“Such a parcel of rogues in a nation”
The new Irish government
Part Two: Programme for Government
24 January 2024
Fine Gael leader Simon Harris and Fianna
Fail leader, Michael Martin
The fairly similar programmes of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were summed up as “One for everyone in the audience” - piecemeal small-scale reforms to win over select groups and avoiding any direct major state investment. In the background we had business as usual; subsidies for local business supported by the central plank of capitulation to transnational corporations to ensure the inflow of corporation tax. Of course, if the economy is run in the interests of corporations, it cannot also be run in the interests of Irish workers, who will continue to struggle.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the area of housing, where funds are aimed at subsidies to developers and to buyers, accelerating an already out of control market. There is a reference to tenant rights, but as the previous government ended a ban on no-fault evictions, no change is expected. The same can be said of homeless figures.
Health involves a commitment to the National Children’s Hospital, but as this should have been completed years ago at a fraction of the price, this simply draws attention to endemic corruption. There are promises of more GPs, but no real change to a privatisation system.
Education is marked by an absence of any serious capital investment, and environmental measures have been cut back. The big claim is that the billions from the Apple tax heist will be used for investment in infrastructure, but this will follow the pattern of the past and involve massive giveaways to private investors.
The real role of the government as an agent of imperialism are demonstrated by their approach to Palestine. A promise to enact an Occupied Territories bill that they blocked throughout the last parliament is to go through in this parliament, but unfortunately will have to be completely rewritten and delayed further. Activists were stunned to further discover that there is an intention to adopt an international holocaust definition of anti-semitism that conflates anti-semitism with criticism of Israel. This definition has been used to suppress democratic rights across America and is being increasingly used in the UK to suppress demonstrations opposing genocide.
There is no accident here. A promise to review a triple lock mechanism on Irish neutrality will accelerate very evident moves towards de facto membership of NATO and increasing involvement in European war.
The Irish capitalist class is betting everything on imperialism. Even their own oversight body condemns them for recklessness and their Rainy Day fund as insufficient.
The rain is coming. Trump has now been sworn in. He wants to tax American firms operating in Ireland. He wants to repatriate jobs to America. His economic plans will call chaos in the US and turmoil in the global economy.
Our unpopular, incompetent and corrupt administration will not be able to cope with their one-trick pony of capitulation and accommodation. While billions are held by the state the day-to-day life of the workers will continue to worsen. In a harsher environment we will see the return of the Garda heavy gang and increasing repression.