I decided to so something I normally wouldnt do and watch the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis. Maybe it was disillusionment with the status quo, maybe I was hoping they offered something different.
The one thing that struck me was Gerry Adams saying that the wealth wasnt distributed to the nation but the debt is now being through NAMA etc. When I first heard this it sounded quite convincing, but having thought about it a bit now, a few things come to mind;
- We have some of the highest social welfare payments in Europe (many of the increases came in the boom years)
- We brought in a lot of teachers assistants and special needs assistance to our schools, none of which was available in my school days (I know someone will say that they are being let go now, but at least they were there and made an impact)
- While our health system is fair from perfect, it is infinitely better than the USA or even some of our European neighbours (ie Romania, where the nurses wont look after patients unless they are bribed with cash)
- Sure some people made some money but a lot of the weaker in society benefited also, as they say a rising tide lifts all ships.
So what did Gerry really mean, it seems to me that Gerry doesnt really know what goes on south of the border or else he wants a communist state where all wealth is distributed equally regardless of effort or creativity.
Gerry also pointed out that they are in power up north in the power sharing arrangement, he wore this like a badge of honour throughout his speech...anyone who has watched the news in the last few months will realise that the Sinn Fein find it very difficult to work in a powersharing arrangement, it took the combined efforts of Gordon Brown and Brian Cowen to get them to agree on anything up there in relation to policing and parades. What hope have they of agreeing anything with other coalition partners that dont subscribe to their vision of Ireland. Watching newsnight on the BBC it seems very plain to see that the public in the north are just as fed up with their politicians as we are with ours, they want less bickering and more action on real economic issues, ie. jobs.
Also by saying that they wont go into power with either FF or FG, how do they expect to ever get into power by ruling out partnership with the 2 biggest parties. It strikes me that Sinn Fein have no intention of ever trying to make the 26 counties better, they are perfectly happy to just throw tomatoes at those who try and get it wrong than actually do something to make things better themselves. The Greens may be crucified at the next election but at least they recognise that if they want to get their policies implemented in any shape or form then they need to enter government.
Just my thoughts on them, I'd be interested to know how others felt.
The one thing that struck me was Gerry Adams saying that the wealth wasnt distributed to the nation but the debt is now being through NAMA etc. When I first heard this it sounded quite convincing, but having thought about it a bit now, a few things come to mind;
- We have some of the highest social welfare payments in Europe (many of the increases came in the boom years)
- We brought in a lot of teachers assistants and special needs assistance to our schools, none of which was available in my school days (I know someone will say that they are being let go now, but at least they were there and made an impact)
- While our health system is fair from perfect, it is infinitely better than the USA or even some of our European neighbours (ie Romania, where the nurses wont look after patients unless they are bribed with cash)
- Sure some people made some money but a lot of the weaker in society benefited also, as they say a rising tide lifts all ships.
So what did Gerry really mean, it seems to me that Gerry doesnt really know what goes on south of the border or else he wants a communist state where all wealth is distributed equally regardless of effort or creativity.
Gerry also pointed out that they are in power up north in the power sharing arrangement, he wore this like a badge of honour throughout his speech...anyone who has watched the news in the last few months will realise that the Sinn Fein find it very difficult to work in a powersharing arrangement, it took the combined efforts of Gordon Brown and Brian Cowen to get them to agree on anything up there in relation to policing and parades. What hope have they of agreeing anything with other coalition partners that dont subscribe to their vision of Ireland. Watching newsnight on the BBC it seems very plain to see that the public in the north are just as fed up with their politicians as we are with ours, they want less bickering and more action on real economic issues, ie. jobs.
Also by saying that they wont go into power with either FF or FG, how do they expect to ever get into power by ruling out partnership with the 2 biggest parties. It strikes me that Sinn Fein have no intention of ever trying to make the 26 counties better, they are perfectly happy to just throw tomatoes at those who try and get it wrong than actually do something to make things better themselves. The Greens may be crucified at the next election but at least they recognise that if they want to get their policies implemented in any shape or form then they need to enter government.
Just my thoughts on them, I'd be interested to know how others felt.
