University Observer feature on Gilmore 250 Campaign

Bellow is a link to an feature in UCD's University Observer I was quoted in my campacity as Chairperson of UCD Labour on UCDSU's anti-fees campaign; "Gilmore 250". To be fair to the writer(who I believe is actually a Fianna Fáil member) he seems to have put together a pretty fair article... in fact I think if anything it favours Labour and my self and lot more than the Education Officer or UCDSU:

University Observer: Scapegoating Gilmore

College Tribune Article: UCDSU protest UCD Labour Homeless Event

Gave an interview to UCD's College Tribune after the Students' Union protested a UCD Labour event on homelessness(during UCD's Homeless Week with St Vincent de Paul) because Jan O'Sullivan was attending as Minister for Housing. Meanwhile on the other side of campus Minister Brian Hayes talked to Young Fine Gael on the budget.

What made things worse is a week later when Enda Kenny was in UCD to open the new Students' Centre not only did UCDSU fail to protest, but they shared a platform with him and condemned those that did protest. Talk about double standards.

Not a great article with a pretty biased title and some creative editing that left out several mentions by me of Labour Youth being opposed to fees. But I knew going in it'd be a tough interview but thought it was better to get our side of the story in:

UCDSU Protest Homeless Event

Why I'm voting NO

So with the Fiscal Compact Treaty Referendum this week I'd just like to say why I'm voting No and also hopefully convince you likewise.

• ESM Funding: This is the main reason being given by the Yes side to vote yes. Basically they claim that we need to ratify this treat in order to access bailout funds in the future from the new European Stability Mechanism. But if a second bailout is necessary we have until April 2013 to claim from is predecessors, the Financial Stability Mechanism(EFSM) and  Financial Stability Facility(EFSF). Not to mention a huge chunk of these bailout funds are being used to service the Irish banking sectors debts which the Irish Government took on during the collapse of the Banking sector. This is an area where the ECB has a lot of vested interest, so they wouldn't want to deny Rescue Funds for fear that Ireland would default on these debts.
  
  The inclusion of ESM funding into this Fiscal Treaty is nothing but an attempt to bully countries into ratifying it by putting a gun to their heads. Though voting Yes will not even give us the right to this funding, only the right to apply. The idea though that emergency funds would be denied because of a No vote though is nonsense. As Michael Taft has pointed out the granting of Emergency Funds will be decided on what ensures the stability of the Euro, not the result of this referendum.
  
  Basically a Yes vote wont guarantee ESM Funding any more than a No vote.

• Austerity: Voting No will not stop the current Austerity being pursued by the Irish Government. The posters by the likes of the ULA are completely misleading when they say things like "Vote No to stop Water and Household Charges". Its nothing but electioneering on their part and they ought to be ashamed about the way they have run this campaign so far. Neither will voting Yes make the Austerity we are facing in the next few years any worse for that matter. This is about the future.
  
  By linking a country's Debt Celling to GDP it means that the next time Ireland finds itself in a recession it will be forced to impose Austerity in order to balance its budget in line with conditions within this Treaty(ie Deficit of less than 3% of GDP and overall debt bellow 60% of GDP). This German ideal of balanced budgets just is not going to work for the Irish Economy. It also will do nothing to prevent the kind of reckless actions pursued by the Fianna Fáil Government, as despite their low taxes and high spending the strong growth of the Irish Economy during that time meant they would of never violated these conditions had they been in place. Where this will come into play is when the economy is weak.
  
  Since Franklin D Roosevelt the common sense approach to recession has been Government stimulus to compensate for the lack activity in the economy. This is in line with John Maynard Keynes' attitudes to perusing Expansionary Fiscal Policy to achieve economic growth to, though the Fiscal Treaty will effectively rule this out as an option for countries.
  
  Aren't these things already in place though? Yes, through the EU's Sixpack agreement countries must reduce their budget deficit to 3% of GDP and national debt to 60% of GDP. Thats why the Government is imposing its current austerity agenda, to bring us in line with those figures. The fact is though, that its not working. The Fiscal Treaty will make sure that countries follow this Austerity Agenda, failing to do so will result in fines being imposed on dissenting countries.
  
  On top of it not being Economically viable, Austerity also hurts communities and the most vulnerably in our society. We cannot let it become enshrined into European Law.

• Going Against the rest of Europe: All across the EU recently, when the people have being given the choice, they have rejected Austerity. It has recently been seen in the collapse of Pro-Austerity Governments in France, Greece, Romania and German states of  North Rhine-
  Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein. Now it is Ireland turn to say No to the neoliberal agenda being pursued by the EU.
  
  Nobel Prize wining economist Paul Krugman has pointed out time and time again how flawed the EU's policies towards the finical and debt crisis have been. Now though there is a sign of change, growth and expansionary policies are for the first time starting to be put on the agenda. A Yes vote will signal Ireland's willing to go on with the status quo of endless cuts in an attempt to maybe possible make our economy more attractive for private investment.
  
  A No vote though will show that Ireland has had enough, it will show that we can't wait for private investment. We need direct and public stimulus of our economy now if we want to return to growth. This platform is gradually making its way onto the European agenda, its time we as a country throw our full weight behind this charge. So lets say NO to the status quo.

This is why I'm voting No. Its not about saying yes or no to Europe, is about the kind of Europe you want to see. The Irish people should follow their fellow Europeans in giving this kind of Europe a resounding NO.

Article for the Terenure College Annual

Getting our Leaving Certificate Results at World Youth Day!

Sean Glennon, Class 2011

Through Terenure College the Order of the Carmelites has guided thousands of young people through their values of Community, Prayer and Service. The Carmelites educated me for 10 years in Terenure College, and then in August 2011, after finishing my Leaving Certificate, I had the privilege of joining them, as part of the Carmelite Youth Ministry’s pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Madrid.

World Youth Day is an amazing event. It’s a gathering of young Catholics from all across the world in a massive celebration of faith. In 2011 it was held in Madrid with an estimated two million young people travelling to the city to take part. 35 of these pilgrims made up the Irish Carmelite group.

We arrived Saturday evening and spent the next two days preparing for the coming week and reflecting on what the following days would mean to us and our faith, as well as exploring the beautiful city of Madrid and getting to know each other over a few pints. It was an amazing experience to walk around the city, as it filled with young people, and being stopped constantly for photos or just a chat all because we were Irish. It’s nice to know as a Nation we are still universally loved by the world. It was not until Tuesday evening that we gathered in the city-centre for the opening mass proceeded over by the Archbishop of Madrid. The streets were packed with over a million people as we sat amongst dozens of other nationalities.

The following day was one of the most important as we gathered in a school in suburban Madrid with fellow Carmelites who had also made the journey to Madrid for World Youth Day (it also happened to be the day that myself and two of my classmates Cathal Kerins and Pierce Kehoe all got our Leaving Cert results!). This day allowed us reflect on the Carmelite Charism of Community, Prayer and Service. As someone of had spent 10 years around members of the Carmelite Order these values have come to mean a lot to me. Any student of Terenure College will be aware that the Carmelites live together as a Community, students also feel that by attending Terenure College they too are part of this Carmelite family as they join the Order in celebrating, practicing and developing their faith. As a group in Madrid prayer was a central part of our week. Every morning we would come together in prayer before we carried on with the day, this for me made travelling with Carmelites by far the best way to experience World Youth Day. Finally, Service as part of the Carmelite Charism is a fundamental part of our Christian faith. We see it best in Ireland through the education they give in Terenure but also in community work done in Whitefriar Street and by Carmelite communities across Ireland.

Thursday was the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI. Once again we gathered in the city centre with our fellow Catholics to hear his welcoming and message to young people who had come to Madrid. Most memorable was the time we spent waiting for him to arrive as we joined in the street party that had erupted with dancing and music provided by an Angolan group of pilgrims. Though the Pope’s words were moving and inspired greatly the crowd of young followers of Christ, the following morning was one of the most enjoyable for me as we assembled in a stadium with thousands of other English speakers for Catechesis sessions and to celebrate Mass by Archbishop of New York, Tim Dolan. He gave an amazing (and also very humorous at times) homily that I’m sure no one there will soon forget.

The Saturday saw us leave our wonderful apartment to travel to the Aerodrome for the nightlong Vigil with the Pope. In a very biblical scene the Pope gave his message to 2 million young adults as the night sky was lit up by thunder and we sheltered from the rain under our tricolours (this was after we had a week of nothing but blue skies and 40 degree temperatures). Though the next morning unfortunately we all decided to leave before the Pope’s closing Mass, we all attended Mass in the city together and then gathered back at our apartment to look back on our experiences during the week. It had been an amazing and powerful experience for us all. We had all come to Madrid at different levels of our faith, though left with a common experience.

The Carmelite Youth Ministry is now preparing for our Recife relief mission and pilgrimage to World Youth Day 2013 in Rio, it will be not only a celebration of faith but also two weeks of giving back and service to our fellow human beings. Finally, I’d like to thank Marie Ward for organising the trip, Fr. Dermot Kelly, Br. James Eivers, Br. Dave Twohig and all the other Carmelites who travelled with us and also the Carmelite community in Terenure College for all their support. 

Fiscal Compact Treaty(my Left Tribune Article)

It is no surprise to look around Europe and see a cohort of right-wing and conservative governments seated around the European Council after reading the fiscal compact. This is because the measures contain in the fiscal compact seek to make progressive economics illegal in Europe forever.

The fiscal compact seeks to force countries into a fiscal straitjacket by maintaining a balanced or surplus budget by limiting their deficit to 0.5% of gross domestic product. What Ireland’s finical problems have told us that the “if I have, I spend it” attitude that enforces pro-cyclical economics is deeply flawed. It is the consensus of the Left that austerity does not work. It acts to further supress the economy and limits the opportunity for growth. We know that what is needed is an investment lead recovery; it’s the best and fairest way of returning to economic prosperity.

We on the left know that expenditure cuts disproportionately hit low income earners. It is important to remember that we are where we are due to neoliberal policies and the right in Europe want us to give them another chance. Despite knowing that investment is fairer on society than austerity it also makes more economic sense too. At the moment consumer confidence is low and no matter how much the government call on people to spend to help stimulate the economy, it is unreasonable to expect them to do so whilst they are experiencing increasing financial burdens with the constant fear of losing their job. That’s where a sensible government needs to step in and spend countercyclical to kick start the economy. You can’t cut your way out of a recession, but you can certainly grow your way out.

There for the name ‘Growth and Stability Pact’ is hugely misleading, as this is the exact opposite of what this treaty seeks to have implemented across Europe. The imposed debt ceiling will mean that as countries’ economies go into decline they’ll be legally obliged to reduce their deficit, ie impose austerity. In the aftermath to the Euro crisis we were told that it was impractical to have a monetary union without a fiscal union.  It now is being sold by European leaders, including Enda Kenny and  the Irish Government, as a measure to stop governments going wild with spending as the Irish Government did from 1997 onwards. This is not the case at all, that was pro-cyclical spending the kind of economic policy this Fiscal Compact would see institutionalised. In the aftermath to the Euro crisis we were told that it was impractical to have a monetary union without a fiscal union. Minister of State for Europe, Lucinda Creighton was quick to defend such a move with the promise of Eurobonds and support in the form of stimulus from Europe. None of this has come to fruition due to unwillingness by the German government look after its own self-interest.

They are instead making it illegal to pursue countercyclical economic policies though an imposed debt ceiling linked to GDP. So basically when the economy is in recession the government will not be allowed to stimulate to compensate for a fluctuating economy.

We are now also being told by Michael Noonan and Brian Hayes that is necessary for Ireland to approve this treaty to avail of bailout funds in the future. As a member state of the International Monetary Fund though we are not solely reliant on the European Commission and European Central Bank to lend us money in desperate times. These are after all the intuitions which contributed to Ireland’s banking sector collapse and now are willing to see the Irish people burdened to protect their vested interests. Another piece of propaganda is the selling of the vote as a referendum on our Euro membership. Nonsense once again. There is an obvious need to solve the Euro debt crisis, no one is denying that, but we are saying there is a better way. A way the left should be advocating that includes economic stimulus, Eurobonds and a financial transaction tax as part of a new progressive European agenda. It’s the common sense approach. Neoliberalism has failed, why are we so insistent on letting it guide us out of this crisis.

The entire treaty is based on the right’s opinion that the only way to achieve economic growth is to inflict austerity in the hopes it might create the conditions necessary. Ridiculous if you consider austerity will damage the economy beyond repair whilst hurting the most vulnerable in society. We are not just being asked to give neoliberalism another chance, but to enshrine it into European law and actually make a Keynesian and expansionary alternative unconstitutional.  We ought to tell them no.

Local Government Reform

Since independence Local Government has become more and more controlled by the central Government. This goes back to the need to prevent the corruption that was rife in Local Authority councils whilst Ireland was part of the United Kingdom.

Now though it is time to put democracy back in to our local government. Currently the executive figures within councils are the County/City Managers. Thanks to a series of regressive legislation by Fianna Fáil Governments these managers actually have more authority over the council than democratically elected councillors. The most efficient way of introducing democracy is too replace these managers with Chief Executives(as promised in the programme for government) and make them answerable to a democratically elected executive figure in the council. This figure could take one of two forms:
1) A Council Leader who is elected as a councillor onto the local authority and is elected by other councillors to take on an executive leadership position for the 5 year term(a lot like the way the Taoiseach is elected and answerable to the Dáil).
2) A directly elected Mayor to wield executive authority over the work of the council but with her/his work scrutinised and supervised by local councillors.

Both positions are equally democratic and would take away executive power from unelected and unaccountable officials. Though obviously both have draw backs, like the giving of so much power to a Council Leader who many people might not even recognise or a Mayor whose independence from the council could create a presidential style figure. But I think the Govt should give the decision to the people locally as different council areas have different needs. Elected Mayors, for example, might suit urban councils whilst Council Leaders would be better suited in rural councils.

Once Council's have a more democratic leadership its time for the central government to hand over revenue raising authority, eg the Property Tax, Water Levy, etc. Council's need to be able to fund there own work with as little funding from the central government as possible.

The next problem is the local authorities themselves. The current two tier Local Government system needs to be done away with. On top of Ireland's 34 City and County Councils we also have 5 Borough and 75 Town Councils(mostly in areas with very small populations). Despite the huge amount of these second tier authorities, Ireland's second most populous county(and third most populous council area), South Dublin County does not have a single town council. And rightly so. Town Councils are just another layer of bureaucracy that should be gotten away with. Their functions can be assumed by Local Area Committees of the County Council. There is an argument to be made that Borough Councils continue to exist in the same way City Councils exists independently within their counties, though it might not be practical for all of them to take over the functions of the county councils in there area. Limerick City Council should also continue to remain separate from the rest of Limerick County due to need for the city to govern itself. 

Town Council's have always meant that rural areas have been more represented than urban areas. Though on top of this, voters in the Dublin region are severely under-represented. To take South Dublin County Council and contrast it with Leitrim County Council. SDCC serves a population of 265,000 with 26 Councillors whilst LCC serves a population of 32,000 with 22 Councillors. So basically South Dublin's extra 233,000 gets it only four more councillors. And there is a similar situation across other counties when compared to the four Dublin authorities. To bring things into line you councillors need to be decreased whilst increasing councillors in the Dublin Region. The best way to do this is by reducing the number of councillors elected to rural councils. Though its more complicated in Dublin as you cannot just start loading ridiculous amounts of councillors into under represented councils. The ideal solution would be to increase the number of local authorities themselves, giving the larger areas like Tallaght their own council.

Of course the best way to increase Dublin local government representation is the introduction of a regional authority over the entire Dublin Area. This would ideally be headed up by a directly elected Mayor and Assembly. In contrast to what the Green Party tried to push through, the powers of the Mayor should not be taken from the existing local authorities in Dublin but instead should be taken from central Government Departments(Environment, Transport, Enterprise, Arts, etc.) and quangos. The Dublin Region produces 50% of Ireland's revenue, and given the large population should be allowed have a certain amount of autonomy over its own affairs to ensure the proper management of the economy, infrastructure and services in the Region. The only way to ensure the people of Dublin are best served is by having a more integrated way of providing services.

So thats just my two cent on the issue of Local Government Reform.