Workers Solidarity Movement

The Southern general election saw six parties make it to the Dail. Five of them were open to coalition with any of the others, the PDs being willing to share power with anyone except Sinn Fein. They all looked for votes on the basis that they would be better managers of the present system.

An Post workers have been on the receiving end of a series of substantial blows which have held down pay rates and undermined rights with regard to status. The late 1970’s and early 1980’s saw strikes and protests by the workers to improve conditions, but recent years have seen management back on the offensive. The latest attack comes in the shape of “deregulation”, just another word for privatisation. If it isn’t stopped it’s going to impact on all of us for the worse.

So, for the first time in the history of the Irish state the Green Party are in government. Does this mean we will see any real, radical change? Can the Greens stay true to their Manifesto promises?

Never have we witnessed an election like the one just passed in the states history. Essentially, we witnessed a public refurendum on two possible coalitions. In the end we were given a government unique in the states history, in that for the first time it features the Green Party.

A collection of Irish anarchist articles on the rebellion of 1798 and the 1916 insurrection brought together in a single 40 page PDF pamphlet which you can download. 

Shelter, especially in the form of long-term housing, is a basic human need. That's why Abraham Maslow put it at the base of his hierarchy of needs back in 1943. As a basic requirement in life, it should also be seen as undeniable right - something all people deserve, no matter who they are or where they come from.

It has been said that the Irish are “obsessed with property”. Indeed the level of knowledge of the property market possessed by the average Irish taxi driver is Ireland is reputedly comparable to that possessed by full time real estate agents in some countries. In the run up to the 2007 election the various parties were scrambling to come up with an olive branch to offer the electorate in the property arena. The increasing difficulty faced by first-time buyers, and the pressure felt on the government was reflected to some degree in election promises including abolishing stamp duty entirely for first-time buyers and building more social housing.

The 'Miss D' case put in context with the struggle in Ireland for women to have full control over their own bodies and the position taken by the WSM on this issue. A few weeks ago, a 17 year old girl, 4 months pregnant, known as 'Miss D' was brought before the courts to determine whether or not she should be allowed to travel to England for an abortion. The baby she was carrying had been diagnosed with anencephaly, a condition that leads to still-births. The longest an infant has survived outside the womb with this condition is a few days. Yet the Irish government were unwilling to let Miss D have an abortion, denying Miss D's basic human rights under the guise of 'letting the baby die with dignity'.

DAY OF PROTEST
1-2pm
WEDNESDAY 6th JUNE

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  These three pieces were written by WSM members for indymedia.ie about the results of the 2007 election and its impact on the left. See our Election 2007 page at http://www.wsm.ie/election07 for what we had to say in advance of the election.

The playwrite Sean O'Casey was the first secretary of the Irish Citizen Army and in 1914 had drafted its constitution . He wrote this history of the Citizen Army in the period after the 1916 rising. By the time of the rising he had resigned from the ICA in protest at its decision to allow joint membership with the Irish Volunteers. O'Casey played no part in the rising although with other civilian men he was interned in the course of the rising.