Mary Lou McDonald (Sinn Féin)

candidate EU elections
This profile has been archived. You can no more ask questions to this politician. Please visit the active profile..

, A Chara,

Thanks for your good wishes.

I agree that the main priority for people at this time is jobs. The same cannot be said for the Fianna Fail - Green government.

Ireland cannot cut its way out of this recession. What is required is stimulus and measures that bolster ´the real economy´ and jobs

We need proactive interventions to save and create jobs. There is a pressing need to support SMEs and indiginous enterprise - for a start the banks must free up credit to small business.

Sinn Fein has produced a Job retention and creation plan, we were the first political party to do so.

This plan is available on www.sinnfein.ie .

Have a read of it and drop me a line if there is anything you need further comment or explanation on.

All the best

Le Meas

Mary Lou McDonald MEP

a chara,

Thank you for your query. Sinn Fein believes the mood for political change is palpable and Republican politics have never been so relevant.

There is no confidence, whatsoever that Fianna Fáil and the Greens can turn the economy around. Now is the time for people to assert themselves and send the government a strong message. Now is the time for real change.

Christy Burke has been a fearless voice for downtrodden and neglected communities in Dublin for decades. A founder member of the Concerned Parents Against Drugs, Christy drew state and media attention to the threat drugs posed to society when the government did nothing about the problem. One of the city´s hardest working public representative, Christy´s tireless campaigning, with others, resulted in long-overdue improvements to Dickensian housing conditions in the inner city.

Now, the Government is seeking to make ordinary people pay the price for their destruction of the economy. Fine Gael offers no real alternative. Its policies will also damage the interests of working families.

There is a choice in this election though. Sinn Féin represents an alternative type of politics. In the Dáil, Christy Burke will be a fearless voice for the people of Dublin Central.

Is mise le meas,

Mary Lou McDonald MEP.

There has been no answer submitted, so far. In order to be informed as soon as an answer is published, please enter your email address using the notify link underneeth.

  3 users already subscribed to be notified as soon as this answer is published.

There has been no answer submitted, so far. In order to be informed as soon as an answer is published, please enter your email address using the notify link underneeth.

  2 users already subscribed to be notified as soon as this answer is published.

a chara, Sinn Fein recognises that Irish workers and trade unions have genuine concerns regarding ´displacement´ by lower paid migrant workers. Indeed, we raised our concerns around the impact of cheap labour on Irish workers. It is important to understand the true nature of this phenomenon. It stems not from the avarice of non-Irish workers but from employers´ quest to increase profits by lowering pay and increasing hours, and by reducing holidays and other entitlements.

´Displacement´ is therefore not so much the exchange of Irish workers for non-Irish workers but the exchange of organised workers with good pay, conditions and benefits for unorganised, unaware workers who are ripe for exploitation. In order to do this, employers more and more frequently take advantage of migrant workers´ lack of awareness of their rights in Ireland to subject them to conditions which are inferior to those of other workers and below legal standards. The solution to displacement lies in regulating employment standards (including pay and working conditions) for all workers, and their effective enforcement. The best protection against displacement is ensuring that Irish and migrant workers have the exact same pay and conditions of employment - and indeed, the harmonisation of employment standards islandwide and throughout the EU, and ultimately beyond. Only this can remove the financial incentive for unscrupulous employers to displace their existing workforce. Increasing solidarity between Irish and migrant workers, Irish and EU workers, and EU and non-EU workers is therefore crucial. But admittedly this is not easy to build. Indeed, the objective of global unification of workers on the basis of common interest was high up on Connolly´s own agenda ninety years ago. Is mise le meas, Mary Lou McDonald MEP.