to get the referendum passed
No 
Clare Daly TD, MEP Paul Murphy, Cllr Ruth Coppinger and Joe Higgins TD at the Poster Launch of Socialist Party ‘No’ campaign against the Austerity Treaty in Dublin.
The Government has today been accused of using scare tactics in order to ensure the fiscal treaty referendum is passed.
Launching what it described as its biggest ever referendum campaign in Dublin earlier today, the Socialist Party criticised Minister for Finance Michael Noonan over his warning that he would have to introduce a tougher budget if a No vote is returned by the electorate.
Socialist Party MEP Paul Murphy described Mr Noonan’s comments(above picture left) as an “attempt to put a gun to the heads of the public and force them to vote Yes”.
He said the referendum was “the people’s opportunity to say no to austerity and to writing austerity into law”.
Citing the low number of householders who have signed up for the household charge, Mr Murphy said the Socialist Party would unashamedly make the link between the struggle against unfair taxes and the introduction of further austerity measures if the referendum is passed.
Mr Murphy’s colleague Joe Higgins TD accused the Government of using the “argument of fear” to scare voters. He said that instead of offering more stability, the fiscal treaty would bring about more instability both here and across the euro zone.
Mr Higgins said that many of the “lavish phrases” being used by the Government in the campaign echoed similar comments made during the second Lisbon Treaty referendum.
“Bitter experience has shown that those promises were absolutely worthless and false. Lisbon 2 did not provide the jobs that were promised and private investment has utterly collapsed. The new promises of stability are equally worthless,” he said.
“The Irish Government cannot promise stability. The financial markets, which operate virtually economic dictatorship over the economy will respond to events right across Europe to suit their agenda,” he added.
Cllr Ruth Coppinger rejected claims that Ireland would be isolated if it voted No in the referendum. She said that voting against the treaty would be an act of solidarity with citizens of other countries who don’t have the opportunity to vote.
“A No vote in Ireland would give a huge boost to all those around Europe who are fighting the effects of austerity and it would be the first continent-wide response to the bondholders’ agenda.”
The Socialist Party is to spend up to €55,000 on the campaign which will include sending out 1 million leaflets to householders. A total of €47,000 in funding is being provided by the European United Left while the rest will come from local fundraising events.
Mr Murphy said that while the Yes side will “massively overspend” compared to the No campaign during the referendum, the No side was optimistic that it would do well because of the increasing confidence of people “to fight back against austerity”.
Mr Higgins said the Yes side would be bolstered by the print media, which he claimed were “stridently promoting a Yes vote”.
He added that the bulk of the printed press had put similar pressure on members of the public to register for the household charge and would likely do so again now.
Ibec Group says that a Yes vote will secure Ireland’s future
Ibec, the group that represents Irish business, yesterday launched a nationwide poster campaign in support of a Yes vote in the upcoming referendum.
Ibec insists Yes vote will secure future: THE BUSINESS lobby group Ibec insisted a Yes vote for the fiscal treaty will “secure Ireland’s future” when unveiling the organisation’s referendum poster in Dublin city centre yesterday.
Ibec director general Danny McCoy said he believed a No vote would increase the amount of time Ireland would spend in austerity and would hamper recovery, while a Yes vote would give confidence and certainty.
“What Ireland needs now is growth,” he said. Mr McCoy said people making decisions about investment in Ireland were “a little bit bemused, I suppose, that we would be risking our access to markets by even contemplating a No vote”.
He said there was no need for scaremongering, but he believed a Yes vote would send a very positive signal to potential investors.
The Ibec posters carry the slogan: “Secure Ireland’s Future”. The organisation intends erecting 5,000 posters across the country.
Ibec president Julie O’Neill said a Yes vote would drive growth and recovery in the economy, while a No vote would increase uncertainty and increase the cost of servicing the State’s debt.
“Driving Ireland’s recovery is very important, and Europe is a very important part of that,” Ms O’Neill said.
She said sensible and robust rules to avoid a future debt crisis were in the interest of both Ireland and Europe. “If Ireland and Irish business is to prosper and create jobs and generate growth we need to draw a line under the European debt crisis.”
Mr McCoy and Ms O’Neill were joined at the launch by Anne Hegarty, chief executive of recruitment firm CPL; Mary McKenna, managing director of Tour America; Regina Moran, chief executive of Fujitsu Ireland; and Sally Storey, general manager of GlaxoSmithKline Ireland.
Commission uses Facebook
THE REFERENDUM Commission is using Facebook to encourage people to check the voting register and make sure they are eligible to participate in the fiscal treaty referendum on May 31st.
An advertising campaign on Facebook over the next fortnight will direct people to an app which aims to help them check the register. Referendum Commission chairman Mr Justice Kevin Feeney said he hoped younger people who did not always get information from “traditional media” would find it useful.
The Referendum Commission’s booklet will start arriving in homes from May 8th and is expected to be distributed around the State within 10 days. The 24-page booklet – with 12 pages in English and 12 in Irish – will contain a fairly short summary of what the treaty is about.
The Government is in the process of distributing a 40-page booklet containing the text of the fiscal treaty referendum and an explanatory section. Distribution started in Munster last Thursday and Friday. An additional pamphlet will be distributed closer to polling day, May 31st.
Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fail, who are advocating a Yes vote, will distribute separate leaflets and canvass cards.
Sinn Féin, which is calling for a No vote, will distribute around one million bilingual leaflets.
Civil marriages in Ireland to be conducted by non-religious groups ‘In new legislation passed’
The Irish Government yesterday approved legislation allowing members of non-religious groups, such as the Humanist Association of Ireland, to perform civil marriages, writes Deaglán de Bréadún, Political Correspondent.
Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton said: “I am delighted to have obtained the support of my colleagues in Cabinet for the proposal.”
Originally brought in as a Private Members’ Bill by Labour Senator Ivana Bacik, the Civil Registration (Amendment) Bill is due to complete its progress in the Seanad today and Ms Burton will sponsor its progress through the Dáil. It proposes to give the right to conduct civil marriages to non-religious groups, which must be a “philosophical and non-confessional body”.
Huge China trade hub planned for the Midland’s of Ireland in 1.4 billion Euro development
The 1.4 billion euro development receives planning permission in phase one of he Government’s plan
Ireland gave phase one of a huge Chinese trading hub planning permission on Tuesday, paving the way for what would be one of the biggest developments in the struggling euro zone country.
China has expressed growing interest in Ireland’s economy in recent months, with leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping choosing Ireland as the only European stop in an international tour in February.
Beijing’s sovereign wealth fund has also signed a memorandum to explore investment opportunities in Ireland and Tuesday’s decision will allow building to start on a complex that could eventually see Chinese manufacturers and traders display goods to international buyers in 3,000 demonstration halls.
The 1.4 billion euro’s Europe China Trading Hub’, set on 140 hectares of mostly agricultural land in the midlands county of Westmeath, aims to become Europe’s largest source of Chinese branded goods, according to the site’s Irish developers.
They said Ireland was chosen as the preferred location due to its European Union membership, English speaking workforce, attractive corporate tax rate and stable industrial relations environment.
Ireland’s ultra low corporate tax rate, which it guards vigorously against pockets of opposition in Europe, has helped it attract large multinationals to the country from eight of the ten world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies to tech giants like Google and Facebook.
Acting as a gateway between China and buyers from Europe and the US, the development will provide space for Chinese traders to display their products with a view to generating bulk orders which will then be delivered from China.
The developers say the goods traded will range from electric cars to fabrics and machinery, with a particular focus on the high-end market and that the hub could ultimately provide direct and indirect employment for 9,000 people, as well as bringing 1.5 million visitors to Ireland every year.
The site would also include shops, restaurants, pubs, a theatre, cinemas and a library.
The first phase, which will see just under a quarter of the overall development initially built, could be open for business by 2015, according to the head of the nearby Athlone Business Park which proposed the development.
Asked if it would be able to finance the project, John Tiernan said the response from the private backers and promoters behind the project all pointed to a positive outcome.
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