Anton McNulty
antonmcnulty@mayonews.ie
The passing of the referendum on the EU fiscal compact will ‘hook Ireland up to another new empire’ according to Sinn Féin councillor Gerry Murray who called for a No Vote in the May referendum.
The Charlestown-based councillor was speaking at the party’s annual Easter commemoration ceremony at the Fr Manus Sweeney Memorial on Achill Island on Easter Sunday. He told the crowd that the treaty would copperfasten Ireland’s economic sovereignty into the ‘new emerging EU empire’ and hit out at the current Fine Gael/Labour government for allowing this to happen.
“This treaty will tie our economic sovereignty forever into Europe and it is very important that we as Irish Republicans touch base with the values of Pearse and Connolly. We as a nation have the right to formulate and implement our own independent economic policy as a fundamental right.
“It is utterly disgraceful that we have politicians in Dáil Éireann in this government and the previous government who are prepared to relinquish what was hard fought for into the heart of Europe. We are essentially being hooked up to another Empire and this time it is the EU and Brussels and not Britain and Westminister,” he said.
The guest speaker at the commemoration was Monaghan based councillor Matt Carthy who said the austerity measures imposed by the current government had resulted in further hardship and emigration and that this would worsen with the passing of the EU Fiscal treaty.
“Fine Gael and Labour are implementing the failed policies of Fianna Fáil in direct breach of their election promises. The social consequences of those failed policies are all around us especially in rural communities. What is worse is that they plan another four more years of this same policy and have signed up to the treaty which will make austerity a legal requirement of future governments.
“Not only do they want to cripple this generation in their term of office but they also want to secure that options for change are limited following the next elections. We have shown there can be a fairer approach to this economic crisis to ensure that young people get employment,” he said.
He added that the revelations of the Mahon Tribunals had shown that Ireland in its current format was a ‘failed state’ governed by politicians who ‘lined their own pockets’ and Sinn Féin had a vision for a new republic which were true to the vision of the 1916 proclamation.
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