A route to privatisation?
As pointed out in Socialist Voice in August 2018, Bus Connects appears to have a much higher frequency from the suburbs into the city centre; but in fact the frequency is often reduced, or citizens…
Author: Jimmy Doran
The EU and workers’ rights
THE CONSTANT NARRATIVE in the Brexit debate, be it in Ireland or Britain, from politicians, especially those elected who are supposedly of a progressive slant, is how they are opposed to Brexit because “the EU protects workers’ rights.” These views are also expressed by leading figures in the NGO sector.
The Brexit budget
DAN TARAGHAN: THE BUDGET for next year was presented to the Dáil on 8 October. In his speech the minister for finance, Paschal Donohoe, made much of the threat from a no-deal Brexit. This would have dire consequences for Ireland, as Britain is our main trading partner in the EU.
Launch of a militant trade union campaign
A militant trade union campaign launched A WELL ATTENDED meeting organised by Unite in the Community, in conjunction with Communities Against Low Pay, was held in Dublin recently.
The capitalist illusion – Part 4 – The ultimate deception
HARRY HOUDINI, probably the world’s most famous illusionist, when performing his acts would mesmerise his audience with feats that defied all logic or reason. He would make the impossible possible. Audiences would be left speechless at his escape routines, and he toured the world displaying his death-defying acts.
Germany’s gains from the EU internal market
THE “BRITISH REBATE” is known: the reduction in British contributions to the EU budget that Margaret Thatcher pushed through in 1984. She pointed out at the time that a large part of the EU funds had gone into agriculture, and that the United Kingdom had a comparatively small
Voting shenanigans are only a symptom
NOT THAT IT should come as a surprise, but the political establishment, north and south, is offering us still further evidence of its mendacious venality. A few recent examples will illustrate the point. Let’s begin with shady behaviour being practised by the folk in Leinster House.
Tourism as a tool of displacement
LAST MONTH a talk was given in Berlin and other European cities by Grassroots Al-Quds, a Palestinian group that is organising civil-society resistance to Israeli occupation. It aims to build an economic base within East Jerusalem to try to liberate occupied Palestinians from their dependence on NGOs and settler-colonialism.
The return of the “German spirit”
A NUMBER OF misconceptions are perpetuated when it comes to the dismantling of the inner-German border as the first step to the annexation of the German Democratic Republic by the Federal Republic of Germany. It has been deceptively described as a “peaceful revolution.” True, the GDR state did not oppress the protesters, and it carried out one of the demands, which was to open the border between East and West. However, the West German state began to campaign aggressively
Capitalist ideas
“The gift that keeps on giving” reported on the closure of Clery’s department store in Dublin in June 2015 with the loss of 130 jobs and about 300 operators of franchises. The background is as follows. Gordon Brothers had bought the store in 2012 when it had bank debt of €20 million. They got a write-down on the debt to €12 million. The company was also…
Welcome for change in abortion law
DESPITE A last-ditch attempt by unionist parties to reconvene the Assembly at Stormont in order to stop abortion law changes in Northern Ireland, the long-awaited legislation came into effect at midnight on 21 October
Ireland is not an island!
SINCE THE 1970s the mainstream media, led by the Irish Times, have been using the term “island of Ireland,” and such variations as “this island,” when they need to refer to the whole of Ireland.