Speeches to Ard Fheis by Meath Sinn Féin


 

67. This Ard Fheis mandates each Cumann to carry out a survey on the state of repair of windows and doors in all local authority-owned housing within their electoral district, in order to highlight and campaign on the clear breach of health, safety and tenants’ rights being carried out by local authorities throughout Ireland.

Doherty/Delaney Cumann, Navan Motion 67

 

A chairde, Is mise Peadar Tóibín Comhairleoir ar Comhairle Baile na hUaimhe.

 

We in Sinn Féin believe that a warm, dry living space is the right of every citizen in Ireland in the 21st century. We believe that those, who through no fault of their own cannot afford this right should be given the support of the state. This is not a revolutionary idea. it is the simply the mark of an equitable and decent society.

 

Despite15 years of economic growth, despite the state coffers being overflowing for nearly a generation, thousands of our fellow citizens live in housing conditions that that by any standard are inhumane.

 

The people being forced to live in these conditions are often the most vulnerable in society. Elderly people, people with very young children and people with serious illness are housed up and down the country in buildings with shoddy single glazed windows and doors. In some cases windows are warped preventing closure or not even fixed properly to the surrounding walls.

 

In many cases people are being forced to live with these intolerable conditions for decades. Elderly couples crouch around electric heaters even in the middle of summer as they find it impossible to keep heat in their draughty houses. I know of one man in his 70s who sleeps on his sitting room couch in front of the fire place every night of the winter to keep warm.

 

Those who can least afford it are spending major portions of their income in burning fuel for it only to escape through the substandard windows. A seriously ill couple in their 70s, he has cancer and she has diabetes, told me that they ‘might as well leave every window and door in their house open for the amount of heat they keep in’. This is the world of Gormley and Cowen!

 

If private landlords were to provide such inhumane accommodation I believe that they could be held to account before the law. Its is our job within Sinn Féin to hold this government to account. While much work has been done I believe we can do more. I would encourage all Cumann around the country to carry out a comprehensive Housing Conditions Campaign within their own area. We need to methodically survey the people who are directly affected. We  need to use this information to campaign, demonstrate and use all representative bodies at our disposal to resolve this Dickensian issue. A chairde I urge you to support motion 67. Go raibh míle maith agaibh.     

 

90. This Ard Fheis calls on all banks and lending companies that have been bailed out by taxpayer money to be mindful of this when a mortgage has gone into arrears. They must give as much of a chance to the householder as possible and legislative safeguards should be put in place immediately to protect mortgage holders.

Charlie McGlade Cumann, Drimnagh, Dublin

 

 

‘Comrades, Is mise Antoinette Rooney, Local Election Candidate for Navan Town Council.

I would like to speak in favour of motion 90. I am a resident of Navan, Co Meath. Two trends summarise the experience of Meath in the last 15 years. The first trend being sustained and rapid population growth. The second trend being the disastrous increases in unemployment in the last year. Indeed since January 08 Meath has experienced the fastest increase in unemployment levels of any county in Ireland.

 

These two trends mean that thousands of new home owners find themselves without a job and without the ability to maintain mortgage repayments. This disastrous development means that thousands of families find themselves with the real and frightening prospect of loosing the roof over their head and their life savings.

 

How did this situation arise? Very simply Fiann Fáil, recklessly over stimulated the housing market. This led to the eventual bursting of the property bubble and the haemorrhaging of thousands of construction jobs. It left the banks up to their necks in debt. FF and the Greens are now proposing to burden the whole country with this massive debt for the next 20 years or longer. They are asking us to  cover the costs of their cronies and fork to fix their mistakes.

 

Well Brain Cowen and John Gormly,  if the men and women in children of this country are being made pay for the recklessness of the Galway Tent School of Economics then by no means should be seen as collateral damage by the banks. The banks, the developers and the government owe the people of Ireland in more ways than one and by no means should people who are making every effort to pay their mortgage be forced out of their houses. A chairde I strongly recommend motion 90 to you and ask that you give it your support. Go raibh míle maith agaibh’.                  

 

 

101. This Ard Fheis:

• Deplores the continuing attacks on Irish language education and social projects by unionist politicians and calls for the ending of their campaign in the Assembly.

• Demands the immediate introduction of an Irish Language Act in the north, fully resourced and rights-based, which would help remove the issue of the Irish language from the contentious political arena and allow all the citizens of this country the opportunity to experience the rich cultural affinity with our people and place names - emphasising that the language of this country belongs to all who live in Ireland.

• Again calls for the end of the Dublin Government’s attempts to end early Irish language immersion education and notes that Sinn Féin supports the practice of immersion education in Irish as the most effective means of increasing the growth of Irish across the country but particularly in the north.

• Supports the objectives laid out for the Irish language in the ‘Beartás 2028’ but remain to be convinced on the measures to be put in place to bring them about.

• Calls on the Sinn Féin local and regional structures to do more to increase the use and visibility of Irish as a working language within the party and to organise local classes, seminars and meetings to help create a truly bilingual party.

Ard Chomhairle

 

A dhuine uaisle,

Is mise Peadar Tóibín, Comhairleoir ar Comhairle Baile na hUaimhe . Ba mhaith liom caint I bhfabhar rún 101. Ar dtús giota beag faoi luach na Gaeilge. 

 

  • Tá an Gaeilge á labhairt in Éireann gan briseadh ar a laghad dhá mhíle cúig céad bliain.
  • Uair amháin bhí sí á labhairt ar fud na hÉireann agus na hAlban.
  • Sa cúigiú aois déag deirtear go raibh beagnach an méid céanna ag labhairt an Gaeilge is an Béarla ar fud na cruinne.
  • Le linn na céadta bliain dóbair an Gaeilge mar bonneagar, fealsúnacht, filíocht, agus litríocht den scoth.
  • Is linne an Gaeilge agus is cuid mhór thábhacht í d’ár féiniúlacht.
  • Tugann sí éagsúlacht don domhain in aois an aonghnéitheacht 
  • Tá sí ag fás agus tá an Gaeilge níos sláintiúla anois ná le déanaí.

 

Ach tá an fríth Gaelachas fós ann. Téann meon freasúrach seo siar na céadta bliain. Sa Statutes of Kilkenny dhearbhaigh siad;

 

"All must use English surnames, speak English, and follow English customs. If any use.. Irish speech, he shall be attainted and his lands go to his lord till he undertake to adopt and use English."

Cinnte níl rudaí comh dona anois ach tá daoine le meoin na statues fós ann. Sa sé chontae tá cosc curtha ag an DUP ar comhionannas agus ar Acht na Gaeilge. Cosc nach bhfaca tú fiú amháin sa Bhreatain Bheag no In Albain.  

 

  • Sa deisceart tá naimhde an teanga I bhád níos caolchúiseach. Cruthaíonn siad deacrachtaí tar éis deacrachtaí. Mar shampla tá thart ar 33 % de tuismitheoirí an deisceart ag iarradh oideachas lán Gaelach a fháil le haghaidh a gcuid páistí. In ainneoin an éileamh seo níl ann ach 6 % de pháistí an deisceart ag fáil oideachas lán Gaelach.
  • Tá 60 % de na Gaelscoileanna atá bunaithe le 25 bliain fós ag fanacht ar fhoirgneamh buan.
  • Agus an méid a tá ag fáil oideachas lán Gaeilge chuir an rialtas deireadh leis an tomoideachas ar mhalairt comhairle na saineolaithe. Tá sé dochreidte go bhfuil rialtais ag cur gach bac ar forbairt an gluaiseacht seo.

 

‘Sé mo thuairim gurbh í Sinn Féin an páirtí is láidre I dtaobh na Gaeilge. Tá an Gaeilge le feiceáil I gach áit sa pháirtí.

 

  • Táimid ag láidriú na Gaeilge sa Dáil, sa Tionól, I bParlaimint na hEorpa agus I gComhairle Contae ar fud na hÉireann. Mar shampla san Uaimh, chuireamar rún I gcríoch go mbeadh ainm Gaeilge ag gach forbairt tithíocht nua in sa bhaile.
  • Ach  a chomrádaí tá a lán fós le déanamh againne. Caithfidh plean, hacmhainní, córas tomhas agus fuinneamh níos mó a chuir sa feachtais. Tá chuile dhuine sa pháirtí freagracht as an dul chun chinn seo. Ní cheart a bheith I bhfabhair an Gaeilge agus gan í a labhairt. Caithfimid féin bheith in ann ceannaireacht a thabhairt. Aontaím go láidir leis an rún seo agus molaim díobh tacaíocht a thabhairt.    

 

100. This Ard Fheis calls on the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister to employ the services of an independent Economic Research Firm in order to ascertain the cost of partition.

Doherty/Delaney Cumann, Navan

 

 

A chairde,

Is mise Peadar Tóibín, An Uaimh, Co na Mí. Ba mhaith liom caint I bhfabhar rún 100.

A considerable market of 6 million people exists on the island of Ireland.  Over 3 million workers across Ireland have fuelled extraordinary economic growth in the last 10 years.

Since the Good Friday Agreement, trade between both sides of the island has steadily increased. Tens of thousands of businesses from all over the island trade with each other on a daily basis.  Hundreds of thousands of people live their lives on both sides of the border, residing in one jurisdiction, shopping, studying or working in the other. Whole swathes along the border are economically integrating.

Despite these developments the continuing partition of Ireland creates impediments to economic development. These impediments cost individuals and businesses on a daily basis. These impediments cost the island economy hundreds of millions each year. The identification and removal of these costs will create efficiencies, employment, wealth and opportunity across Ireland.

 

Lets discuss  a few examples

 

  1. Economic planning and development on the island of Ireland has been carried out in a ‘back to back’ fashion for decades. Due to a lack of joined up development in areas such as road, rail, air and sea transport, businesses have suffered major transportation costs and large isolated regions have suffered reduced economic opportunity.
  2. Constant fluctuations in the areas of VAT, Corporation Tax, Excise Duties and Currency create barriers to economic development on both sides of the border.  These differentials encourage smuggling and leak millions in tax revenue. Fluctuations in these areas also prevent long term planning and investment as this years boom town could become next years ghost town.  
  3. The border costs money through wasteful duplication; e.g. Invest NI and the IDA currently pay for separate offices in New York, Boston, Southern California, Shanghai, Tokyo, Taipei and Mumbai.  Duplication exists at nearly every level of Irish administration.

It makes simple economic sense to bring an end to these costs. As a start to this process I call on the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister to employ the services of an independent Economic Research Firm in order to ascertain the cost of partition.