Worried about Water Charges? You’ve seen nothing yet!

September 22, 2015 By Leave a Comment

The EU soon intends to sign two far-reaching trade agreements: one with Canada (CETA = Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) and one with the USA (TTIP = Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership). The real beneficiaries of these agreements will not be Irish citizens, but big corporations. Sinn Féin stand in opposition to these agreements as they have the potential to destroy social and environmental standards. For more, please see Sinn Féin’s discussion document.

6 of our biggest concerns about TTIP and CETA

1. Threat to democracy: Within these agreements are the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms. ISDS allows corporations to sue governments for loss of revenue when government regulations are seen to affect expected profits, trampling on Member State sovereignty. It doesn’t allow governments to sue corporations.
2. Transparency: The secret nature of negotiations is a worry. Even MEPs are drip fed information, which is primarily sourced from leaks from the EU Commission.
3. “Regulatory Cooperation”. This essentially means that representatives of big business are invited to participate in expert groups to influence new draft laws, even before these are discussed in the elected parliaments. This undermines democracy! TTIP lobbying
4. Job Losses: The unequivocal adoption of such trade agreements could lead to the potential displacement of up to one million jobs within the EU. This is a distinct possibility according to the EU Commission that has stated that TTIP is likely to bring, “prolonged and substantial dislocation of EU workers.”
5. The Environment: The EU and its member states are falling under pressure to allow risky technologies such as fracking. At present there is a moratorium on fracking in Ireland.
6. Consumer protection: Foodstuff standards and consumer protection for cosmetics and medical products threaten to be set at the same levels as US standards. Around 70% of all processed foods sold in the US contain genetically modified ingredients. By contrast very little GM food in sold in the EU.

Filed Under: Economy, General News

Government and Universities need strategy on student housing – Ellis

June 14, 2015 By Leave a Comment

DessieEllisSinn Féin TD and Housing Spokesperson Dessie Ellis has called on the government to work more closely with universities and colleges to provide a strategy for housing students. He made his comments as the students prepare to sit their Leaving Cert exams, with the hope of many being to attend a third level college and leave home in the autumn.

Deputy Ellis said:

“This is a problem we face every year and it is a difficult one which requires a tailored approach. Students generally do not need their housing year round, so the private market is poorly equipped to provide for them. The many thousands of students hoping to live in Dublin and other large towns and cities will be putting extra pressure on the rental market and this can lead to higher rents.

“In the context of a wider housing shortage, this could mean an increase in homelessness which is already growing at an alarming rate with 1000 children in emergency accommodation.

“The amount of purpose built student accommodation provided by Universities is very low. The government need to sit down with Universities and draw up a strategy which will support the provision of affordable, secure and adequate student housing which is near to campus or regular transport routes.

“In other European cities, special efforts are made to provide tailored affordable housing for students and Dublin, Cork or Galway should be no different. It is not just about providing for students who need a healthy living environment for successful studies, but also the wider housing shortage which is causing massive suffering for the many low and middle income families.”

Filed Under: General News