"About 120 protesters outside Mullingar station Ming Flanagan, Maura Harrington, etc. Supporting McCabe. M" - Ex-Garda Commissioner Callinan
"You can judge a man by his friends" Brian Purcell - SG of Dept of Justice
"Some shower Brian" Callinan
THE decision to provide a €80 billion bail-out to Anglo Irish Bank while budgets for local hospitals were being cut is indicative of where the interest of the current government lies according to a Sinn Féin councillor.
Cllr Rose Conway-Walsh (pictured) made her comments at the annual Achill Sinn Féin Easter Commemoration at the Fr Manus Sweeney Memorial on Easter Sunday, where MLA, Mitchel McLaughlin was the special guest speaker.
The Belmullet based councillor told the crowd that while 450,000 thousand people were on the dole, the Government saw nothing wrong with bailing out the banks.
“This is a critical time for us and we have a fight on our hands all over the county, with a number of challenges. We have had €80bn taken out of our pockets to hand over to Anglo Irish bank which was the buddies bank of Fianna Fáil and the developers and the bank of the golden circle. They took the money at a time when 450,000 people have no job, when young people fear losing their home, and this is indicative of this current government,” she said.
She said that Sinn Féin will continue to highlight issues they believe is against the common good of the people and highlighted their campaign to save Belmullet Hospital as one such issue. She also condemned the jailing of Erris based fisherman, Pat O’Donnell for his opposition to the Corrib gas project and sent her support and solidarity to his family.
MLA, Mitchel McLaughlin also condemned the jailing of Pat O’Donnell adding that the current policies of the government were not the Ireland envisaged by the signatories of the Proclamation of Independence.
“The young people of Ireland have been left with these longterm debts and will be forced to pay them off. That is the scandalous thing of what this government has done. While the banks will get a 40 per cent discount on their debt the youngsters will not get that discount, they will be expected to pay the while thing. We can provide an alternative and show the leadership that we can create an Ireland of equals which it deserves,” he said.
Mr McLaughlin added that Sinn Féin was facing an election in the North in the summer and was confident that they will continue to grow following the election.