Ruairi Quinn Opens Labour Youth Conference
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press release 
Saturday November 20, 2004 15:58
by Jp
FF & PDS PLAYED POLITICS WITH WORLD'S POOR
Speaking at the opening of the Labour Youth Annual Conference in the Mansion House, Dublin, this evening, Labour Party Spokesperson on European Affairs and Deputy for Dublin South East, Ruairi Quinn, described the Government's decision to abandon the 0.7% of GNP commitment for overseas development assistance as "a reprehensible u-turn on a commitment given to the world's poorest people."
Deputy Quinn commented, "Ireland's international reputation is in tatters with this decision. It makes the original announcement by the Taoiseach, solemnly expressed at the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in New York four years ago, as nothing more than a cynical ploy to win African votes for a seat on the Security Council.
"Arguably, the commitment to 0.7% was the key factor in winning that Security Council seat. Back then, Ireland and Norway did not expect a contest for the two European seats available for the 2000-2002 term on the Council. However, the decision of the Italians to seek a seat meant that an election was required.
"With the Norwegians consistently exceeding 0.7% of GNP for ODA, the Fianna Fail/PD Government knew that by similarly committing to this target they would have the upper-hand on the Italians for votes from developing countries. And so it turned out, with Ireland comfortably securing a seat.
"Ireland's international reputation and prestige was boosted by our term on the Security Council. However, now that that and our Presidency of the EU are out of the way, true to form Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats have dumped it as though it was little more than a pre-election promise which works to get them into power but is never heard of again.
"At a time when we are being reminded of the work of Irish people like Bono and Bob Geldof in helping the world's poorest, it is absolutely shameful that our Government can drop this policy so casually.
"Quite simply, Fianna Fail and the PDs played politics with poverty."
http://www.labour.ie/youth/policy/index/20041116175957.html
http://www.labour.ie/youth
Comments (8 of 8)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8My arse! I don't understand why anybody would invite this glib superannuated fraudster to open their conference.
I once attended a Labour conference, where I heard Ruairi argue that James Connolly was Labour's first coalitionist - as if being strapped into an execution chair was somehow equivalent to being strapped into a ministerial Mercedes.
Ruairi was asking the conference to allow him to make the ultimate sacrifice of taking his place at the cabinet with Fine Gaelers.
What a slimeball!
Could Mr. Quinn tell us what the figure was when he was Minister for Finance? Just wondering.
I think it was Gareth Fitzgerald who wrote an Op-Ed for the Irish Times a week or two after Ireland finished on the UN SC, gushing with praise for our brave diplomats in New York. Truth be told, Ireland didn't just sit and watch as the Republic of Iraq -- who sit beside us in the UN GA by the way -- was being prepared for a flagrant act of aggression by the US and it's lackeys. The Irish government and diplomatic core bent over backwards to facilitate the conspiracy to attack Iraq, then the attack itself, and the horrors of the occupation too.
Ruari is more than just the 'Labour Party Spokesperson on European Affairs and Deputy for Dublin South East', he is a former Minister for Finance.
His period in office was one when wealth was radically redistributed in Ireland - tax measures were implemented which had the effect of taking money from Ruari's working class constituents and giving it to the likes of his brother and his cousin (Lochlainn & Fergal), two of the richest people in Ireland.
Ruari and his ilk depend on our short memories in order too rebrand themselves as socialists so that they can get back into office, and start all over again implementing the 'responsible' fiscal policies demanded by bankers and supermarket owners.
Ho Chi Quinn indeed
At the Labour Youth conference at the weekend a new executive was elected and it as follows:
Chairperson: Donal O'Liathain
Vice-Chair: Patrick Nulty
Secretary: Caoimhe Ni Choncathair
Education: Eoghan Beecher
International: Garetth Keogh
Recruitment: Kieran Walsh
Communications: David long
The conference also passed severals motions including:
1. A call for a boycott of all Israeli good and services along with trade sanctions against Israel until such time as the situation in Palestine has been addressed.
2. Support for anti-g8 protests and against nuclear power.
3. Radical reform of the taxation system including raising corporation tax to 17.5%, a restructuring of PAYE and the introduction of a basic income system.
4. Continued opposition to the use of Shannon airport by the US military.
5. Opposition to a rigid pre-election pact with any other party and a call for Labour to present themselves as being the leading party in any future government.
There was lots of motions passed and thats just a flavour of them.
Before boycotting all Israeli goods, including food and cultural items like music and art, why not start at home with Irish arms exports to Israel? Stopping Irish arms exports to Israel would be more possible, me thinks, for an Irish government, or even just a palestine solidarity movement.
It might mean that our good friend down the road who makes DSPs for helicopter gunships will have to find a different revenue stream. It's doable though.
I doubt that a majority of people in Israel would support a boycott of Israeli products. It's not the same as South Africa.
Fuck me !! To the barricades comrades. Victory to New Labour who of course have nothing whatsover to do with the party that has been in power for 12 of the last 30 years.
So Donal Lyons is now the chair of Labour Youth, are Danny Finn and James Redmond still claiming that Socialist Alternative was a left wing split from the SWP?
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