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Ireland's political and cultural magazine
44 — village july 2009
Sinn Féin
“I also had a baby in that time and
took maternity leave, a fact that was
shamelessly exploited in the election
campaign by senior politicians in an
attempt to cast me as an indifferent public
representative.”
eral election ‘to get this government out’.
That demand must be balanced with a clear
understanding that to replace a Fianna Fáil-
led government with a Fine Gael administra-
tion is merely to move the furniture. Ireland
needs change, nothing is surer. The change
we need is not simply a reshuffle of personali-
ties around the cabinet table but a fundamen-
tal shift in political direction. I do not believe
that the emerging Fine Gael/ Labour alliance
will deliver anything better than the current
government. Ireland needs to discover poli-
tics beyond Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. That
is the debate we must encourage. That is the
challenge we face.
The politics of Sinn Féin as a left, repub-
lican party has never been more relevant for
Ireland. We must be part of a new politics,
which offers a genuine choice for change to the
Irish people. Creating quality, universally ac-
cessible public services, delivering a progres-
sive, sustainable taxation system and build-
ing prosperity and equality in equal measure
– these are the changes that Ireland needs.
These can be delivered and it is imperative
that all of us who believe in a new and bet-
ter politics offer in real terms the policies and
practical outworkings that can deliver this vi-
sion. Rhetoric is not enough.
Over the last twelve months Sinn Féin
has put forward substantial policy measures
aimed at stabilising the public finances and
retaining and creating jobs. We have consis-
tently argued that the government cannot cut
its way out of this recession. We have demand-
ed economic stimulus, maintaining people at
work and keeping the wheel of the ‘real econo-
my’ turning. We know that the government-led
assault on services, its punishment of low-paid
workers – public -and private- sector – and at-
tacks on social-welfare entitlements must be
fought at every turn. The will of the people for
a decent and fair society and for decent gov-
ernment must prevail.
In the autumn the Lisbon Treaty will be
put to the people in a second referendum. De-
spite all their protestations, the political es-
tablishment has not accepted the decision of
Ireland to reject a flawed treaty. There is much
hype about attaining ‘guarantees’ and decla-
rations but the reality is that the same treaty
will be put again to the people. The govern-
ment squandered the opportunity to secure
a better deal for Ireland and the EU.
The government, actively assisted by Fine
Gael and the Labour party, has indulged in
cynical political choreography – creating the
impression of dealing with the concerns of the
Irish electorate. The reports of the Oireachtas
Sub Committee on Lisbon and the abolition
of the Forum on Europe, loudly attest to the
political establishment’s wish to close down
debate on Lisbon and the direction Europe is
taking. The Oireachtas Constitution Commit-
tee’s review of the referendum process itself
may, if it gets it way, result in the people’s hav-
ing no direct decision-making powers on fu-
ture European treaties.
In the time ahead Sinn Féin faces the task
of building its political strength. We current-
ly have elected representatives in of the
counties of Ireland. Of course getting people
elected is not an end in itself. Electoral suc-
cess offers the means to shape politics and to
bring about change. Our organisational defi-
ciencies have been identified and now must
be addressed; the need to grow our member-
ship and to develop positive working relation-
ships with other progressive forces must be
advanced. The same determined, purposeful
leadership which Sinn Féin gives to the Irish
the peace process must now be applied to the
social and economic agenda across the coun-
try.
Republicans are not ‘one trick ponies’, as
some critics assert, neither are we a ‘north-
ern’ phenomenon. As an all Ireland party we
are uniquely placed to drive change in Ireland.
As Republicans, from the four corners of Ire-
land, we are resolved to succeed.
45
Economics
, - sector faces stern
challenges as it tries to weather the economic
tsunami generated by the financial crisis. Yet,
not so long ago the sector was positively ebul-
lient, as it warmed to the growing incorpora-
tion of commercial ideas and practices into the
field. Philanthrocapitalism, the most contro-
versial of these concepts, was, and is, at the
heart of this new, market influenced thrust,
with some hailing it as the one stop shop for
squaring laissez-faire economics with democ-
racy. But how has the ensuing financial cri-
sis impacted on this supposed revolutionary
model for wealth redistribution?
In their book Philanthrocapitalism, Mi-
chael Bishop and Michael Green argue enthu-
siastically in favour of the concept’s transfor-
mative power. They argue that placing the rich
at the helm of wealth redistribution, princi-
pally through a more business-like approach
to philanthropic giving, was the new and im-
proved way to reorganize economic surplus.
However, the changing realities of the world
raise serious doubts over this belief.
Where two years ago a financial crisis was
having to break a fifty to pay for your tuna-
melt bagel and Australian goat milk cappucci-
no, now the preponderance of personal wealth
in western economies has been severely di-
minished, and with it, the capacity of philan-
throcapitalism to affect deep and sustainable
change. For instance, Forbes’ rich list
noted a % reduction [IN THE] the wealth
of the world’s richest people. In other words,
the social echelon on which the financial onus
of philanthropy rests, has been dramatically
impacted by the financial crisis.
In this respect Ireland has been a notable
casualty with % of the richest people in
the country suffering a decline in their wealth.
This is without doubt an untimely blow to phil-
anthropic activity in Ireland which has been
somewhat sluggish in taking hold, even in the
“boom” years. Now, with a reported €bn
written off household wealth last year, Phi-
lanthropy Ireland has indicated that it ex-
pects new wealth individuals in Ireland to
retreat from philanthropic [UNSELFISH/BE-
NEVOLENT/BENIFICENT? REPETITIVE] en-
deavours. A similar trend can be observed in
Britain at the moment where a PWC report es-
timated that philanthropic giving is expected
to decrease by % in the coming year. On top
of this, philanthropically endowed funds, like
normal portfolios, have experienced % to
% falls in value.
All in all, this makes glum reading for Irish
charities which are facing an uneasy future
with regards to their funding. A recent survey
carried out by Trinity College’s Centre for Non
Profit Management found that % of organi-
sations questioned anticipated a decrease in
their earnings for , while a further be-
lieved .% believed that private funding and
corporate sponsorship would decrease in the
coming year. Although most organisations
are planning a major step up in fundraising
activities in the hope of [mitigating against
AVOIDING] potential losses, there can be no
doubt that services will suffer with SUAS es-
timating that financial shortfalls will place
, children currently being helped by the
organisation out of reach.
In what is sure to be an arduous year for
the sector, there seems reason to question the
durability of philanthrocapitalism as a mech-
anism for redistribution. In his book The Em-
peror’s New Clothes – the Case for Philanth-
rocapitalism Michael Edwards posited what
was to be a prescient argument against the
concept’s wholesale boasts. The problem, Ed-
wards argued, was philanthrocapitalism’s de-
pendence on the centralization of wealth, and
in turn, the inequities created by the market
economy. For Edwards, real social change is
affected not merely through business models
but through cooperation between all of soci-
ety’s stakeholders: government, non-profits
and private enterprises alike. If the financial
crisis has thought [TAUGHT]t us anything it’s
that a nation is at its most healthy when it in-
vites input from all levels of society, not just
from the privileged few at the top.
“Where two years ago a financial crisis
was having to break a fifty to pay for your
tuna-melt bagel and Australian goat milk
cappuccino, now the preponderance of
personal wealth in western economies has
been severely diminished”
Can the rich really save us?
m o r g a n a l l e n
