STOP ISRAEL’S GENOCIDAL TERROR
US MILITARY OUT OF SHANNON – NO WEAPONS THROUGH IRISH AIRSPACE
By Jonathan Diebold
Repression – the last refuge of weak capitalist states
Governments around the world are finally tackling one of the gravest threats to our society, which, left unchecked, could have disastrous effects on the global capitalist system.
No, not the climate crisis, nor rising militarisation and the threat of war, nor the concentration of vast wealth into the hands of a tiny number of billionaires. Rather, it’s all those pesky protestors, with their thoughts, and their words, who just outright refuse to shut up and do as they're told.
Most especially, people are protesting about the genocide in Palestine. And no matter how many baton charges, strip searches, and mass arrests take place, no amount of police repression seems to shut them up – but it’s not for want of trying! Indeed, civic freedom monitor Civicus found 10% of all
civic repression worldwide last year was levied against the cause of Palestinian freedom.
Irish Penal Laws in Germany
Germany, a staunch ally of the Israeli regime, is one bastion of European liberal democracy leading the global charge against the freedom to protest. Bringing the Irish Penal Laws of old into the 21st century, the Irish language has been criminalised – or rather, used as an excuse to criminalise some demonstrators.
Like protestors Shane O’Brien and Bert Murray, two Irish people living in Germany were slated for deportation for chanting in Irish in front of the Irish embassy in Berlin last month, in spite of not receiving any convictions.
Solidarity repressed while far right march
Murray and O’Brien joined numerous others threatened with the same. The German state hides behind claims of anti-Semitism to clamp down on Palestine solidarity protests, where violent attacks by the police are frequently reported, ignoring the actual neo-Nazis marching in demonstrations called by far-right parties like the AfD.
UK – Conspiring Quakers
The national security of Great Britain was surely under dire threat earlier this year when a group of six young women stopped for tea and biscuits in a Quaker meeting house in Westminster. Twenty police officers
battered down the doors, violently arresting all involved. Their crime?
Daring to talk about organising protests. The women were arrested on conspiracy charges. For some, the fact that this meeting was publicly advertised, and that one of those arrested was actually a student journalist covering the meeting, might shed a bit of doubt on whether a secret conspiracy was being hatched at all, but not to these intrepid officers.
Labour continuing Conservative’s agenda
This group of activists (and one journalist) join hundreds of others arrested in the UK on spurious grounds, in order to repress increasing protests. From the 2023 Public Order Act, which restricted
protests which might cause “disruption”; to the new Crime and Policing Bill currently being considered; a slew of repressive measures have come from the Labour government – continuing on from where the Conservatives left off.
US – Land of the free, home of police brutality
The ‘Land of the Opportunity’ has seen shrinking opportunities for the expression of political dissent, especially when it comes to its massive support for Israel. Forty-one anti-protest bills were introduced across 22 states this year alone, along with a slew of executive orders straight from the top.
Attacks on universities
The “Unmasking Hamas Act,” which would impose a 15-year jail sentence for wearing a mask to a protest, joined several other bills proposed in March at federal level, while hundreds of millions in funding for third-level institutes has been suspended to force them to crack down on protests, and hundreds of student visas cancelled. Many involved in student protests, like Mahmoud Khalil, have been kidnapped by ICE, pending deportation. Trump is continuing and deepening a trend that began under Biden, which saw over 3,000 arrested on college campus encampments last year.
Government shift on pro-Palestine protests – why we need to fight back
By Bernadette Collins
DESPITE THE overwhelming solidarity with Palestine across Ireland, the Government and the Gardai by extension, has ramped up its efforts to silence protest. This shift in stance aligns with states like Germany, Britain, and the United States whose tactics to silence those speaking out against the genocide have become increasingly aggressive. Der Tagesspiegel, a German newspaper, reported in February that more than 9,000 criminal charges had been registered at pro-Palestinian protests in Berlin alone since October 2023. Similarly, in Britain and the US, Palestine solidarity protests on campuses have been brutally quashed.
On 27 January, Trump issued an executive order that the White House said would involve “forceful and unprecedented steps to marshal all Federal resources to combat the explosion of anti-Semitism on our campuses and in our streets since October 7, 2023.”
In April, the Berlin immigration office issued deportation orders for four people, including two Irish citizens, citing their involvement in a pro-Palestine protest. Similar examples are taking place throughout the United States, the
most prominent of which is Mahmoud Khalil – a Palestinian student whose wife gave birth to their son in April –who is currently being detained with deportation pending for his role in proPalestine campus protests.
Mother Against Genocide
The actions of the Irish Government recently highlight they are clearly taking instructions from their masters in Europe and the United States and not the people who elected them. This is evident in actions ranging from the Taoiseach’s grovelling at Trump in the White House, to the obfuscation and shelving, once again, of the Occupied Territories Bill – despite almost 70% of the public wanting it enacted. However, the brutality with which Mothers Against Genocide was treated on 30 March represented a marked shift in approach.
Mothers Against Genocide, which has been at the forefront of advocating for Palestinian rights since the beginning of the genocide, held a vigil on Mother's Day to honour the mothers and children who have been killed in Gaza. Fourteen of the activists were arrested and some were strip-searched by Gardaí, as well as subjected to cavity searches. Despite being gaslighted by
Gardaí, who deny any break with “procedures” but provide no evidence to support their claim, the women are determined to pursue their complaint about their treatment.
Sometimes the horrific news we are bombarded with can have a desensitizing impact but we should stop and ask ourselves; how did we get here – when Irish mothers, protesting the slaughter of children and the Irish Government's complicity in this, are being arrested and strip searched on Mother’s Day.
Make a stand
In response to Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger raising this in the Dail, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said there was “no problem” with peaceful protests, but that Mothers Against Genocide were blocking the entrance to Dáil Éireann. Causing a disruption is precisely the point of a protest – and it was indeed a peaceful one. It seems Mr. Martin would prefer these protests take place in a quiet corner whilst allowing business to continue as usual.
The implications of this repression extend beyond individual protests; it signals a broader trend in which the Irish government appears to be prioritizing diplomatic relations with Israel and the US over its purported commit-
ment to human rights. This comes at a time when we are seeing a rapid move toward militarism with the dismantling of the Triple Lock and increased mili-
tary spending. The despicable treatment of peace protestors is a harbinger of Ireland's future in an increasingly authoritarian world – if we allow it.
Activists with Mothers Against Genocide were arrested and strip-searched by Gardaí
Rusty Springs, rotten system: Scoliosis scandal exposes the cruel legacy of profit-driven healthcare
By Drew Frayne
THE HORRIFIC revelations of rusty, unapproved metal springs being implanted into the spines of vulnerable children in a public hospital should mark a turning point in Irish healthcare. But for the families affected, and for working-class communities across the country, this is not an isolated incident, it is the brutal consequence of decades of underfunding, Catholic Church ownership, mismanagement, and the State’s relentless drive to turn healthcare into a money making scheme.
The recent HIQA report into orthopaedic and scoliosis surgeries at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) Temple Street lays bare the appalling failures that led to children, including those with spina bifida, suffering serious complications and infections. One of the most shocking findings was the use of unauthorised steel springs, which eventually corroded, being implanted during spinal surgeries. These springs are intended for industrial use. At no point was consent for these experimental practices sought from patients or families. This is not just negligence, it is a barbaric act reminiscent of the most gruesome horror movies, and the result of decades of systemic and systematic attempts to apply market logic to health care in Ireland.
Unnecessary operations
This scandal comes in the wake of revelations that unnecessary hip operations were performed on children at Cappagh, Crumlin, and Temple Street
Hospital for the purposes of bringing in more cash. But the responsibility doesn’t stop with one incompetent consultant "Surgeon A" performing ad-hoc experiments, or one mismanaged hospital. The rot goes all the way to the top. The HSE and the Department of Health have left children suffering on waiting lists. In 2017, the Ombudsman for Children exposed the damage being done by delays in scoliosis treatment, labelling it a "Human Rights Issue". In 2022, the Government promised no child would wait longer than four months for surgery. Today, some wait for years. When €19 million was allocated to tackle those waiting lists the money wasn't spent properly, staffing issues were ignored, and no accountability followed.
History of medical abuse
These scandals are not just the result of incompetence. They are the result of conscious political choices. Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, and now even the Greens and Sinn Féin have shown they will not confront the logic of profit that underpins our broken system. Nor will they take on the powerful catholic church, which still dominates and controls our healthcare system. They have allowed private hospitals to flourish, and let the National Children's Hospital costs spiral out of control – with the corporate construction firm BAM benefiting as a result, receiving an additional €107.6 million, out of which €5 million was awarded as dividends to the BAM's owner. Scoliosis activists and campaigners have expressed outrage at the ongo-
ing scandals, and deep concern for the ability of the yet to be opened children's hospital to bring any relief; Scoliosis Ireland founder said they are "extremely worried about the new hospital.”
Full public inquiry now!
The Socialist Party demands a full public inquiry, not a whitewashed internal review, and real accountability for those responsible, including political leaders. But more than that, we demand system change. We call on healthcare workers to organise with whistle blowers and take any action they deem necessary to ensure this scandal is not repeated, up to and including strikes, work stoppages, and occupations.
Healthcare must be fully public, free at the point of use, and properly resourced. There must be a complete separation of church and health provision. That means taxing the rich and big business to fund the services we need, and expropriating church owned health facilities. It means ending the two-tier system and bringing private hospitals into public ownership. No child should ever suffer, let alone die, to protect the reputations of politicians and the profits of consultants. We must build a movement to fight the political establishment that serves private interests, and has failed generations of working-class people.
Housing inequality – 20 landlords own 20,000 homes
By Conor Burke
INA stark reminder of Ireland’s deepening housing crisis, newly released Revenue data shows that just 20 landlords, companies, or investment firms own nearly 20,000 properties – an average of almost 1,000 each. These elites paid €6.5 million in Local Property Tax (LPT) in 2024, or over €325,000 each, to cover their vast portfolios.
This comes as house prices and rents soar for ordinary people. It shatters the establishment myth that high costs stem from lack of supply – the truth is, prices are being driven up by corporate investors whose monopolisation of the market locks working-class people out.
In total, 26 landlords paid LPT on portfolios of more than 500 properties, revealing a disturbing concentration of housing in a few hands. Meanwhile, nearly 1.5 million property owners paid LPT in 2024, with the vast majority –over 1.3 million – owning just one home, usually their family residence.
This highlights not only housing inequality, but the unfairness of a system that taxes ordinary homeowners while leaving profiteering unchecked.
Profiting from basic human need
The data reveals a housing system warped by financialisation, where real estate giants profit off a basic human
need, while working families face unaffordable rents and young people are forced to emigrate just to dream of independent living. This gross imbalance shows the failure of market ideology. Housing is no longer seen as a place to live, but as a tool to extract wealth from the working class. We urgently need socialist housing
Billions more for Irish billionaires
By Alexander McGrath
AS OF this year, Ireland is home to 11 billionaires, having added two more members to their ranks throughout 2024. They increased their total wealth by $13 billion or €35.6 million per day, bringing this parasitic group’s combined wealth to a staggering $52 billion. This obscene concentration of wealth is morally outrageous and continues to exacerbate stark inequalities within our society.
This massive increase in wealth for the billionaire class occurs amidst a crushing housing crisis and a resulting homeless population of over 15,000 people. Meanwhile, the ruling parties continue to miss social housing targets year after year, building even fewer social homes in 2024 than in the previous year. This negligent approach to housing should come as no surprise, considering one in four TDs in the Dáil are landlords, and will continue to prioritise their interests over the needs of the people they claim to represent.
Widening gap
Just the top two billionaires own more wealth than the bottom 50% of Irish society. This widening gap between the ultra-rich and the working class is not just an economic disparity, it is the systematic theft of wealth and quality of life, both from the Irish people but also from the poorest globally – greatly hurting the ability of all to live dignified lives.
policies that prioritise people, not profit – including major state investment in an emergency public housing building programme, strong rent controls that slash and freeze them at affordable levels. It means the seizure of property wealth, such as unused land, to ensure that housing is treated as a right not a commodity.
It is clear that there is no path forward where the ruling parties continue to be cravenly subservient to capitalist interests and the billionaire class. Radical change means ending the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of these parasites and fighting a society based on the rule of the many, not the few.
The neglect of children with scoliosis and spina bifida is a national disgrace
PIP cuts: Fund welfare not warfare!
By Kevin Henry
THENEW series of welfare cuts implemented by the Starmer administration in Westminster is a deeply cruel attack on those in desperate need. It is estimated that through the Government’s proposed Personal Independence Payments (PIP) cuts, between 800,000 and 1.2 million disabled people will lose between £4,200 and £6,300 per year by 2029-2030. The Labour Party’s research predicts that an additional 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, will be in relative poverty after housing costs in the financial year ending 2030.
There are many aspects to the attack, including massive cuts to the health component of universal credit, which will reduce it from £97 a week to £50 a week for new claimants. This will cost sick and disabled people £2,800 per year. They are also considering cutting the health component to people under the age of 22, meaning over 100,000 18-21 year-olds who currently claim this benefit will lose out.
Labour’s lies Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and other Labour MPs comments that this is about going after false claimants are complete lies. The Government's research shows fraudulent claims to PIP amount to a paltry 0.1%. In fact, many multiples of that –4%– is estimated to have gone un-
claimed, despite entitlements. The reality is that after years of Tory cuts, thousands of those who apply to PIP are rejected. For example, I have had a heart attack, stroke and serious heart failure, including an LVAD and needing a heart transplant. However, I am still deemed well enough not to receive the daily living component of PIP, despite going through gruelling interviews which detail your life.
Fourteen years of Tory disability attacks, including the Bedroom Tax and two-child policy, measures described by experts as incompatible with human rights, mean our welfare system is profoundly inaccessible and has resulted in over 50,000 deaths.
Money for weapons of death
These attacks on welfare come at a time when the Government is engaged in an aggressive campaign of rearmament –£2.5 billion has already been announced in extra spending, with much more to come as part of a plan to increase military spending to 3% of GDP; it currently stands at 2.6%. All of this is linked to a broader programme of rearmament across Europe, which will involve spending €800 billion.
This shows the reality that the money exists to fund these services. Shamefully, political choices are being made to prioritise the highly profitable armaments industry, linked to growing rivalry between capitalist powers, rather than look after the disabled. It is also
part of a broader round of austerity measures, which demonstrate the Labour Government's commitment to continuing these measures, despite their disastrous impact on ordinary people. This includes the scrapping of winter fuel payments and the failure to pay compensation to WASPI women, despite previous commitments to do so. The Government could also take a very different direction and tax the rich; a recent wealth report from Oxfam UK found that billionaires saw their fortunes soar by £11 billion last year. Such taxes could raise billions and
Irish language signage – an important step forward
ON 14 April, a small protest took place to oppose new street signs following Sinn Féin's Minister Liz Kimmins announcing that Irish language signage would be approved and placed at the new public transport hub. Those trying to stir up opposition are beating the sectarian drum in an attempt to fear-monger and demonise the Irish language to distract from their failings and further their cynical agenda.
Spurious arguments
In Queen's University (QUB), the Ulster Young Unionists, a student society associated with the Ulster Unionist Party, have opposed a campaign for Irish language signage with spurious claims that this would add to concerns about QUB being made a "cold house" for unionists. This ignores the growing interest in the Irish language, including amongst those from Protestant backgrounds. They state that if resources are available, they should be utilised for the recently rolled-out free period product provision across the campus. This again perpetuates the misconception that there are limited resources and that we have to choose between which or whose rights we can advance. It is a fundamentally flawed, crass and cynically divisive line of argument that shows the shallowness of support for schemes like free period products from those who make these arguments. QUB is a very wealthy university and
can fund both initiatives. We can't allow these faux "either-or" arguments. The same applies to the rights of all other languages. Holding back funding to increase the visibility and accessibility of Irish is absolutely unjustified.
Welcome move
The initiative to include Irish-language signage in public spaces is a welcome move and the attempt to deny such signage must be condemned and resisted. This is about fighting for the true realisation of language rights for the Irish-speaking community and learners, as well as highlighting the cultural and historic relevance of the Irish language here and undoing the historic discrimination it has faced. Increased visibility of Irish in public spaces is an important aspect of this - a point that also applies to Ulster-Scots. But in the struggle for realising Irish language rights so much more is needed. The Irish language has long suffered from both historical and ongoing discrimination, underfunding, and neglect. For example, a law that dates back to 1737 banning the use of the Irish language in the courts was only recently repealed in the North. Due to the conviction, passion and resistance of the Irish-speaking community, the language remains intact to the degree that it is today. While bilingual signage is important and welcome progress, it is a relatively small step forward in the broader context of austerity, dispro -
are supported by three-quarters of the public. However, Labour won't change course unless it is forced to by public pressure. If an alternative isn’t built, the anger will be reflected in people voting for the far-right Reform party.
Protest movement needed
The primary responsibility for these cuts lies with Westminster and particularly the Labour Party, but the Executive parties at Stormont are also responsible. They have shown no willingness to implement mitigations, which would protect people here from these measures.
To build a movement that can win, we need to create a broad coalition of ordinary people, including disability groups and trade unions. Already, protests have been organised by disabled people against cuts, backed by unions such as NIPSA and Unite. In Britain, the People’s Assembly has called for protests in London, supported by unions like PCS and the RMT. Groups should come together to call protests here on that date and discuss how welfare reform can be pushed back.
portionately impacting the Irish Medium Sector. Sinn Féin, who hold the Finance Ministry, are well aware of the decisions they continue to make alongside the DUP, UUP and Alliance in the Executive which further decimate public services. This is having a massive impact on services like Foras na Gaeilge and recipients of funding,
which come via that organisation.
Underfunding in the south
That the support for a language must go beyond rhetoric is also evident when we look at the South. Irish is the first official language of the state but funding for Foras na Gaeilge is also limited, it receives a paltry €16 million
per annum. Its budget has increased only once since 2008 and austerity-era cuts are still largely in place. That is in spite of the billions in tax revenue from tax windfalls the Southern government has received in recent years. Crises in housing and the cost of living are also disproportionately affecting Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) areas, a crucial issue that the grassroots organisation Bánú has highlighted. This shows that struggles for Irish language rights is linked to a wider struggle to end the dearth of affordable homes and pathetically inadequate funding for public services.
Reject sectarianisation
The recent rise in interest in the Irish language in predominantly Protestant areas shows that this sectarian line of argument can be, and is being, undermined. The Turas project in East Belfast for example, who strongly argue that the Irish language belongs to everyone, has found their adult classes massively oversubscribed.
We must come together to fight against devastating attacks on public services in united campaigns that refuse to accept the lie that there are limited resources for public services including education. Such campaigns are strongest when they challenge the entire political establishment, who are united when it comes to attacking working-class communities and living standards.
Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are already meagre, making the cuts even more cruel
WITH TRUMP’S tariffs creating chaos around the globe, CONOR MURRAY answers some of the basic questions about the madness behind this economic policy.
l What is a tariff?
A tariff is a tax on importing goods from abroad. The tax is paid by the business which imports the goods, however, in order to maintain their profits they will typically pass this cost on to consumers by increasing prices. By making imported goods more expensive, tariffs can function as a type of subsidy to domestic corporations by insulating them from international competition.
l Why are Trump’s tariffs so significant?
Many countries already have tariffs, including the US. However, Trump’s have a much bigger scope and scale. On 2 April, Trump announced tariffs of at least 10% against every country on earth, much higher in many cases. This threatened to seriously disrupt global trade and supply chains and sent stock and bond markets into crisis. The reaction of the capitalist markets seems to have forced Trump to make a limited retreat, reducing tariffs on all countries other than China to a still significant 10%, to be reviewed after 90 days. Meanwhile, tariffs on China were raised to a prohibitive 145%, with China reciprocating with its own tariffs. There is now a significant trade war between the US and China, with trade between the world’s two largest economies likely to virtually cease unless there is a climbdown or a deal.
l What is the background to these tariffs?
Much of the coverage will focus on Trump’s personality, which is certainly erratic and bizarre. He also has a long record of advocating tariffs. In his first administration, Trump tended to be influenced or hemmed in by more traditional elements of the political establishment, but in his second term, Trump is surrounded by ideological cothinkers, influenced by nationalist fantasies about returning to America’s past. They harbour hostility even towards USallied countries, such as those in Europe, and seek to force them into an even more subservient relationship.
However, these tariffs are also a reflection of the struggle for global influence, markets and resources between the US and China, the two main rival imperialist powers in the world today. Tariffs against China began in Trump’s first term but continued under Biden. The US capitalist establishment has been seeking to end its reliance on China, particularly for key strategic industries by moving manufacturing to the US or to ‘’friendly nations”. Trump’s tariffs are massively accelerating this broader process.
l What will this mean for working-class people?
The tariffs are bad news for workingclass people in the US and worldwide. They will mean even more inflation and possibly even shortages in goods. Workers will face layoffs, cuts in hours and in pay. While the ups and downs of the stock market may seem very removed from our lives, unfortunately, many workers’ pension funds are being gambled on those markets. In the Global South, tariffs could be even more devastating with many poorer countries reliant on exporting commodities or cheap manufactured goods to the US. In Ireland, the state’s reliance on US multinationals to drive growth could be in crisis as global trade contracts, already there are fears for jobs at Intel and other companies could follow.
l Can tariffs bring well-paid manufacturing jobs to the US?
Whatever his real motivations, Trump has been publicly promising a return of well-paid manufacturing jobs to the US, where many areas have undoubtedly been devastated by deindustrialisation. It is an empty promise.
Developing an industrial base will not just be achieved by tariffs but would require massive investment in infrastructure, skills and training, constructing new factories etc. There is no indication that either US big business or Trump’s administration is willing to do this – they are actually preparing massive austerity and US capitalism
has been focused on increasing profits through speculation. Meanwhile, many existing US manufacturers are dependent on importing parts from China and other places.
Nor is it guaranteed that manufacturing jobs would bring security or high wages for workers. While the manufacturing jobs of the post-war period often did, this was a result of strong trade unions, high taxes on the wealthy and other things which Trump vehemently opposes. When Trump talks about bringing manufacturing back to the US, he consistently refers to the 19th century when millions of US workers toiled in factories with low wages, unsafe conditions and virtually no labour rights.
l Is returning to ‘Free Trade’ the solution?
The era of ‘Free Trade’ (or neoliberal globalisation) from the 1970s onwards was marked by attacks on the working class around the world, including privatisation, deregulation, assaults on unions and public services and a huge growth in inequality. In the Global North, it eliminated the relative economic security that some workers had achieved and replaced it with precarious work, increased indebtedness and housing crises. This model was discredited by the 2008 economic crash and the resulting austerity. In the Global South, much has been made of the alleged benefits of globalisation; however, with the exception of China, industrial development has actually stagnated or gone into reverse and many countries have been simply exploited as sources of commodities for the rich countries.
Free trade and protectionism are just different methods for capitalist governments to pursue the interests of their country’s corporate and big business interests at the expense of workers and the oppressed. While clearly opposing these tariffs, socialists should not be advocates for either model.
l How can working-class people respond?
First, working-class people did not create this crisis and must not pay the price for Trump’s tariffs or for any disputes between the different capitalist powers. This means organising to resist pay and job cuts, price rises and austerity. The trade unions in Ireland and internationally should be preparing a serious campaign of resistance, including strikes and workplace occupations where necessary.
Second, in Ireland, this poses the need for an alternative to the current economic model based on multinationals. We need a socialist industrial policy based on public investment and ownership geared to producing the things we need: housing, infrastructure, green energy etc.
Finally, the tariffs are just the latest in the capitalist polycrisis; a system which is delivering oligarchy, far-right authoritarianism, war, genocide and ecological catastrophe. We desperately need an alternative to this chaos – a socialist world where the wealth and resources are in the hands of the vast majority through public ownership and democratic planning, and geared towards fulfilling our needs and genuine international solidarity.
WHAT’S BEHIND TRUMP’S TARIFFS? Q&A
Trump’s tariffs and Ireland –
SINCE HIS inauguration, there has been a deluge of decrees from Trump. People are particularly concerned about the consequences of Trump’s new tariffs. Some are delayed, but others have been imposed, and it is already having a real impact.
It should be noted that he and other hard-right players like Tucker Carlson are directly intervening to stir up fascistic activity here by their very conscious elevation of Conor McGregor.
Indigenous industry hit
Forty per cent of all Irish whiskey exports go to the US and some production has been paused at Irish Distillers, who employ over 800. There is also uncertainty at Kerrygold (Ornua), which employs nearly 4,000. The Government’s plan, which was wholly insufficient in any case, to bring the “minimum wage” up to the “living wage” level has been ditched, and many people’s pensions have tanked due to the stocks and equity instability, both linked to the chaos Trump has caused.
Trump’s tariffs, but also his plan to cut US corporate tax, are a frontal attack on the model of capitalist development that the ruling class here has operated for nearly 70 years. Namely, this is to rely on foreign direct investment (FDI), increasingly from the US, to develop the economy and deliver tax revenue.
They hoped a menu of perks, including low taxes, would entice foreign capital to Ireland and that this would have a knock-on impact through economic 'linkages,' resulting in the development
The Taoiseach’s fawning over Trump had no eff
of the domestic economy. It hasn’t worked, as the domestic Irish economy remains weak, despite the surge in FDI from the early 1990s. While enormous wealth was made off the backs of Irish workers, not enough of it stayed here due to low corporate tax rates and other factors, with which to fund decent public services. This model has been a key reason why we have consistently had only third-rate public services and infrastructure compared to those in the rest of Europe.
Argentina: General strike rocks far-right Milei regime – an example for workers globally
By Michael Shiel
O N THURSDAY, 10 April, Argentina was hit by its third general strike since far-right president Javier Milei took office. Train journeys, shipments and flights were cancelled, and huge numbers of taxi drivers went on strike, with only buses remaining for public transport. Banks were shuttered, and hospitals were reduced to only emergency services. Many schools and universities were left empty, closed as educators and students either joined protests or couldn’t travel due to the stoppages.
Devastating Cuts
The strike was called by the CGT umbrella union, the largest in the country, in response to hyperinflation and devastating cuts to public spending. Milei’s government just made a deal for a $20 billion loan from the IMF, adding to the $44 billion the country already owes them, and to secure this deal the government cut price and currency controls. This led to inflation hitting 300%.
Echoing Elon Musk, Milei often posed with a chainsaw in hand to symbolise hollowing out the public sector and slashing public spending, with pension payments dropping 19% from January 2023 to January
2025. This attack on pensions was especially harsh: “After 40 years of contributing, you have to live a life of poverty,” a former Language and Literature teacher told Al Jazeera reporters.
Milei and Musk’s shared ‘chainsaw’ gimmick is no coincidence. Though Milei calls himself an “anarcho-capitalist” and a “classical liberal”, he has firmly tied his allegiance to the emerging far-right governments. In a World Economic Forum speech in Davos he said Argentina has been “infected with socialism for too long”, and praised Georgia Meloni, Donald Trump and Elon Musk, Viktor Orban and Nayib Bukele among others. He considers himself a part of this family of crooked elites in a challenge to the “global hegemony of the woke left”.
Like many far-right populists, he has weaponised public anger towards the widening social inequality and political corruption brought about by neoliberalism, but while in office he has taken up the legacy of his predecessors, combining even harsher anti-working class economic policies with attacks on feminism, LGBTQ+ rights, and the left. The strike actions taken in Argentina are an inspiring example for how to fight the rise of the far right and need to be taken further.
The unions are demanding a boost to health and education spending, a reversal of the recent mass firings from government positions – tens of thousands of public sector jobs have been lost and several government departments have been cut. The previous general strike in May of last year was brought to an end following a compromised deal between the unions and Milei’s government.
This shows the union bureaucracy treating the strikes as only a tool to increase bargaining power with the current far right government, as they are closely tied to the centre-left Justicialist Party currently in opposition.
Argentina, with its highly unionised working class and long legacy of labour militancy, has a powerful opportunity to extend and develop these strike actions into an all-out revolt against the Milei
government, with a genuine socialist programme to take the nationalised industries under workers’ democratic control, break with the imperialist policies of the IMF and challenge the far right at home and abroad. This could be an inspiration for revolt in other Latin American countries and across the world, for a fundamental challenge to the far right and to the rotten capitalist system that produced it.
United States: Mass opposition to Trump pours out onto the streets
By Ainsley Rucker
WAVES OF protests have continued across the United States in recent months following Trump’s inauguration. Recent weeks have seen a stark uptick in the number of protestors following continuous and severe swings towards embracing fascism, alongside increasingly aggressive policies against protestors and rights of all residents.
Millions take to the streets
For the second time in nearly as many weeks, protestors took to the streets across the country joining the newly dubbed “50501” movement – 50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement – coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolutionary War. This comes shortly following the “Hands Off” demonstrations in early April which saw up to 5 million protestors turn out, per the organisers estimate. The Hands Off protests consisted again of all 50 states, with 1,400 locations hosting a coalition of over 150 Queer and women’s rights groups, labour unions, progressive and prodemocracy organisations, and a variety of left wing organisations.
Countless topics have been tackled in these protests, including the illegal deportation of Ábrego García, a legal US resident and citizen of El Salavdor, to the maximum security terrorist con-
finement centre CECOT in El Salvador. The upcoming deportation of Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil due to his involvement in proPalestinian organising was also a topic of these protests, as well as the continued attacks and threats made against other green card holders and legal residents for taking part in protest, with a specific target on organisers. Attacks and erasure of Queer and Trans individuals, history, and healthcare were also a target of these protests. Broader spectrum issues include democratic
backsliding, the global rise of fascism, decay of workers rights, and the ever changing trade war which Trump is attempting to wage with varied success.
Democrats offer no way forward
These protests exist in the backdrop of the collapse of the Democratic party, and voter suppression, both exacerbated by the current political environment. While the Democrats have never been the bastion of left wing ideology, the past roughly 20 years have seen a marked collapse of party support, as
money continues to flow for incumbent candidates, party leaders refuse to retire, and even those who tout themselves as being to the left of the rest of the party fall short of necessary action. Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Leader, pushed back on DNC Vice-Chair David Hogg promising to back progressive candidates, with claims that backing more progressive candidates is an inefficient use of Party resources. This is despite how uninspiring and increasingly moderate candidates continue to lose elections.
As the far-right continues to rise, it is no wonder a less than full throated resistance led by the Democratic party hasn’t been successful. Alongside these minimal acts of resistance by party officials, the Republican party continues to push through dangerous and antidemocratic policies which have made it increasingly difficult to vote or have an impact with an individual vote, again having a chilling effect on American democracy.
More mass mobilisations needed Despite this mass mobilisation, both centrist and right wing figures have publicly denounced these protests, either claiming each of these millions of people are paid puppets, as Elon Musk claims, or that there is nothing newsworthy about the protests, as centre-left public news outlet NPR claimed in a recent article.
The nature of the two party system in the United States has seen an inherent suppression of the ideas, only worsened by the sitting Republican and far-right government. Mass mobilisation is not only possible in the States, but necessary to force through meaningful action to support and protect the working class, especially as Republicans push through their fascistic agenda, but socialist intervention is critical to give these protests any direction, especially as Democrats fail to act.
Unionised Fightback
Argentina’s economy was largely shut down due to the general strike on 10 April
The protest movement against Trump’s attacks is only beginning
GAMA strike 20 years on When migrant workers struck & won
By Matt Waine
THIS YEAR marks the 20th anniversary of the GAMA Strike –a landmark strike against super-exploitation of Turkish and Kurdish migrant construction workers. For two months, they engaged in determined industrial action against the bosses of their company, GAMA International, facing-down intimidation and threats to their families to win a historic victory, and millions in back pay.
In 1998, then-Minister for Enterprise Mary Harney visited Turkey on a trade mission to invite the construction giant GAMA to Ireland to bid for major state infrastructure projects worth millions. In 2000, the company set up shop here. The Celtic Tiger boom was in full swing and as the economy grew there was a pressing need for infrastructure projects, such as motorways. This period also saw the beginning of vulnerable migrant workers being used to bring about a race to the bottom in workers' rights, pay and conditions.
Exposing a scandal
In late 2004, Socialist Party Councillor Mick Murphy heard rumours of gross exploitation of migrant workers employed by GAMA. In the period from November onwards, Mick and other Socialist Party members began painstaking work in reaching out to and making contact with several GAMA workers, gaining their trust and confidence. From these contacts, they gained insights into the scale of super-exploitation to which these workers were subjected. They were paid as little as €2-€3 an hour. While the
company housed them, their passports were seized, and they were often forced to work up to 80 hours a week.
On 8 February 2005, Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins used the platform of the Dáil, during the questioning of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, to expose this scandal. The Ceann Comhairle reprimanded him for abusing Dáil privilege and tarnishing the name of a good construction company. However, from this intervention and the media coverage it received, the Government was forced to launch an investigation of the company by labour inspectors.
On 31 March, Joe, along with four GAMA workers, went to Finanz Bank in Amsterdam. There, it was discovered that over €40 million in unpaid workers' wages were in bank accounts in their names, which they had never known existed. When the workers discovered the level of wage theft word spread like wildfire. On Sunday, 3 April, over 200 GAMA workers from its various sites
participated in a meeting at the Teacher Club in Dublin City Centre, where they voted for strike action, elected a strike committee, and established the ‘Turkish Workers Action Group’.
Workers on the streets
The following day, the strike began, with the workers fittingly assembling at the Jim Larkin statue on O’Connell Street, and pickets were placed on numerous GAMA sites. This was a genuinely historic day, the first strike by migrant workers to take place in the state's history, with workers marching through the streets chanting in their own language, calling out the theft carried out against them by their employers.
The media, the political establishment and the union leaders themselves were dumbstruck. Of particular embarrassment to them was the fact that the workers were in fact members of SIPTU, but had never received a payslip!
Anti-fascist organising in Limerick
By David Valelly
LIMERICK
HAS had a proud record of opposing Far-Right demonstrations in the city since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pandemic was a turning point. The momentum behind mass campaigns such as the Midwest Hospital Campaign was stalled by the Covid lockdowns. Wars and climate change increasingly forced people around the world into seeking refuge, yet progressive movements that challenged the causes of these crises receded at the same time the Right went on the offensive. Instead of holding the Government to account for the health and housing crises, immigrants were to be blamed.
While the Far Right had not been successful in establishing a group in Limerick due to counter-mobilisations, activists from the Socialist Party and other groups recognised that the discontent and cynicism provoked by capitalist crisis in working-class areas required more than reactive organising.
Therefore, in the wake of racist protests around East Wall in Dublin in
Dublin Zoo: A cage of animal abuse
By Isidora Durán
EASTER SAW a ratcheting up of advertising by Dublin Zoo, including the launch of the ‘Zoorassic Trail’, an immersive exhibition showcasing a host of animatronic dinosaurs — a particular attraction for the thousands of children off school for what is the zoo’s busiest time of the year. What wasn’t mentioned in their marketing campaign was the litany of animal welfare, sexual harassment and workers’ rights issues that an increasing number of former and current workers have raised.
GAMA tried to squeeze the workers through intimidation and bullying. Their henchmen approached the families of strikers in Turkey and in Ballymun, and they directed that the catering supplies on which the workers relied be cut. However, the ongoing strike action received wider support from the working class. It was inspiring to see them march through Ballymun and receive enthusiastic support in the form of cheers from the high-rise flats, as well as food and assistance on the picket line. This was crucial in forcing the state to act with the intervention of the Labour Court in May. Those workers who remained on strike won €8,000 for each day served with the company, as well as a €2,500 severance payment.
The GAMA workers, with the assistance of the Socialist Party, wrote a crucial chapter in the history of the workers' movement in Ireland, and their determined methods of struggle are crucial for today.
late 2022, activists set up the Limerick Anti-Racist Network in a conscious effort to bring political activists, trade unionists, and community members together to oppose attempts to spread untrue and divisive narratives in working-class communities.
Unity against fascism
The Limerick Anti-Racist Network is a genuine united front with a culture of
dialogue, encouraging greater engagement when it comes to action. Rather than rely on existing groups, greater numbers can be mobilised when needed through this grassroots organising. Every provocation by the Far Right in the city has led to the network growing. In a time of polarisation, it is vital that anti-fascists are more organised than the Far Right. There are objective reasons why it
has been difficult for the Far Right to organise in Limerick, and not all of them are related to the existence of an active opposition. But Limerick is an example of what is possible, because –as capitalism continues to smash people’s living conditions – unless a mass socialist alternative can be built, the putrefying atmosphere that allows the Far Right to advance will continue to fester.
Unnatural treatment
Dina, an Asian elephant in Dublin Zoo is described on their website as a ‘matriarch’, but in truth, it is the revolving door logic of the zoo industry that is preventing Dina and other captive elephants from following their tight-knit multi-generational matriarchal family structure. They have been split up from their relatives and have been sent to places like the Cincinnati Zoo, one of the worst-rated for animal welfare in North America. Asian elephants typically travel up to 200 km per day in the wild, but Dublin Zoo only provides one hectare. As for the ‘Kaziranga Trail’, where they are kept, it is on average 15 degrees cooler than the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, India.
Worryingly, while workers have raised the plight of individual animals in the zoo, they have maintained that it is the zoo itself that is not suitable, where a previous dog fighter is hired as an animal consultant, a HR company is shared with Ashtown Pound and no legitimate veterinarian exists on site. In addition to the incompatibility of animal welfare with captivity, the excessive workloads and understaffing have prevented workers from providing proper care for the animals. Many have left the job for this reason. These issues exist as part of a broader culture of abuse, including physical and imagebased sexual assault, harassment and stalking, with whistleblowers stating that the zoo is not a safe place for women workers.
Independent investigation
Workers and campaigners are calling for an independent investigation into Dublin Zoo. The last government investigation, the ‘Doyle Report’ was conducted 30 years ago, and its findings were never published. Whistleblowers speaking out about the Zoo are doing so out of deep care for the wellbeing of the animals.
To put it simply: zoos should not exist. Animals deserve dignity and autonomy – this must go hand in hand with a working class-led radical transformation of society that ends the rule of industries that commodify animals, humans and the environment for profit.
Successful couter-protests have run the far right from Limerick city on a number of occasions
Around 1,000 super-exploited Turkish and Kurdish workers went in strike against the construction company Gama
Review: Gaza
directed by Garry Keane and Andrew McConnell
Reviewed by Enda Kelly
G AZA IS a 2019 documentary by Irish filmmakers Garry Keane and Andrew McConnell that though filmed before the current genocide is still as relevant as it is ever was. It takes us into life on the Gaza Strip, showcasing that regardless of the ongoing occupation life goes on.
We are taken through the lives of a range of people, from a young teenager in a refugee camp, a young woman looking to study International Law, a paramedic, and a taxi driver. They are connected fundamentally through the closing line of the film stated by the young woman, Karma, that they are stuck in a never-ending cycle of conflict and occupation.
Trappped in poverty & violence
This feeling of being trapped permeates every moment of the film. Karma explains how she is never fully sure about the future. Noting that even if she wants to do a master’s in International Law to help her country, if a war starts she has no idea what will happen to her studies. It’s hard not to wonder about her in 2025 – did she achieve her educational aims, or were they crushed by the genocidal carnage?
Similarly, in following a taxi driver he elucidates that just like most people
in the country he can’t put food on the table. Like a huge amount of people in Gaza, he is in a huge amount of debt. This means that regardless of how much he works his financial situation will not fundamentally change.
This reality was documented at the time by the UN, which stated that 74.3% of Palestinians were living in desperate poverty. Regardless of what ordinary Palestinians do or what they want to achieve – there are major limits placed on their lives by the occupation.
Throughout the film we see how the inhabitants of the Strip are subjected to the threat of violence on a daily basis. Most distressingly, we see the effect it has on children such as 14-yearold Ahmed. He discusses with his brother the sound of an Israeli fighter jet and debates whether it’s an F16. These weapons, and the ever present threat of their violence, are just facts of life for these children.
Human reality
This violence of course breeds a typical response, with film interlacing the interviews with footage of marches and attacks on the occupation fences, from a range of people – seen mainly through the eyes of one paramedic. He notes that no matter how fruitless these actions can seem, that these young people are the one leading the
resistance, which is vital. He feels he needs to be there to treat their wounds.
The violence in the film reaches a crescendo with an airstrike, showcasing not only the damage but the sheer terror that these strikes bring. As we listen to daily reports of deaths and injuries from Gaza, it can seem quite hard to understand what these numbers mean. The film, in bringing human reality to our screens, powerfully and harrowingly highlights the people beings behind the stats.
Resistance
As the paramedic thinks about the plight of those in Gaza, he expresses that he feels anger towards every person breathing apart from Palestinians. As we witness not just the indifference but active complicity of so many of the world’s governments to the occupation, the apartheid laws and now the genocide, it is not hard to understand why he feels this way.
Thus, Gaza, in its depiction of life in the Gaza Strip, showcases what it means to be trapped in a cycle of endless conflict. It also showcases why there needs to be resistance to this regime – and not just from Palestinians, but from working-class people throughout the world. This is the only way for this cycle to ever end.
Includes articles on:
l Marxism and Palestinian Liberation
l Trump, Big Business and the Fascist Menace
l Violence and Masculinity – a Marxist Approach
l Survivors Expose the System – the Campaign for Justice
l 75 years since the founding of the NHS
l Lough Neagh – Case Study in How Capitalism Degrades Nature
l Reviews of Fragments of Victory, Intermezzo, Severance and Adolescence
€5 / £4
Get a copy from any Socialist Party member or order online or subscribe at: socialistparty.ie
Socialism 101 series #24
By Eddie McCabe
If ever you debate the merits of socialism versus capitalism, it will only be a short while before you encounter some variation of the argument “But socialism leads inevitably to dictatorship”. Such is the enduring legacy of Stalinism –the bureaucratic dictatorships that existed in the former Soviet Union.
There is an understandable if misguided reason why many people equate socialism with dictatorship: a genuine socialist revolution happened in Russia in October 1917, when the working class overthrew the Tsarist autocracy and capitalism, and established the most radically democratic state the world has ever seen – but this revolution, tragically, did end in dictatorship.
All the enemies of socialism proclaim that this outcome was inevitable. But this is false, and it relies on a distorted account of what actually happened before, during and after the revolution.
Opponents say the October Revolution was a coup by the Bolshevik Party led by Vladimir Lenin. But the Bolsheviks’ clarion call was “All power to the soviets” –democratically elected councils of workers, peasants, soldiers and sailors. And the soviets, representing the overwhelming majority of the working masses, took power in Russia. The elected leaders of the soviets took control of the state institutions, while workers took control of factories, peasants took control of land, and soldiers took control of garrisons and battalions.
circumstances, measures to curtail the right to organise against the state were taken. But these measures were explicitly intended to be temporary, and could have been overturned as peace and stability were attained. Unfortunately, the revolution faced two other major problems: poverty and economic backwardness, and isolation.
Genuine socialism is the idea of utilising the economic and technological developments made possible by capitalism to advance society further, through democratic planning. But in Russia in 1917, three quarters of the population was illiterate, industry was concentrated in a small number of cities, and the country was virtually bankrupt. Genuine socialism also cannot develop in one country alone; it has to spread internationally – for very practical political and economic reasons. Isolation means it can be more easily strangled by the hostile capitalist world that surrounds it. The revolutionaries in Russia banked on a European revolution coming to their aid, which despite coming close in many countries, failed to materialise. In conditions of such hardship, when workers were struggling to feed their families, participating in the democratic running of society became unworkable. These conditions of scarcity allowed a bureaucracy to develop throughout the new workers’ state, which placed its own self-serving needs above those of the revolution. The bureaucracy found a capable leader in Stalin, who over years consolidated all power within his hands.
They also say the Bolsheviks established a one-party dictatorship, but in the first years of the revolution many parties were represented in the soviets. However, these first years was not simply a time of freely experimenting in workers’ democracy; rather, it was an incredibly arduous time of rebuilding from the ruins of the First World War, while also repelling the vicious attacks of the proto-fascist White Army, and 14 imperialist armies who invaded to crush the revolution.
As the civil war raged, the parties within the soviets increasingly divided into two main camps: those for and against saving the revolution at all costs (by winning the civil war) – with those in favour joining the Bolsheviks, as the leading revolutionary force, and those against taking up arms against the new state. In these life and death
Stalin’s dictatorial rule represented a complete betrayal of the revolution led by the Bolsheviks. Indeed it necessitated the murder and exile of almost all of the leaders of 1917. It overturned liberatory policies such as the legalisation of divorce, abortion and homosexuality; it cut across potential revolutions abroad; and it oversaw a horrifically repressive social regime.
This was a political counterrevolution, which led to eventual collapse. It was a terrible outcome for a revolution with such incredible potential, but far from being inevitable it was bravely resisted by many genuine revolutionaries. Their legacy was to document the truth of what transpired, so the revolution and counter-revolution could be really understood, and their crucial lessons learnt for the revolutions of the future.
The deadly virus of misogyny
By Aislinn O’Keefe
APRIL
SAW another attempt by the US political class to intervene into Irish politics. Following Conor McGregor’s Trumpian invite to the White House for St. Patrick’s Day, US ultra-conservative and farright TV host Tucker Carlson flew to Dublin to interview the rapist. Carlson had to work overtime to present McGregor’s slurred half-baked falsities into something approaching coherence. He failed, but the TV host’s agenda was clear – to push a false anti-immigration narrative and to platform the rapist who is the US far right favourite for Irish president. Carlson’s visit however forms part of a broader agenda, one that is intrinsically connected to the rise of Trump and the far right. Trump’s presidential legacy thus far is characterised by his finding kin with, and bestowing favour on, violent and misogynistic cretins. These are men like Andrew Tate and Conor McGregor, bullies who will gladly play foot soldiers to Trump for their own personal gain. While the Carlson / McGregor interview is viewed by many in Ireland as the farce that it is, for a small radicalised minority of men it is a rallying call.
Manosphere in action
Trump, McGregor and Tate all represent the mainstreaming of the noxious ‘Manosphere’ which has festered online since the 2000s. While lockdowns were put in place to isolate the deadly Covid-19 virus, they provided the perfect conditions to incubate the just as deadly virus of misogyny. Young peo-
ple, isolated from friends, family, schools and social outlets, turned increasingly online where unscrupulous Manosphere grifters such as Tate were ready to exploit their mental health.
Research shows that boys and men are aggressively targeted by algorithms promoting misogynistic content even when engaging with completely unrelated topics. Most damningly, this content is particularly recommended to young males seeking support for their mental health. Instead of receiving this support, boys are being radicalised and pulled into a cesspool of misogyny. This radicalisation exacerbates the alienation that young people already feel, intensifying the mental health issues they were initially seeking help for.
Rising abuse numbers
Misogynistic radicalisation has a devastating effect on girls, women and LGBTQ+ folk, with women of colour and trans women bearing the brunt of it. Boys and men are increasingly groomed into violence, leading to the abuse of girls and women. In Ireland, reports of domestic violence to Gardaí rose by 20% in the last two years, totaling 65,000 in 2024. In schools, half of children under the age of seven already display misogynistic beliefs with cases of sexual assault, harassment and body shaming being reported.
This abuse extends to social media, with over two-thirds of girls and young women experiencing harassment and threats of violence. As highlighted by Socialist Party TD Ruth Coppinger, conviction rates for gender-based violence in Ireland are low,
enabling perpetrators to act with impunity. Additionally, social media companies profit immensely from pushing misogynistic content, teaching boys and men manipulation tactics they can weaponise against women and girls.
Socialist feminist fightback
Oppression is a tool of the system, used to naturalise the deep systemic
Five reasons you should march on Trans Pride this year
By Emily Emerson
TRANS AND Intersex Pride is coming once again this year, with marches coming to Dublin (12 July), Cork (12 July), and Belfast (14 September). Trans and Intersex Pride Dublin, founded by members of the Socialist Party, is a celebration of trans freedom and expression, free from corporate dominance, as well as a crucial part of promoting greater awareness and acceptance of the community. This year, more than ever, it is crucial that everyone, regardless of their gender identity, show support for the trans community. Here are five reasons why YOU should join the march:
1. UK Supreme Court ruling
The most recent news, which is essential to bring up first, is the UK Supreme Court ruling that the definition of woman in the 2010 Equality Act refers only to 'biological' women, which excludes not only trans women, but also intersex women. This will have horrific ramifications not only for trans people, but this law has also already affected masculine-
presenting cis women, intersex women, who are not recognised biologically as women because of their chromosomes, trans women, of course, and trans men. The ruling is dripping with bigotry and constitutes an oppressive enforcement of a transphobic, rigid gender binary.
2. Trans healthcare
Trans pride is deeply important not just to show solidarity for the trans community, but to also educate others about just how little our government care for trans people, with only a single gender clinic in Ireland, and a staggeringly long wait list up to 10 plus years. We need a GP-led, consent-based model which empowers trans people to take agency over their bodies and provides them with all the care and treatments they need as part of a free, quality public health system.
3. Solidarity is crucial
It's hard to grasp from an outside lens just how isolating and impossible it feels to identify as trans today. Arguments are waged every single day about if we exist, and if we do, do we even deserve to? What right do we
have to our own bodily autonomy? We can and should have control over what we do with our bodies. As well as this, a rise in propaganda about trans people being a threat in bathrooms serves only to manipulate the minds of the uninformed. Fighting these lies is incredibly important.
4. They're erasing history
Limiting the legal definition of woman not only affects cis women too, but completely pushes back against not just science, but the rights we earnedfought for by people like Marsha P Johnson and in Ireland, Lydia Foy. It would be a remarkable shame if we had to once more fight to be known.
5. This won't stop without pushback
The rise of the far right and fascist ideas in general will not simply go away if you, as an ally or a trans person, stand by and watch. As scary as it may be, we are forced to mobilise if we want to keep our rights and ability to express ourselves, without being questioned, or propaganda being pushed about us. So I urge you, please show up for and fight for trans people this July.
social and economic inequalities inherent in it. Misogyny effectively divides and conquers the working class and erects a barrier to solidarity and organisation. As we see more young women and minorities becoming increasingly progressive, boys and men are actively being recruited as foot soldiers of the system, tasked with maintaining the status quo.
To overcome these systemic abuses,
an organised fightback is required. Only an organised mass, multi-gendered movement can push back the misogyny of the far right, but any such movement must also fight for the socialist transformation of society to eradicate all oppression and exploitation. Building this movement requires that boys and men reject misogyny and join with their siblings to tear down this system.
Manosphere influencers are generally cis white males angry at any perceived threat to their privileged status
TheSocialist
RACISM OFF OUR STREETS!
UNITE AGAINST THE
FAR RIGHT
What the Socialist Party stands for:
“The day has passed for patching up the capitalist system; it must go.” James Connolly was right. The immense social, political and economic crises that dominate life in the 21st century all testify to this truth, but the climate emergency gives added urgency to its meaning. That’s why the Socialist Party stands for revolutionary socialist change, and why we are organising to bring it about. We support every right and reform that can improve life for working-class people, while fighting for what’s needed. We say: if capitalism can’t afford to provide for our needs then we can’t afford capitalism.
Workplace
• All workers need double-digit wage rises. For a €17 an hour minimum wage.
• End precarity and bogus self-employment. For guaranteed hours with permanent contracts for all workers.
• A four-day work week with no loss of pay.
• Reduce the pension age to 60. A guaranteed decent pension for all.
• No layoffs. Open up the books and take large job shedding companies into public ownership, under democratic workers’ control and management, with compensation paid only on the basis of proven need.
• Repeal the Industrial Relations Act. For the
JOIN
right to organise and effective action.
• For a fighting trade union movement that organises the unorganised and mobilises the power of its membership. All officials should be elected, subject to recall and live on the wages of the workers they represent.
Housing
• Reduce and freeze rents at affordable levels. Reinstate the eviction ban.
• For a major programme to build public homes. Take the big construction companies into public ownership. Seize vacant properties and unused land being hoarded for profit.
• Provide culturally appropriate accommodation for Travellers.
• Nationalise the banks and repudiate the odious debt. Reduce mortgage payments to affordable levels.
Public services
• End church control of schools and hospitals – full separation of church and state.
• For a major public works programme to build public schools, hospitals and childcare facilities.
• For a one-tier, national health service free at the point of use. Bring all private hospitals, nursing homes and pharmaceutical companies into public ownership.
• Free publicly-run childcare scheme for
every community. Extend fully-paid parental leave to two years and provide high quality early-years education.
• For 24-hour free counselling services and education programmes to begin to tackle the mental health crisis.
• Free education and training for all. Abolish the Leaving Cert system and provide a Third-level place for all who want one, with a living grant for all students. Build affordable, accessible student accommodation.
Environment
• For substantial investment in an expanded, reliable and free public transport system.
• End the reliance on fossil fuels – keep them in the ground. For extensive state investment in renewable energy, retrofitting homes and public buildings, and green jobs.
• For a just transition to a zero carbon economy, with no job losses or regressive carbon taxes.
• Take the fossil fuel companies, big agribusinesses and corporations into democratic public ownership to stop the destruction of our planet for profit.
Equal rights for all
• Oppose all forms of racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia and transphobia.
• For LGBTQ-inclusive, consent-based sex education in schools. Fully fund trans healthcare.
• Reduce the voting age to 16.
• Defend the right to asylum. End Direct Provision. Abolish all racist immigration laws.
• Black lives matter! Oppose far-right division!
• Fight to end gender-based violence, abuse and harassment in all its forms.
• For a socialist feminist movement that unites the whole working class in the struggle against oppression.
For workers’ unity in Ireland
• For the unity of the working class, Protestant and Catholic, North and South, in opposition to all forms of sectarianism, paramilitarism and state repression.
• For a socialist Ireland, with no coercion and the rights of minorities guaranteed, as part of a free, equal and voluntary socialist federation of Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, as part of a socialist Europe.
End the rule of the billionaires
• Take the wealth off the 1%. For real progressive taxation on incomes, assets and profits to fund public services.
• Stop tax avoidance and evasion by the wealthy.
• Double corporation tax. End corporate welfare policies.
• No to all forms of privatisation in health, education, transport, housing, energy, sanitation, water and broadband provision.
For socialist change
• Capitalism produces inequality, environmental destruction and war. We need an international struggle against this system.
• Solidarity with the struggles of workers and oppressed peoples internationally.
• Oppose all imperialist powers, wars and occupations. No to NATO and EU militarisation. US military out of Shannon.
• No to corporate “free trade” agreements. No to the bosses’ EU and “Fortress Europe”.
• Build a new mass party that organises workers and young people in struggle against all injustices and for a socialist alternative. For a working-class movement to bring about a left, socialist government that breaks with capitalism.
• Take the key sectors of the economy – the monopolies in banking, industry, services, agriculture and big tech – into public ownership under the democratic control of the working class.
• Replace the capitalist market with a democratic socialist plan of the economy based on the interests of the overwhelming majority of people and the environment.