Workers at the Dessian Products factory in Apollo Road have been on strike since May 19. The strike began over the sacking of Paddy McCloskey, one of the two T&GWU shop stewards in the plant.
Police brutality and water cannons used against May Day protesters in Dublin
Socialist MP exposes use of race card by government
Just one Joe Higgins is immensely more effective than all five of the Sinn Féin TDs, according to Labour leader Pat Rabbitte. Attacking Sinn Féin’s track record, Mr Rabbitte said the party works hard at […]
Across Western Europe there is a debate on the left as to the best way to create or recreate new mass parties of the working class. The sharp move to the right of the social […]
Will the truth come out?
Socialist Party campaigns for mass non-payment of fees for apprentices
Over December and January a spate of racist attacks against members of ethnic minority communities living in Belfast received international media attention. In an article on 10 January, The Guardian labelled Northern Ireland "the race-hate […]
Gordan McNeill and Madan Gupta agreed to end their hunger strike following a meeting with T&GWU Regional Secretary, Brendan Hodgers, at which their call for an enquiry to investigate all that happened during their dispute, […]
To defeat non-collection, large mobilisations in the communities that result in widespread disruption of the service and massive co-ordinated political pressure are necessary. The campaign in South Dublin is at a decisive stage.
"We want the T&GWU to agree an immediate inquiry into the role played by our union officials at the time we were sacked. We will not come off our hunger strike until we get it" […]
Mr J. Higgins: The haste in which the Minister is pushing this Bill through Dáil Éireann (Parliament) is not just indecent but obscene. The Government, when it comes to targeting the vulnerable, cannot hasten enough. […]
This Government and its lackeys on the four Dublin councils had hoped that they could enter the new year with the bin tax imposed and long forgotten.
ON 5 JANUARY Jeffrey Donaldson, Norah Beare and Arlene Foster announced that they were joining the DUP. Their move underlined the results of the recent elections. The DUP are now the largest unionist party and […]
2004 will be a defining year for the Fianna Fail/Progressive Democrat coalition. They face their first electoral test on 11 June in the Local and European elections the first to take place since their re-election […]
Rent allowance cuts may make 4,000 homeless
On 11 December, the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA) union held a very successful one-day strike. This was in protest against the derisory pay deal imposed by central government – a 0% cost of […]
THE BATTLE against the bin tax in the last two months has raised ominous signs for all workers. The capitalist establishment in all its guises – political parties, media, courts and the Gardai has demonstrated […]
Union inaction – community direct action
Assembly elections
DESPITE MONTHS of negotiations, no agreement has been reached on how an Executive will be put in place after the election. At the last minute David Trimble rejected IRA decommissioning moves as not "transparent" enough […]
I was talking to David for about 2 hours. And I briefly spoke to Fionn, I didn’t see Mick. David is getting on well. He is in a cell with Fionn. They are settling in […]
South Belfast Socialist Party candidate Jim Barbour today called on Finance Minister, Ian Pearson, to resign immediately over his handling of pay negotiations with civil servants.
The Socialist Party is contesting the upcoming Northern Ireland Assembly to be held on Nov 26th.
The Socialist Party has decided to challenge the right wing and sectarian parties by putting up two candidates for the Assembly. Voters in East and South Belfast will have the chance to elect someone who […]
Fianna Fáil T.D., G.V. Wright badly injures a pedestrian and walks away with a €900 fine.
For most people the only choice in this election is between the same old mix of sectarian and right wing politicians. But in two constituencies, voters will have a choice. The Socialist Party is standing […]
On Tuesday last, a further 6 anti-bin tax protesters were jailed for their opposition to the bin tax and to the non-collection of tens of thousands of householders’ rubbish in the South Dublin area. Among […]
Mr. J. Higgins: The courts are not in a position to call alleged murderers to account but the High Court this morning could send six innocent residents from south Dublin to jail for three weeks […]
The three TDs said in a statement:
In the Dáil (Irish parliament), on 4 November, Socialist Party TD (MP) Joe Higgins challenged the Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) on the jailing of six South Dublin anti-bin tax residents by the High Court.
16 residents from right across the South Dublin County are due to appear in the High Court today at 2pm on a committal order from South Dublin County Council. Most are in court for involvement […]
The Anti-Bin Tax Campaigns in Dublin have successfully blockaded the bin depots at Collins Avenue, Rathmines, Davitt Road (Dublin City Council) and Ballymount (South County Dublin) this morning (30th October).
Free the Bin Tax Campaigners
Council’s new dirty trick a major provocation.
Over 14/15 October, the battle against the bin tax in Dublin reached new heights. Over those two days, protest action forced 90% of bin services in greater Dublin to close down.
A successful picket of the Irish Consulate in Cardiff was held on Wednesday.
This action was called in response to the jailings of 13 more people, most of them ordinary residents from Finglas and other parts of the City of Dublin. Fingal Anti Bin Tax campaign, Finglas Against […]
Bin tax protesters, their relatives and fellow campaigners were visibly shocked by the imprisonment of ten residents by the High Court on 9 October. This shock quickly turned to anger and determination to continue the […]
Thursday morning, October 9, saw 10 local residents jailed for two weeks (one woman with a small child for one week because she has to breastfeed her baby) for their part in the ongoing protests […]
"THE PROTESTS against the bin tax are now moving in a more decisive way in all the four local authority areas in Dublin. At present Fingal is where the battle is centred. This is because […]
List of international supporters of the imprisoned anti-bin charges activists in Dublin, Socialist Party TD (member of Parliament) Joe Higgins and Socialist Party Councillor Clare Daly.
Dear Prime Minister of Ireland
You’d miss Joe Higgins. It would be unfair to the performance of the Opposition yesterday to say that it was like watching Tyrone without Peter Canavan [a Gaelic football star who plays for County Tyrone].
Dublin West Socialist Party TD (MP), Joe Higgins and Dublin North Socialist Party councillor, Clare Daly have been sentenced to a month in prison and are currently serving their sentence in Dublin’s Mountjoy prison.
Today Joe Higgins expressed his frustration at being gagged but told a Socialist Party colleague Mick Barry who visited him in Mountjoy that he was "infuriated" over the attack, which ICTU General Secretary David Begg […]
Protests against the jailing of Joe Higgins TD, Councillor Clare Daly (both Socialist Party) in Dublin, continue to spread around the world.
Breda, The Netherlands, September 20th 2003.
Protesters chanted slogans outside the Irish Embassy in Athens on Wednesday 24 September in support of Joe Higgins and Clare Daly.
Protest statement sent by Scottish trade unionists and socialists to Fingal County Council in Ireland, on 21 September 2003.
The jailing of Joe Higgins TD and Cllr Clare Daly is a scandal. The Ansbacher Millionaires tax dodgers go free. Liam Lawlor is at liberty. But two public representatives with the courage of their convictions […]
Thousands of demonstrators marched through Dublin yesterday in protest against the unfair bin tax and the jailing of Joe Higgins and Clare Daly.
LAST FRIDAY’S jailing of the Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins and Councillor Clare Daly represents an attempt by the capitalist establishment to intimidate and smash the anti-bin tax movement.
Their ‘crime’ is defending the poor in the fight against the Bin Tax!
The 3-year old campaign in the Southern Irish capital, Dublin, against double taxation for workers in the form of a bin tax has reached a decisive stage.
Yesterday afternoon a judge in the High Court in Dublin granted Fingal council a permanent injunction against fifteen anti-bin tax campaign activists including ten Socialist Party members.
One of the most vicious recent attacks was on the home of a Muslim family in Craigavon. A gang of up to ten men armed with baseball bats threatened to burn the family out; they […]
In the last few weeks, the UUP has been convulsed by its most profound crisis since 1974. This crisis will have major consequences for the peace process.
The Peace process remains in deep crisis. Despite desperate efforts by the British and Irish governments over the last few months, it has not proved possible to re-establish the Executive, and the Assembly elections have […]
THE FIRST anniversary of the Fianna Fail/Progressive Democrat government was marked by the publication of an opinion poll, that showed support for the government at a record low. Their satisfaction rating of just 28% is […]
A RECENT opinion poll demonstrates that a significant minority of voters in Northern Ireland are sick of the sectarian parties and are looking for an alternative. Up to seventeen per cent declared their intention to […]
Socialist Party (CWI in Ireland) member Carmel Gates has been elected President of NIPSA, Northern Ireland’s largest trade union and the main public sector union. The election took place at NIPSA’s conference last week and […]
Joe Higgins TD, Socialist Party stated (28 May 2003):
On 29 April, An Bord Pleanala announced that it had refused Enterprise Energy permission to construct a major onshore facility for bringing in natural gas from the Corrib gas field off the coast of Mayo. […]
THE NORTHERN Ireland Office has started the process to privatise the water services in Northern Ireland. Why?
AER LINGUS Catering workers staged a number of protest activities, at the Aer Lingus Head Office Building in the course of April. The protests were held to vent opposition to the announcement by Chief Executive […]
ONLY WEEKS after a report showed how long-term collusion between Britain’s security forces and loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland had led to murders such as that of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, more evidence of […]
THE CAMPAIGNS against bin charges around Dublin are gearing up for battle as the government is preparing to introduce a new "Environmental Waste Management Act" with powers to stop collection to non-payers.
WITH ONLY days to go before the close of nominations and even though campaigning was already under way, Tony Blair has called off the Northern Ireland Assembly elections. Despite his assurance that they will go […]
A protest organised by various anti war groups including the Irish Anti War movement was held outside the Dail (Irish parliament) where a debate over the continued use of Shannon airport for US war aircraft […]
Across Northern Ireland thousands of students walked out of schools on Day X, responding to the call from Youth Against War. The mood was determined.
Over 10 000 school students took part in the walk outs, rallies or in other forms of protest in the schools on March 5th.
Youth Against the War, the campaign set up by Socialist Youth, the Irish section of ISR, organised a successful walkout of school students in North Dublin yesterday. At 12.30 school students walked out of their […]
The use of Shannon airport in the west of Ireland by the US military has become a very controversial issue. As part of international and commercial agreements, Shannon has been used by military powers for […]
15 February was an historic day in Ireland. The anti-war demonstration in Dublin was not the biggest in Irish history (in 1979 the trade unions held a march of over 300,000 in Dublin demanding tax […]
The moves by France, Germany and Russia to slow the mad stampede of the Bush and Blair regimes to launch a war on Iraq are hugely significant. It is absolutely incredible that the Minister for […]
In recent months massive anti-war demonstrations have taken place in Europe and significantly in the US itself. With the outbreak of war these demonstrations will not diminish, but will instead dramatically grow in size and […]
Last Wednesday and Thursday the Irish parliament (the Dáil) debated a motion on Iraq. The motion was instigated by Joe Higgins and signed by him and a number of independent TD’s, Tony Gregory, Seamus Healy, […]
Under the repartition proposal scheme, 300,000 Catholics would be moved west of the River Bann and 200,000 Protestants in the opposite direction. If necessary, force would be used against those who refused to move.
Ireland’s referendum
AS TRIBUNALS go the interim report by Flood into planning corruption is extremely hard hitting and leaves nothing to the imagination.
Four months after nearly achieving an overall majority, Ahern’s epitaphs are being written and his government is severely undermined.
"It was an inspiring not to say informative experience. Around 100 young people took part in the conference. A number of discussions took place on the developments that are taking place across the world, especially […]
Health and postal workers in Northern Ireland were forced to take industrial action last week in protest against sectarian death threats from republican and loyalist paramilitaries.
THOUSANDS OF council workers, health and education workers joined the 17 July strike throughout Northern Ireland, picketing council offices, education and health boards, leisure centres and police stations.
Joe Higgins (Socialist Party MP in Ireland) made the following speech in the Irish Parliament (Dail) pouring scorn on the attempt by the Irish government to cover-up big-business scandal in the country.
The Socialist Party in Ireland, the Irish section of the CWI, scored spectacular successes in the recent Irish elections. Joe Higgins was re-elected as a TD (MP) in Dublin West, coming second out of the […]
In the late 1960s, the name of Frantz Fanon became associated with the idea of a armed revolution in the ’Third World’. In the words of his biographer, David, Macey, in his new book, ’Frantz […]
’I went to the World Social Forum at the request of our international movement – the Committee for Workers’ International – to assist in raising the need for a socialist alternative on a world basis […]
In response to the sectarian killing of 20 year-old postal worker Daniel McColgan and the sectarian attacks and threats on school students, Socialist Youth has set up School Students United Against Sectarianism.
At a special open meeting to be held Thursday evening, school students from both communities will launch a new campaign to combat sectarianism and to organise a school students strike to mobilise a mass turnout […]
The Socialist Party and its forerunners in Northern Ireland have consistently campaigned for working class unity and the struggle for socialism as the only answer to the sectarian division that is part of every day […]
Socialist Party T.D. Joe Higgins was suspended from the Dail today until the next session in 2001 because he protested against a ruling of the Ceann Comhairle that only the Leaders of Fine Gael and […]
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