SAVE OUR SOVEREIGNTY

As to date we have not been told who the bondholders are that we are bailing out. None of the political parties have told us. Therefore, how can anybody claim to have the economic answers when the electorate has not been given the full facts?

In order to save what is left of our sovereignty we must have economic and political reforms. To do this we must stop the rot. In any business that means plugging the leaks first and then looking for other areas of growth. What that means is following the big money first and stopping the flood and then fill in the smaller holes. Not the other way around. Yet as to date we are denied access to crucial information, the bondholders continued to be bailed out and the various parties are talking and pointing at different areas of cutting expenditure.

For example Fine Gael said that they want to get rid of the Senate. I believe that this is the wrong approach as it is more accountability and not less that we need!

That is why last weekend in the Heritage Hotel in Portlaoise, a group of independents (including myself) and people from around the country assembled with the aim of establishing a new party, called the National Reform Party. Many are associated with the National forum, but when the big names (Marc Coleman and David McWilliams) decided not to run, their followers took it upon themselves to contact other independents of similar mind to keep the movement going.

The goal is to push for economic and political reform. The citizens of Ireland cannot rely on institutionalized TDs from institutionalized political parties to REFORM the very institutions which the citizens of Ireland have to pay for.

The National Reform Party will be the only group whose core values begins and ends with a need to REFORM our political, legislative and financial system so that we have services which are value for money, an economy we can sustain and afford, and a level playing field for businesses and citizens with an end to tribalism, favouritism, and cronyism.

We need to see Economic Reform in order to re-establish growth. This can be done by various incentives and new policies:

Job Growth – We need to get rid of red tape for employing unemployed and part time workers. We need to bring in work schemes for all on social welfare as an incentive to get back to work. The longer people remain unemployed the more likely they will become unemployable.

Tax Grants – Company’s who wish to expand should be given tax credits by the government in order to encourage companies to employ. This has been used very successfully in Germany. Why are we not doing this?

Educational Grants – For a smart economy to work, we need more high educational institutions. Particularly in the midlands, as we have only one Technical College in Athlone. In my constituency of Laois/Offaly, I am asking for Gurteen College in Birr to be upgraded to a fully fledged Technical College. I am also proposing a new medical college for Tullamore, in order to produce the type of graduates that we need for the high end pharmaceutical companies and research centres for start ups and established pharma companies.

Business Grants – this needs to be expanded to take in factories lying empty. They could be offered rent free by government agencies in order to stimulate growth. There are too many factories lying empty in Birr. This is a scandalous state of affairs.

Debt Forgiveness – bondholder sharing of the pain by negotiated write down of bond values. This will help give vital room for our banks to release capital so they can lend or give mortgage extensions to families in arrears or business’ struggling.

Bondholders Bail IN – Bondholders must be forced to take part of the pain, as our banks have to raise more funds to meet the new standards now set by our new regulator (which is higher than that recommended in Basel 3). This will mean that capital can be freed up for banks to lend again.

NAMA restructured – Nama has failed to live up to its original concept. It now needs to be reviewed and restructured. The state has paid out billions of Euros, the bulk of which has gone into Nama. This is now where our money is. Therefore NAMA needs to be converted into a sovereign wealth fund, so it can raise funds on the international bond markets (like any other semi-state body), as Ireland Inc has been forced out.

By the restructure of Nama it will force it to refocus on getting best value on its books and release ghost estates back into the public for vital social housing. My constituency of Laois/Offaly has being blighted by poor planning with many uncompleted sites under Nama control.

Political Reforms – The Senate needs more powers and not scrapped as put forward by Fine Gael. We need more accountability and not less. We must have a Senate Committee to scrutinize appointments to semi-state bodies. By doing so, we can avoid conflicts of interest like the recent revelations of a legal corporate adviser to NAMA who, only after he was appointed, was discovered to be having
millions of Euros of property debts himself.

It is inevitable that semi-state bodies will be put up for sale to reduce debt. This must be done in an open, transparent way. What many people in Laois/Offaly don’t realize is that all the money has been spent and that Fine Gael will be forced to sell assets like Coillte and Bord Na Mona, on top of the ESB and Bord Gais (which they have already stated they will sell Off), as there is not enough money for them to do what they want to do and grow the economy. This debate has been deliberately avoided. As Fine Gael knows it is a controversial one. In the meantime Fianna Fail has been secretly putting up Coillte land for sale, as again they know that people will object to it. Yet at the same time they have the audacity to say that they object to Fine Gael’s plans of putting the ESB and Bord Gais up for sale.

What we need is honesty and transparency from all parties concerned.

Legislative Reforms- We need more power for backbenchers, opposition and Senators to scrutinize legislation and more free votes in the DAIL.

Senator David Norris was not allowed to read out the List of Bondholders in the Senate. In a democratic society how is this possible? If they can prevent a Senator from reading out the list what else are they capable of doing?

I am campaigning for a more open and transparent system and am opposed to deals behind closed doors which caused the mess that we are in at the present. The new National Reform Party proposes to bring together people of similar minds to help in achieving those  aims.

People need to be aware of what is going on so we can hold onto what is left of our sovereignty.

If you agree with the points above please email me at [email protected]