As EU-IMF come to town . . .

Friday 1 July 2011

The Enough Campaign, involving Richard Boyd Barrett TD among many others, has called a week of protest and resistance to the EU-IMF during their next upcoming quarterly “review” visit (6 – 16 July) that will conclude with a National Demonstration on Saturday 16th July.

We demand jobs, fairness and democracy
Bail out people not banks
Scrap the EU-IMF deal

The EU-IMF deal and the bail out of International financiers and speculators are crushing our society. The EU-IMF are demanding that ordinary people – workers, the poor, the vulnerable – pay-off the gambling debts of private banks and developers with savage cuts and austerity. The country is being landed with astronomical debts it can’t pay and this is robbing the country of the funds we need to protect services and create jobs.

The results of this economic madness are there for all to see:

• 439,571 are without work
• 170,000 have emigrated and a further 50,000 will go this year
• Health, Education, Special Needs, Carers & public transport have all been severely cut
• Universal Social Charge, cuts to pay, rent allowance, unemployment and child benefit have slashed incomes to low and middle income families
• Tens of thousands of families are unable to pay mortgage arrears.

But this is not enough for the EU/IMF. Now they are demanding:

• Cuts to pay and conditions for the lowest paid workers
• A sell-off of our state assets and natural resources
• A raid of our pension funds
• More cuts to public services
• The slashing of public investment in vital infrastructure projects
• Domestic water charges & a tax on all homes.

These cuts are not only brutally unfair – they are making the economic crisis worse. The more people’s incomes are cut, the less they spend and the more businesses and jobs are lost. The government refuses even to allow a referendum – as happened in Iceland – on whether we should sign up to this disastrous plan to bail out the greedy speculators caused the crisis in the first place. They insist there is no alternative, but this is a lie.

Even now speculators and the super-wealthy are actually benefiting from the crisis and getting richer. Yet the government and the EU-IMF refuse to impose taxes on the super-wealthy and refuse to allow the banking system to be taken into full public control so as to protect the jobs of bank workers and to invest in jobs and useful industry.

We need to resist this madness through people power. In Greece, Portugal and now Spain, workers, young people and pensioners are taking to the streets in protest. The people of Egypt have shown that people power can defeat corrupt and undemocratic governments. As the cuts deepen more and more people are saying ‘Enough!’ In recent weeks there have been protests in defence of special needs provision in schools, hospital services, bus routes and pay rates for low paid workers to mention just a few. We need to scarp this EU-IMF deal and stop the destruction of our services now.

Check out more at:

http://www.swp.ie/news/enough-campaign-lead-fightback/4449

http://www.protectlowestpaid.ie/

TIMETABLE OF EVENTS

Wed 6th July – EU-IMF Deal
11am Press Launch
Buswells Hotel, Molesworth St

1pm Protest
Department of Finance, Upper Merrion St

7.30pm Meeting
Gresham Hotel, O’Connell St. Dublin 1
Speakers: Giannis Koutras (Greek Activist), Richard Boyd Barrett TD, Jimmy Kelly, (Unite), Adrienne Murphy (Journalist & Parent of Special Needs Child), Andy Storey (Afri), Joan Collins TD, Thomas Pringle TD

SAT. 9th July
End the Bank Bail Outs / Mock Referendum on the EU-IMF Deal
12-4pm Street Protest
Central Bank Plaza

TUES 12th July
Free Education For All – No To Student Fees
1pm Dáil, Merrion St.

Wed 13th July
Special Needs Protest
6pm Dáil, Kildare St.

Thurs 14th July
Protect Public Services – Save Our Bus Services Protest
1pm Dáil, Merrion St

SAT 16th JULY – NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION
Tell the EU-IMF ENOUGH!
Demand Jobs, Fairness & Democracy
Bail Out People Not Banks
Scrap the EU-IMF Deal
2pm, Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Sq. Dublin

For more information see www.enoughcampaign.org
Info: 0872886646