Clare Daly TD

support offered to the workers from Game shops

Joe Higgins TD and Clare Daly TD offer full support and assistance to the workers of Game

The Game stores suddenly announced their closure on Monday resulting in 121 workers losing their jobs without warning. Many of the workers have provided considerable years of service to the games retailer. The workers have now courageously decided to occupy 13 of the stores across the country.

Joe Higgins TD said "I would like to offer my full support and solidarity to the workers of the Game stores who are occupying 13 stores nationwide. It is remarkable that these workers are courageously following in the footsteps of the La Senza and Vita Cortex workers who themselves were inspired by the global Occupy Movement. This dispute is yet another example of major companies using the recession as an excuse to treat loyal workers with complete and utter disdain. I call on the Games stores to immediately provide these workers with their full redundancy and pay entitlements"

Clare Daly TD added "I would like to congratulate the Game workers for making their stand. The fact that these workers recognised immediately the importance of occupying their stores shows once again just how much the worker's movement has learned in recent times about cut-throat big business. I demand that the Government and in particular the Labour Party intervene into this dispute to ensure that these workers are paid in full what they are due. The trade union movement need to have an immediate response on this issue by putting pressure on the retailer and by also preparing their members for industrial action if it becomes necessary."

Privatisation of state assets will come at the cost of jobs and democratic control over vital services and infrastructure

Press statement: Clare Daly TD Socialist Party/United Left Alliance

Privatisation of state assets will come at the cost of jobs and democratic control over vital services and infrastructure

Responding to the government's announcement regarding the part privatisation of ESB, Bord Gais and Coilte and the intended sell off of the government's remaining stake in Aer Lingus Socialist Party/ULA TD and Aer Lingus employee Clare Daly said:

"Here we have another example of the government responding to the economic crisis with the same character of neo-liberal measures that got us here to begin with.

"A key feature of the crash in Ireland has been a catastrophic collapse in private sector investment. Rather than trying to sell off valuable state assets to this same private sector we need instead to be enhancing the role of the state in job creation through both emergency necessary public works and an expansion of state enterprises.

"The government are trying to soften this fresh attack by claiming that one third of any proceeds will be invested in job creation. However I will be putting it to Minister Howlin next Tuesday when he answers questions in the Dáil that the real experience of privatisation has been one of job destruction as is evidenced by Eircom and Aer Lingus who are both shadows of what they formally were.

"There is a more fundamental reason why privatisations of major assets and utilities should be opposed. As a class working people should have democratic control over key aspects of economic life in this country.

"This begins with major utilities and infrastructure being in public ownership. That is not to say that the pre existing set up in the likes of the ESB from the point of view of Chief Executuve salaries and the top down manner in which they are run is something we defend. Far from it, these organisations should be radically reformed and democratised while remaining in state hands.

"Battle lines have now been drawn by the government. The workers in ESB, Bord Gais and Coilte in particular must heed the experience of Eircom and Aer Lingus and ready themselves for a fight to oppose these privatisations. The Socialist Party and United Left Alliance will champion this fight in the political field."

Household Tax meeting on Morning Ireland

Clare speaking at public meeting on Household Tax Feb 6th in Galway  recorded for broadcast on RTE's Morning Ireland

cue point #4 

TDs state that yesterday'​s Irish Independen​t Article Amounts to Incitement to Hatred

Socialist Party TDs have referred to the Irish Independent's front page article yesterday, 1st of February as 'tantamount to incitement to hatred.'

''The impression created by the paper's front page article yesterday was that unemployment was being chosen and relished. The original article, appearing in Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza reveals a situation exactly the opposite to this. The level of inaccuracy cannot be put down to a careless mistranslation but rather it amounts to an attack on foreign national workers, which, as the Polish Ambassador alluded to yesterday, is an ugly feature of history in times of economic recession,' Clare Daly, Socialist Party TD for Dublin North stated today.

The Indepedent's original article on the subject claimed that the Polish woman living in Donegal, pseudonymously called 'Magda' had stated that living on Social Welfare was 'like a Hawaiian massage.' In fact, she had referred to having studied a FAS course in massage and was hoping to earn a living from this skill in the future. She also specifically stated in the original article '“I have a big problem with being unemployed, I don’t want to live at the State’s expense and for that reason I use this assistance to allow me start up my own business”.

Joe Higgins TD said, 'In the context of continuous attacks on Social Welfare both here and in the UK, where the current Social Welfare Bill aims to slash billions from the welfare state, it is unacceptable that the Independent would publish such an inaccurate and yes, racist article, which would create a backlash against foreign national workers.'

Clare Daly continued, 'The Independent should print a front page apology, dealing with the issue in equivalent length to the original article which they published with abandon. The confusion and controversy which the article generated has created a lasting false impression in relation to the experience of people on Social Welfare and should be addressed comprehensively. It is an abuse of the newspapers position that they have done this.

Questions from Socialist Party deputy reveal explosion in case-load and waiting times at the Employment Appeal Tribunal

Clare Daly TD calls on DAA and Spar to protect the jobs of former Point Three workers in Dublin Airport

Clare Daly TD calls on DAA and Spar to protect the jobs of former Point Three workers

Lack of reassurances to 15 staff a scandal

"Following the decision by the DAA to put out to tender two kiosk spaces previously operated by Point Three Limited both outlets were closed on 15th October.

"Workers were told that Spar won the tenders. What should have followed was a relatively seamless refitting of both shops and under the laws relating to the transfer of undertakings the Point Three employees would continue to work under Spar.

"However since the closure of the Point Three shops workers were told that there would be a delay of four to six weeks before Spar would be in situ thus creating a considerable loss of income. However there has been no engagement with the 15 workers by Spar management to reassure them of their jobs. 

"I call on Spar and the DAA to properly engage with the workers and furthermore ensure that between them they compensate the workers for any loss of income arising from these delays."

Clare Daly on FCTV re: Rush Super Sewage Treatment Plant http://url.ie/dgfo

Water Services Amendment Bill paves the way for further privatisation of public services

Responding to the publication of the Water Services Amendment Bill

"The proposed Water Services Amendment Bill to enable inspection of
septic tanks is part of the further privatisation of public services.
The local authorities already know that all houses not connected to a
public sewer dispose of effluent to a cess pit, septic tank or package
treatment plant so what is this registration process for other than to
get the charge accepted so that it can be increased in the future?

"The local authority Water Services already have staff capable of
compiling all the information required in relation to the type of
system in use and the associated percolation areas. In addition, the
legislation proposes that the local authorities be ignored again as
the EPA will organise an inspection service – application fee to
register as inspector  is €1,000 This is all part and parcel of the
plan to privatise the water services which will inevitably impose more
costs on householders already stretched to the limit.

"Eamon O’Cuiv has made similar points but has some neck given his
party's role in government and on local authorities over the past
decades where they used Section 4 legislation to overturn planning
advice. The failure of FF, FG the Greens and Labour in Government
during this period has created the situation whereby probably 50% of
the individual house treatment systems are not compliant with many not
having any secondary treatment.

"When these systems inevitably fail the initial inspection the house
owner will be faced with significant works to enable compliance with
the EPA standards – a new septic tank and percolation system, testing
of soil for infiltration characteristics, civil engineering works and
professional fees.

"Taxpayers in rural areas-  not all rural residents - can justifiably
feel hard done by given that billions have been  spent during the past
decade on upgrading of waste water treatment systems to benefit  urban
areas.

"While the upgrading of septic tanks and other treatment systems  is
definitely needed, the attempted privatisation should be resisted.

"Better by far, that a government task force employ thousands of the
unemployed engineers, technicians and other  building workers to
systematically  inspect and remediate the treatment systems throughout
the country and to connect as many as possible to public sewers and
ugrade or new public waste water treatment plants.

"Where’s the money going to come from? The €715 million of bankers
debt handed over to unknown bondholders by Fine Gael and Labour  this
week would have made a good start."

Socialist Party/United Left Alliance TDs call on Táiniste to demand no harm be done to activists Freedom Flotilla

Clare Daly SNAPT