political system in their favour, no matter what structures are in place.”