Party reiterates calls for abolition of USC on first €40,000
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has defended her party after claims this week that its leadership could not decide a clear position on immigration following its 2020 general election success.
Speaking on Wednesday at the Sinn Féin think-in in Malahide, Ms McDonald said she had not read a book due to be published this week by Siobhán Fenton which recounts how the party hierarchy delayed setting out a clear position on immigration policy.
In an extract published on Sunday, Ms Fenton recalls being branded “Sinn Féin traitors” by one man while working for the party.
The former press officer claims the main opposition party was also “blindsided by the emergence of these sentiments and by the plummet in support for the party as working-class communities turned against it.”
Ms McDonald told reporters today that the party acknowledged “that at a point in time, our communities reflected to us that they weren’t hearing loudly enough from us in challenging the Government in their failures to manage the process of asylum seeking”.
She said she “personally accepted” the impact immigration policy has on certain communities, adding that “at the heart of this is the question of respect, respect for communities themselves, respect for their experiences, their real-lived experiences, respect also for those who seek refuge and asylum, respect for the system, for the rules and regulations, and for their application”.
“I haven’t obviously seen the book or even what you’re referring to there, but I can give an account of our approach to this issue,” Ms McDonald said.
“I know for some people it seems to be controversial to say that Government and statutory agencies would listen to and communicate with communities. That’s not controversial for us. We think that’s just a matter of basic respect,” she said.
Ahead of the budget next month, Sinn Féin is again calling for the Universal Social Charge to be abolished on the first €40,000 of a person’s income.
Ms McDonald and finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty also reiterated its position to deliver €10 childcare a day, the removal of the Carbon Tax and called for the reinstatement of universal energy credits, something Taoiseach Micheál Martin has all but ruled out in the budget.
Following comments made by Mr Martin this week that the conditions for calling a border poll was an issue that has to be discussed, the Sinn Féin leader reiterated calls for preparation on unity referendums.
“Any political party, and particularly those in Government now, if they imagine that they can forever stall and bury their head in the sand, is simply living in a fool’s paradise.
“It is now absolutely imperative that we have orderly, responsible dialogue and preparation for referendums in advance of the referendums to ensure that we can have a process that is democratic, peaceful, and orderly,” she said.
Ahead of a visit this weekend to Ireland by US president Donald Trump, the Sinn Féin leader said she backed protests due to take place given the situation in Gaza.
“I am not surprised that there will be protests at this visit. I think it is quite correct, given the scale of the breaches of international law,” Ms McDonald said.