Tomás Ó Flatharta

ULA news update

[ULA email 1st february 2012]:

1) Household Tax

During the last three weeks the Campaign Against the Household and Water Taxes has been organising meetings all over the country. The feedback from the meetings and the campaign’s low cost phone line have been positive and encouraging. Many members of the ULA are already involved in this campaign in one way or another.

It is very important that every member gets involved now as the campaign is entering an intense phase of activity as it tries to consolidate mass non registration and non payment at the same time as building active campaigns everywhere. In doing this members will be positively profiling the ULA on a vital issue.

Two weeks ago we circulated to all members a leaflet on the Household Tax. This leaflet is now being updated and it is important that it is appropriately distributed in up and coming CAHWT meetings in which ULA members are involved in. Hard copies of this leaflet can be sent to you if required and all ULA organisers will be contacted from the ULA office to make relevant arrangements.

The Steering Committee is looking into organising public meetings or rallies – possibly a speaking tour of TDs etc – on the Household Tax, taxation inequality and the ULA’s alternative. Without in any way cutting across the work of the CAHWT, ULA branches should consider doing the same.

2) Debt and Mortgage Crisis

The work that is ongoing on this issue has been given added importance by the Government’s proposed insolvency bill. Research has been initiated and some written material will be circulated in the coming weeks to help the ULA prepare amendments to the legislation and and potentially put forward its own bill. Further information will be provided soon.

3) ULA Conference and Structures

A conference of the ULA is to be held on the 21st of April, location to be confirmed soon.

The Steering Committee also agreed that individual members of the ULA, comrades who are not members of the founding organisations, should meet separately during the Conference and elect members to represent them on the Steering Committee.

The Steering Committee has also agreed to set up a sub-committee – which should also include some individual, as well as members from the constituent groups – with the following terms of reference:

A) Recommend interim arrangements for representation of unaligned members on Steering Committee

B) Discuss future development of ULA including the development of participative structures

C) To consult all members on the above issues

D) Report to Steering Committee who will report to conference. The report of the Steering Committee to Conference will include the recommendations of the sub-committee These were the main decisions of the Steering Committee held on Tuesday the 31 of January and clearly will need to be supplemented at the next meetings

Please don’t hesitate to contact us: contact@unitedleftalliance.org