Legalise Abortion; Legislate for X; Dublin Demonstration Monday March 4
Trade Union Flags mingle with “Never Again” images of Savita Halappanavar on a bitterly cold evening at Dublin City Hall.
Paula Geraghty’s Short Video Report of the Event :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wYYObj1PXMM
Brendan Young reports on the demonstration, and makes proposals for more useful activities.
Today, March 5, is the 21st anniversary of the X Case ruling. Yesterday evening we had a great rally of 500 – 600 calling for legislation. Yesterday and last Friday, we had a historic first when major trade unions and other mass organisations – SIPTU, UNITE, the Women’s Committee of ICTU, the NWCI and USI joined together in calling for legislation that is not so restrictive as to make abortion inaccessible in practice. Both events were organised by Action on X.
Yet despite all the discussion about legislation at the January meetings of the Health & Children Committee on the Expert Group Report on abortion, we are still no clearer on when legislation will appear. There were press reports in early Feb about a memo to cabinet from health minister Reilly with proposals for a bill. The reports suggested that this memo contained proposals which were very restrictive: up to five consultants might be required to sign off approval for an abortion in the case of a woman being suicidal due to unwanted pregnancy. Previous comments suggested there would be very few locations where abortions could be carried out. These proposals provoked a row and the memo was withdrawn. So there is now no timeline for any proposals on X legislation; nor any indication of what the legislation might contain.
When Reilly announced before xmas that there would be legislation on X, people may have thought that it was a done deal. But Kenny was saying that the legislation would be as restrictive as possible. Labour are opposing the most restrictive aspects – but details are scanty and the outcome is undecided.
We cannot assume therefore, that legislation will be forthcoming before the summer. When legislation is published the anti-abortion minority will go into overdrive. So we should be clear on what we are doing over the coming months: there must be legislation for X, in the least restrictive form possible; it must include risk to life by suicide as grounds for abortion. It would be a setback for the pro-choice movement if legislation is passed that requires three, four or five consultants to sign off on an abortion; or if services are restricted to one or two hospitals, such as the Mater where Prof Patricia Casey – long-time anti-abortion campaigner – runs the suicide clinic. Such restrictions would simply deter a woman from even trying to use the services – with all of the risks that would entail.
Legislation on X will, by definition, be restricted by Art. 40.3.3 – the 8th Amendment to the Constitution. But restrictive legislation on X would be a setback. It would make a campaign for repeal of the 8th Amendment more difficult.
So we should not deflect the focus of the current debate by arguing for abortion on grounds of health (or other non-risk-to-life grounds – apart from fatal foetal abnormality) to be included in this legislation. These arguments are easily dismissed because they are excluded under 40.3.3 – the removal of which requires a referendum to change the constitution. Until X legislation is passed, without unnecessary restrictions, we should focus on that. We then move on to the launch of a campaign to repeal the 8th Amendment.
A useful activity for keeping pressure on the government (and other parties) would be for teams of people to visit TDs and councillors in their clinics. The visits would be to ask them what they are doing about implementation of the X ruling and the ABC ruling; and about when legislation will be published. They can be asked about their own position on the details of legislation – restrictions, etc; about the position of the party locally; and about what information they have regarding government proposals. If the TDs / Cllrs don’t know, they can be asked to find out.
A picket on the Dáil before the easter break on March 28 would also be useful.
Dail Rushes Property Tax on to Statute Book – PickPocket Law Ridiculed by Clare Daly TD
A short sharp speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HQDViPGe05c
United Left established within the ULA
From the Cedar Lounge 3rd March 2013
“With the new opinion poll there was a timely agreement yesterday in Dublin by the supporters of Joan Collins TD (including the Dublin 12 ULA Branch), Clare Daly TD, Cllr. Declan Bree (Sligo) and most of the active ULA nonaligned to form a new platform or organisation within the ULA, ‘United Left’.
The main focus of United Left will be the need for a new, broad based non sectarian party to represent and organise working people and to build the United Left and the wider alliance as a preparation for such a party. United Left bases itself on the founding statement of the ULA.
It also aims to develop a strategy to build further by involving other left organisations and groups either as part of the United Left or the wider alliance.
United Left will register as a ‘party’ for electoral purposes.
It is planned to have a public launch of United Left and a series of local public meetings in the near future.”
Rally of Education Public Servants against Croke Park 2: Saturday 9th March, 12:00, Gresham Hotel Dublin
All public servants welcome
Vote “NO” to Croke Park 2. Defend Education. Defend Public Services.
Colleagues,
A grass-roots rally of public servants in the education sector will take place in the Gresham Hotel Dublin at 12:00 on this Saturday 9th March 2013.
The focuses of the rally will be on:
- securing a “NO” vote to Croke Park 2 in as many unions as possible
- the need for unity amongst all public servants in the face of the on-going attacks on us, and
- the way forward to better representation and mobilisation of public servants
- sending a message to our unions, to ICTU and to the Government that this so-called agreement will not be accepted
This rally is not called by the Executive of any union and has absolutely nothing to do with ICTU, which clearly no longer represents public servants at all.
Please attend and advertise the rally to all other public servants you know, both within the Education Sector and outside it: All public servants are very welcome to come along.
The intention is to show our own union leadership and ICTU that in the absence of representation from them, we can and will mobilise ourselves.
We urge you to attend.
Regards,
Michael Carr (TUI Branch Chair Dublin Colleges)
Gregor Kerr (INTO District 14)
Maria Parsons (TUI Branch Chair IADT Dun Laoghaire)
Claus Derenda (TUI Branch Chair IT Carlow)
Gerald Mills (IFUT UCD)
Richard Crowley (TUI Branch Chair Dundalk IT)
Thomas Dooley (TUI Acting Branch Secretary Dundalk IT)
Andrew Phelan (ASTI)
Paddy Healy (TUI Dublin Retired Members Association)
Kevin Farrell (TUI Executive, Area 15)
Eddie Conlon (TUI Executive, Area 16)
Niall Smyth (INTO)
Paul Farrell (TUI IT Tallaght)
Ronan Callanan (TUI Dublin City PP)
Meeting to organise opposition to Croke Park 2, Dublin, 27th February 2013
From Paddy Healy
A meeting to organise resistance to the changes to pay and conditions under Croke Park 2 will be held in Teachers Club, Parnell Square, on Wednesday next, Feb 27, at 8pm.
The meeting has been called by 5 branches of TUI to organise resistance to Croke Park 2 within the Education Sector.
The organisers have agreed to facilitate discussion among all public sector trade union activists and pensioners (pensions are to be reduced under the Deal) on organisation to oppose the Deal
Please Come along at this time of great danger for public servants and for the trade union movement generally.
Property Tax – New Tactics Needed
What tactics can be used to defeat the property tax? That is a very pressing question because the boycott weapon, used pretty effectively against the bin and house taxes, will not work. No taxpayer can “boycott” tax increases deducted at source from pay by the state.
The SBP notes that:
Self-employed workers will not be able to get tax clearance certificates if they do not pay the new property tax, it has emerged.
This had been the general analysis from those involved in the CAHWT, but it is interesting to see it now confirmed. And it is, naturally, yet another salvo in the on-going campaign the government is waging on the issue – particularly since the first of the 1.6 million letters to householders with estimates of their tax liability are going to be sent out in the next week or so.
In many respects the government has played this quite cleverly, clearly learning from the property ‘charge’ debacle. The room for movement is now extremely circumscribed, at least in terms of refusing payment, given, as the SBP notes…
The tax authority has been granted a range of new powers to secure payment of the new…
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March for Legalised Abortion in Ireland – Central Bank to Dublin Castle, March 4, Assemble at 6.00pm
March for Legalised Abortion in Ireland – Central Bank to Dublin Castle, March 4, Assemble at 6.00pm
Lies Damn Lies and Statistics
This is a wonderful educative article on how to read polls accurately : strongly recommended
Posted by Eoin O’Malley (21 February, 2013)
A poll released today by the Pro-Life Campaign seeks to ‘challenge the notion that there is broad middle ground support for abortion in Ireland.’ This polls claims to show that two-thirds of Irish people want ‘legal protection of the unborn’ and suggests that this means Irish people are against legalised abortions. This should surprise some as it follows on from a IpsosMRBI poll in the Irish Times recently which showed a substantial majority in favour of legalised abortions in a variety of circumstances.
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Tomás Ó Flatharta 