Health Warning ! the Best Health Care Is Given to the Rich
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LEFLEFTT TRIBUNE THE MAGAZINE OF LABOUR YOUTH IN IRELAND VOL 3 ISSUE II 2008 HEALTH WARNING ! THE BEST HEALTH CARE IS GIVEN TO THE RICH Also in this issue>>>> Eamon Gilmore, US elections, Asylum Seekers, Democracy in Turkey, Homelessness, Lisbon Treaty 2 The Left Tribune On the Campaign Trail: Labour Youth 4 months on Since our last issue November Labour Youth have been involved in a number of campaigns and demonstrations. At the end of November we joined Labour LGBT candle lit vigil outside the Dail show our support for Same-Sex Marriages and Civil Unions. Following the Cancer Care scandal, Labour Youth were first to call on Mary Harney to publicly apol- ogise and resign. The unjust two-tier health service has been created and is being maintained by the current PD-Fianna Fail government. A Left Tribune is the magazine of worrying development in Ireland today is that not having private health Labour Youth in Ireland. We operate insurance in a sign of poverty. Dermot Looney has written an excellent on the basis of a sustainable and article for this issue on the current state of the Health Service. democratic socialist ethos. Fortunately there are people who stand up to the neo-liberal moves by various institutions, for example Dan O’Neill, UCD Branch Chair tells us As such, Left Tribune is printed on paper which is 50% recycled and on p.8 of the attempt by UCD to introduce student charges in the UCD 50% from sustainable forests. If you Health Centre, and how the student movement in UCD successfully are finished reading, we would ask stopped the college from doing just that. that you pass this issue on to some- one else - or recycle it. Another gain Labour Youth has made, is receiving a commitment by the All articles are copyleft - this means government to reduce the VAT on condoms from 21% down to 13.5% that we encourage the sharing of following their World Aids Day campaign in December 2007. Hopefully these articles and anyone is free to the government will continue to listen to Labour Youth and make all reproduce them. However we would form of contraception completely tax-free. ask that in the interests of those who took their time to write and edit this publication, that you would con- The rotten FF/PD administration extends further than the Health tact us at the details below to let us Service, even the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees UNCR know if you are doing so. has warned the government that their new Immigration, Residence and We welcome articles and comments Protection Bill falls short of good international practice particularly in from all readers to regard to the treatment of unaccompanied minors. Joanne Doherty on [email protected] p.13 outlines the shameful treatment asylum seekers face in Ireland. The opinions expressed in Left There are many great articles in this issue that cover local, national and Tribune are those of its contributors and are not necessarily the policies international topics and they are definatley worth a read! or views of Labour Youth or the Labour Party. Editorial Staff Contents Editor: Christina Mc Sorley Page 3 Condom Victory! Page 4 Deputy Editor: Laura Buttigieg Why Labour Youth say yes to the Lisbon Treaty Page 5 Remembering Charlie Donnelly Copy Editor: Andrew Payne Page 6 Health Hazard: Why our Healthcare is in Crisis Page 8 Contributors: Christine Bohan, Paul UCD Campaign for Free Health Care Dillon, Enda Duffy, Joanne Doherty, Page 9 Poolbeg Incinerator Holly Kilroy Dermot Looney, David Page 10 Ireland’s Housing Crisis Murphy, Hazel Nolan, Patrick Nulty, Maria Parodi, Dan O’Neill, Conor Page 11 The Red Flag Festival Tanam Page 12 Democracy in Turkey: The Fight for a Kurdish Voice Page 13 With thanks to: Cian ‘the legend’ Asylum Seekers in Ireland under Fianna Fail O'Callaghan Page 14 US Election: Special Report Page 16 On The Shelf: Labour Youth Book Reviews Printed by: Grehan Print, Brunswick Page 18 House, Dublin 2 Roisin Shorthall answers the questions in this issue’s LT files Page 19 Eamon Gilmore tells us his vision for the future of the Labour Party www.LabourYouth.ie The Left Tribune 3 Labour Youth win a Rubbery Victory Labour Youth has led the campaign to this issue. In 2006 the Labour Youth reduce the VAT on condoms for sev- budget submission highlighted the eral years and the governments case for removing tax on safer sex. announcement to reduce VAT on con- As recently as today Labour Youth doms from 21% to 13.5% is a step in members were distributing free con- the right direction. doms in UCD as part of the cam- paign. In December 2007 to mark World Aids Day Labour Youth distributed free Speaking on the Issue Labour Youth condoms with Proinsias De Rossa National Chairperson Enda Duffy said M.E.P. in Grafton Street to highlight "This is a welcome initiative from the Jan O’Sullivan hands out condoms Government who have finally decid- infront of the Dail ed to act to reduce tax on safer sex. young people and students." However it does not go far enough. Under EU regulations a VAT rate as Labour Youth call on condom ven- low as 5% is permissible on contra- dors to pass on the cut in VAT direct- ception. It is deplorable that the gov- ly onto consumers. Anything else will ernment is still taxing safer sex at amount to gross and ruthless profi- rate higher than required by the EU. teering at the expense of people's The government also needs to sexual health. The government needs increase the supply of free contra- to take firm action against any com- ception to target groups including panies or vendors that fail to pass on the VAT cut. We are Irish Citizens, not $hell Subjects On June 29th 2005, five farmers ‘cost-effective’ a gas refinery, that in from a rural town in Mayo were jailed itself severly lacks high safety stan- for getting in Shell's way of its con- dards on unstable bog land is dan- struction of a high-pressure pipeline gerous in the extreme. Will it take a that threatened the lives and liveli- disaster in Mayo costing the lives of hoods of their families and neigh- ourable representatives regardless the local community for us to realise bours. Thousands of people in towns of the health and safety repercus- that what Shell and the Irish govern- across the country including active sions Irish citizens will face on a ment are doing is negligent? contingents of Labour Youth rallied in day-to-day basis. Although the Shell2Sea campaign support of the men. The government, The community in Rossport are has dealt with internal difficulties and and other political parties have understandably afraid for their fami- criticism, we have opportunity to ignored the issues being raised by lies' safety. In June 2001 a Shell show, not only the Labour Party but the Rossport community chosing to pipeline burst in Nigeria and crude the government too, that Shell must take the easy way out and continue oil flowed into the waterways of a go to Sea. to let Shell place Irish lives in dan- local village for 18 days before being ger. finally clamped. Over 150,000 resi- For more information go to: Shell to Sea has suffered another dents relied on the local streams for www.corribsos.com blow in March 2007 when Mayo drinking water, many fell sick and in County Councillors voted against the extreme cases died from the con- Local residents showing their wishes of a considerable number of tamination. This wanton pollution opposition to Shell residents and gave their permission came less than a decade after nine to allow the council to accept €3mil- anti-Shell activists were arrested, tor- lion from Shell, Statoil and Marathon tured and killed by the military gov- to widen and strengthen a road to be ernment having close ties to the used exclusively by Shell. This is just multinational corporation. another example of how multi-nation- Furthermore, Shell refused to pay a al organisations can buy off our $1.5 billion fine levelled by the national resources from un-hon- Nigerian Senate for the pollution caused by the spill. Constructing a www.LabourYouth.ie 4 The Left Tribune Labour Youth say YES to Europe Hazel Nolan, Labour Youth Equality Officer explains why we all should say YES to Europe Europe has done much to benefit and within the EU Commission. It also improve social and economic stan- addresses this deficit in strengthening dards in Europe. It has also acted as national parliament. If half the 27 an aid in counter balancing the suc- member states are unsatisfied then a cession of right wing government fail- majority of national governments may ures through the decriminalisation of demand that a measure be discarded. homosexuality, equal pay, social wel- Regarding the militarization of the EU, fare reform and free movement of this treaty ensures that Ireland retains people. Europe has also held Ireland its triple lock system; this means that to account on Environmental issues On the Lisbon Treaty it is our privilege Ireland will not send troops abroad where weak government policy has to be in a position to vote. This is not nor join any foreign missions unless time and again fallen short of the however an argument for voting YES, they have received a UN mandate to international set standard. Where or indeed NO to the Lisbon Treaty, as do so. This means that the EU can these governments have failed us some claim.