Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

So overcome was he with admiration that he gazed, enraptured, into the pool hour after endless hour. Our very own political Narcissus, the Fine Gael-Labour Party Government, has set aside no fewer than three days in Parliament to gaze upon, and marvel at, its own image but when our Irish Narcissus describes an image of great beauty we realise just how deluded and disingenuous he is. Unfortunately for the Irish people, between the reality of what this Government represents and the distorted image of what the Government says it represents, falls a huge shadow.

Narcissism is a psychological condition and it involves an excessive self focus, and lack of empathy for others, haughty body language and a tendency to brag and exaggerate achievements. These are some of the undesirable characteristics I have read in the literature. The Government is deeply affected by the condition of political narcissism. Far from the heroic characters they have painted themselves to be, the Fine Gael-Labour Party coalition has for three years capitulated in the most cowardly fashion in front of the threats and demands of European finance capital as represented by the troika of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. They represent world capitalism and particularly finance capitalism. The Fine Gael-Labour Party Government has capitulated utterly to the sharks of European financial markets that dictate that the catastrophic private debts of banks, speculators and bondholders be landed on the shoulders of working people, the pensioners and the poor in this State.

The resulting austerity policy has brought us mass unemployment, mass emigration and a raft of debilitating austerity taxes that have wreaked havoc on people's living standards and on the domestic economy generally yet we have been subjected for some time to an orgy of spin and media manipulation to give the impression that economic recovery is thriving and that the corner has been turned. We have promises made by Government Ministers of tax cuts in the next period. The impression being given, that life has changed, is palpably false. Yesterday, in spite of himself, the Taoiseach got it right when he stated that too many people do not feel any improvement in their daily lives. That is the reality of the daily struggle for many working class people. There are 90,000 families on the housing list, with scarcely a new home being built by the Government, yet Fine Gael and Labour throw those needing homes to the cruel mercies of the landlords. Families facing homelessness and finding no places to rent, with whatever is available being completely out of their reach and cuts to rent supplement, are enduring suffering, pressure and hardship.

The Minister of State, Deputy Hayes, referred to having the most privatised economy in Europe. He seemed to think that is something to boast about. In fact, the neoconservative policies have given us a situation of immense suffering for our people, not least in the housing sector. An emergency programme of good quality State homes built in proper places is essential. When we analyse the job figures that are being spun, we will find a weak basis. We want to see massive job creation but investment is still in a state of collapse and the Government refuses to invest by taxing the wealthy. This would create the type of jobs we need. Instead, we have the shameful exploitation of young people on a range of exploitative schemes.

Tax cuts are being promised, as they have been loudly by Ministers in recent days, while new taxes are being piled on, including on people's homes through the so-called property tax and the new water tax that the Government wants to charge from October. That is deeply cynical. However, people will see through it. In the local and European Parliament elections on 23 May, the parties of austerity must be harshly punished by working-class people. The Anti-Austerity Alliance, of which the Socialist Party is a part, will run more than 40 candidates. In the Dublin constituency, Socialist Party candidate Paul Murphy will be a champion against austerity. He and other genuine anti-austerity candidates must be supported to teach a very harsh lesson to the Government. The election of a significant number of anti-austerity candidates to councils and the European Parliament will serve as a platform for a new campaign against the worst and ongoing effects of austerity. An objective is to end the new attack of water charges – for example, by a mass campaign of peaceful civil disobedience, of non-payment, as happened in the 1980s and 1990s, thus forcing the then Fine Gael–Labour Party Government to abolish the charges in question – in favour of a shift towards progressive taxation on super wealth and major corporations, in addition to investment to reboot an economy that has been devastated by austerity. This would create hundreds of thousands of jobs and the wealth with which our services could be repaired and developed, thereby resulting in a decent life for our people.

Capitalism is increasingly a diseased system on a European basis. If it were not, there would not be 26 million people unemployed, including millions of youths, within the European Union. The right-wing neoconservative policies, the right-wing social democrats and the bureaucratised trade union leaders have all failed by capitulating to this system. Therefore, a massive change and a new socialist alternative are required whereby wealth, the financial institutions and manufacturing would be publicly owned and democratically run to create the millions of jobs that are needed throughout Europe.

Mar focal scoir, táimid i lár trí lá d'éirí in airde agus féinmholadh ón Rialtas maidir leis na polasaithe atá á gcur i gcrích acu. Is í fhírinne an scéil seo, i ndáiríre, ná gur tubaiste mhór do mhuintir na hÉireann iad na polasaithe déine atá curtha i bhfeidhm le cúig bliana anuas - le trí bliana anuas i gcás an Rialtais seo - agus atá freagrach as an dífhostaíocht, an imirce agus an deacracht atá sa saol náisiúnta. Caithfear athrú pholasaí a chur i gcrích, deireadh a chur leis an déine agus feachtais in aghaidh na déine agus na cánacha nua a eagrú. Ba cheart athrú eacnamaíochta agus polaitíochta a chur i bhfeidhm ar mhaithe le tromlach na ndaoine, seachas lucht na mbannaí agus na baincéirí móra faoi mar atá i láthair na huaire.

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