Fine Gael & Labour bullies are rushing through legislation on #IrishWater in an attempt to force/scare more people into payment. We Shall Not Be Moved!
Join the protest at the Dail this Wednesday 1st July @ 6pm. @pb4p

RTE and the Irish media have been spinning out EU propaganda against the Greek government.

They have featured Jean Claude Juncker’s comments that the Greek government is suffering from ‘egotism’ and that he has ‘the Greek people’s welfare at heart’. They never mention that Juncker was President of Luxemburg when deals were done with 343 multi-national companies to avoid paying tax.

The government’s line that Greece ‘walked away from negotiations’ is repeated regularly.

But the reality is that Greece was presented with a set of proposals which the Finance Minister Varoufakis stated would be ‘impossible’ to pass through their parliament.

The treatment of the Clery’s staff is a dramatic illustration of the rot that lies at the heart of Irish society.

The workers are the victims of successive government policies of pampering the Irish rich by stoking up a new property bubble.

Ireland's history of its treatment of single mothers is shameful. Despite the closure of Magadelene laundries, the politics of shaming lone parents has continued. Ireland should not just be ashamed of its past treatment of lone parents, but also its present day treatment. It is a national disgrace that up to 63% of one parent families suffer two or more forms of deprivation on a regular basis. Consistent poverty in one parent families is 23% compared to 8.2% in the general population. To get away with keeping lone parents in poverty, past and present Governments along with the media have portrayed single mothers as a burden on society.

On 22nd May voters will be asked if they wish to insert a new sentence into the Constitution:
‘Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons
without distinction as to their sex’
People Before Profit believes that Constitutional rights should apply equally to all the citizens of Ireland.

To Join a Canvassing Team go to http://www.YesEquality.ie

The following statement, as a contribution to the debate at the conference organised by the R2W unions on June 13, has been agreed between the People Before Profit Alliance,the Anti-Austerity Alliance, and some independent left-wing activists including Cllr Brendan Young.

The Mayday Conference initiated by the Right2Water Trade Unions was designed to bring union members, community groups and political representatives into dialogue about an alternative to the political and economic establishment. We welcome the fact that these unions initiated such a meeting to build a political movement based on the anti-water charges struggle of the last eight months. Unfortunately, the meeting was a limited and invite-only event, without sufficient space for discussion.

Open up and democratise the June 13 conference

To best achieve the potential for this movement, we believe that the process needs to be opened up and democratised. Without grassroots participation, any political initiative will lack the energy and vibrancy needed to challenge the political establishment. So we think the follow up conference on June 13 should have delegates invited from all of the community groups campaigning against water charges, selected over the coming weeks at local meetings.

On June 13, the conference must also be designed to allow genuine debate and maximum inclusion. In place of structured inputs from selected speakers, the event should be bottom-up and participatory. It should be designed to allow as many contributions as possible and allow for decisions to be made by those present.

STATEMENT

Following the weekend's historic victory for equality let's move now to repeal the eighth amendment.

26 May 2015

The Coalition to Repeal the Eighth Amendment welcomes the weekend’s historic victory for marriage equality and calls on the government to build on the widespread support for greater equality in Ireland by calling an autumn referendum to repeal the eighth amendment

Commenting the Coalition’s convenor Ailbhe Smyth said:

STATEMENT

Following the weekend's historic victory for equality let's move now to repeal the eighth amendment.

26 May 2015

The Coalition to Repeal the Eighth Amendment welcomes the weekend’s historic victory for marriage equality and calls on the government to build on the widespread support for greater equality in Ireland by calling an autumn referendum to repeal the eighth amendment

Commenting the Coalition’s convenor Ailbhe Smyth said:

“The landslide victory for marriage equality was a historic and thrilling victory and clears the way for so much unfinished business. We need to build on the huge support for equality shown in the last months and weeks by people of all ages, up and down the country and work to repeal the eighth amendment.

The Fine Gael-Labour government are trying to ram through the sale of Aer Lingus even before TDs return to their constituencies at the June weekend and hear concerns about it.

The unseemly rush shows that the government has something to hide. The sell-off is bad for the Irish economy and bad for workers conditions.

The vote for marriage equality was one of the most positive uplifting developments in Ireland in recent years. It gave LGBT people basic rights but it also sent out a signal that the old Ireland of De Valera and John Charles McQuaid was dead and gone.