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SINN FÉIN leader Gerry Adams has said that the current coalition, like the one before it, has failed the Irish people.
Delivering his “presidential address” at the close of the party’s Ard Fheis in Co Mayo, Adams, called on Labour to “leave this government and leave it now.”
“A real Labour Party with a principled leadership should not be in government with Fine Gael,” he said.
If Fine Gael is set on implementing Fianna Fáil policy then let them do that with the support of Fianna Fáil.
Outlining the cuts made over the last two years, Adams said that the Fine Gael/Labour coalition had “no problem putting taxpayers money into the pockets of bankers and financiers” and that the people who “created the mess have been untouched.”
Despite all the election rhetoric from Labour and Fine Gael this is still the best small country in the world for big bankers, crooked developers or corrupt politicians.
‘Elites and the fat cats’
Adams went on to assure those in attendance that his party would “put manners on the elites and the fat cats”, adding that the party would abolish the local property tax when “in government”.
Acknowledging the fact that Ireland’s deficit “must be tackled”, the Sinn Féin leader said that this would be done in a fair manner, and that “those with the broadest shoulders must bear the heaviest load”.
In a fair Ireland the weak, the vulnerable and the least well-off would be protected. If this was a real republic working people would not be punished for the greed and corruption of others.
If the Proclamation of 1916 was a reality families would not be punished. Women would not be punished. Children would not be punished. Citizens with disabilities would not be punished. People in rural Ireland would not be punished. The poor would not be punished.
‘Change cannot wait’
Adams continued, saying that the change that Ireland required could not wait “until there is a real republic”.
Included in these changes was a reversal in the cuts to gardaí, which Adams said his party would propose in the soon to be published report “Standing up for Rural Ireland”.
Mentioning the victims of the Magdalene laundries, along with those of the Bethany Home, as well as those who underwent symphysiotomy operations, Adams said that justice was required in all these cases.
Savita Halappanavar was also mentioned, with Adams saying that he extended his solidarity to “Praveen and his family and friends”.
“It is time doctors had legal clarity,” he said. “It’s time for protection for pregnant women whose lives are at risk.”
Northern Ireland
The Sinn Féin leader said that the party was opposed to austerity across the entire island of Ireland, saying that the “so-called Welfare Reform Bill is another example of the English Tory Agenda.”
Continuing his focus on Northern Ireland, Adams said that the Protestant, Unionist and Loyalist people were not going away. “And Sinn Féin doesn’t want them to go away,” he added.
They are part of what we are and we have to get to know each other better, to listen and take heed of what is being said.
I commit our party, without preconditions, to be part of such discussions as we face into the Orange marching season, and to find solutions to contentious issues and to tackle economic disadvantage.
A truth process
Saying that Ireland’s civil war had left a “bitterness and a legacy that still shapes politics to this day”, Adams said that this, and the events that followed needed “to be faced up to”.
Sinn Féin has argued for the establishment of an Independent International Truth Commission. The two governments; former combatants, and those in leadership across Ireland and Britain need to be part of such a process.
There can be no hierarchy of victims.
I am prepared to meet with victims’ families in this state if they believe this will be helpful. Irish republicans will not shirk from our obligations to those who died as a consequence of the conflict.
Calling for an end to partition in Ireland, Adams called on those in attendance to “imagine the unity of orange and green”.
Describing the party’s vision as being based on equality, Adams said that this meant “equal rights for citizens in same sex relationships, ethnic minorities and those of all creeds and none.”
In closing, Adams said that he wanted to extend his best wishes to the party’s “friend and comrade” Nelson Mandela.
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I’m in the same boat, been epileptic since I was in my early 20′s and now just turned 40. I have had drink in ask that time. I just tell people who ask, that I’m on medication for epilepsy and I can’t drink. They’re usually sympathetic, but the funny thing is, I don’t even think about it now. It’s just the hand I was dealt.
I’m an epileptic too, I was a diagnosed when I was 15- I’m 33 now but I found my early 20s the hardest with seizures because of the drinking culture. It’s hard not to drink alcohol when ‘everyone’ else is.
I eventually learnt the connection btw my fits & drink, & stopped drinking, the seizures have now stopped, I live a stress free life as best I can, & best thing of all- I have my driving licence & I am driving
Are you penalised on your insurance for having epilepsy?
Robby, I am not penalised that much for my epilepsy- I have to get a doctor to sign my license form to say I’m fit to drive (excuse the pun), I’m penalised because I’m a relatively new driver.
I live in the Ohio, so no, in the states they don’t penalize you as long as the neurologist says you can drive. When I lived in Ireland yes, my insurance premiums were higher, as was house insurance.
Was just asking.I know somebody who has been diagnosed recently and is about to start driving again after a year of not having a seizure.I wanted to know how the insurance companies view somebody with epilepsy
I hadn’t started driving until I was 28yrs old, my insurance was high the first year but now it’s not too bad, I actually asked was my insurance high because of epilepsy & the company said no it was up because I was a new driver- if my doctor & neurologist said I was ok to drive
It sums up our drink soaked society. Having to explain why you don’t drink…pathetic. Drink kept us subdued as a nation, through loose talk and in-fighting. It’s also the current curse of anti-social behaviour and A&E problems. When a person is judged by how much and how fast they can ‘swally’ a pint, things have hit a wall. As I said, pathetic.
I am an epileptic who drinks. I think it is important to point out that just because someone is epileptic does not meant they have to avoid alcohol. Everyone has different triggers. I have to avoid overheating, stress and lights flickering.
Alcohol intake and sugar intake can cause seizures also just so ur aware alcohol triggers everyone
I have never really been a drinker, but I have a healthy social life, regularly in pubs. My husband and most of my friends drink. I have no issue with them drinking but occasionally I do have to explain why I don’t drink. I find people are amazed that I am happy to be in the middle of the craic, but it sure is handy when it comes to getting home.
I don’t drink for different reasons and stopped when I was also very young. I found it very difficult to explain myself also when I was younger. But it is nobody’s business why you choose not to drink or why you can’t drink but for some reason people will still look at you like you have two heads and ask you a bunch of silly questions! I have found that if you respond with “it just doesn’t agree with me” (which is technically true) when asked then it tends to be the end of it. You should never have to explain yourself.
I think people are missing the point here, this is not an anti-drinking article. Its about a young girl explaining a pretty big change in her life due to a disorder she has, she had a seizure in a public place which is hard on so many people! Understanding your triggers and making adjustments for these is a huge step and a very brave thing to do!
Your sister is right in her advice. Be honest and upfront about it. That would endear me far quicker to a person than something I would quickly detect as spoofing or sidetracking. It would make me slightly suspicious.
NOT referring to you here, as your piece was reasonable and fair, and not whiney in the slightest. Refreshing in itself
However, in the same way we have to get over our drink culture to some degree, we also know that it’s great fun and so people who don’t like it or look down their noses at it can fcuk off, IMO humble opinion.
When Is eee these artcile and weekly ‘I’m off-the-drink-in-Ireland-please-please-please-look at me’ articlesI just want to put my hand through the screen, catch them by their scrawny whingey necks, and beat them to a bloody pulp.
Plenty of people don;t drink in Ireland. At this point, I think every one of them have written an article on it. The arse is well and truly torn out of that one.
I was a non drinker for years and even now only have the occasional glass of wine. I can honestly say that it has never been an issue. Someone offers to buy me a drink, I ask for a mineral water or diet coke, they ask if I want something stronger, I say I’m not much of a drinker, they buy me the drink I asked for and we talk about something else. I don’t get all these people who claim that it’s a big deal to others when they say they don’t drink. I was wished well in my driving test (many years ago) by a lot of people who saw a ready made designated driver in their future…
Me too. Haven;t had a drink in 15 years and no-one bats an eyelid. However, fro someone in their early 20′s like the author, it would be very different I would think.,
Hope she finds that as you move on through your 20′s it matters less and less. By the time you hit your 30′s, it makes no difference.
i am a non drinker for 20 yrs and have seen a change in how people react but there was a lot of resistance and alienation when i first gave up and i still get a lot of negative reactions, people can get very defensive and act like i am judging them when i am not, i even had two young men almost start a fight with me in bar in Santry once because i ordered a bottle of water.
im epileptic since i was a baby. im 25 now. im a non drinker and only rarely very rarely have one glass of wine i find any tipe of alcohol gives me auras or some sort of dizziness or seizures. tiredness is a trigger for me so i need lots of sleep!
Give up the drink if you can its the most common trigger,but may i share a very short story ,i too have eplipsy and i thougt it would not return as i am over 70 and after 12 years free of attacks i reduced my tablets,only for it to happen again,so dont take the risk i did.
Get yourself a backbone and your life will be better.
‘What are you drinking?’
‘Coke.’
‘Coke?’
‘Yes.’
‘OK.’
Easy, and reduces the need to write dull, navel-gazing articles as a bonus.
Well you’re a pleasant empathetic chap.
I am indeed.
i dont drink anymore and find myself having to explain myself in social situations. id never contemplate asking drinkers why they are having a drink!! but yet they have no issue grilling me about my choices. There’s always the assumption your missing out but the only things im miissing out on are hangovers, the fear, memory loss etc. Not drinking is not a barrier to enjoying yourself, the opposite, in fact, is true. We need to wake up in this Country!
Comfortable? A non alcohol drinker? Happy #ValentinesDay Ambulances are overloaded as it is
(Dick) Ed
I wonder if anyone here has ever experienced the following..
I was at a party once and there was a guy there who happened to say that he had epilepsy, perhaps as he wasn’t drinking.. The person who’s house it was got really freaked out at the idea that someone with epilepsy might be in her house.. Wanted him to leave, which is kinda ridiculous, it’s not like him having epilepsy makes him dangerous, he said he hadn’t had a seizure in ages and he can usually tell when he’s going to have one (lucky sod, I discovered later that I have TLE, I don’t get any warning, mind you, I also don’t have what most people think of as seizures as I don’t get grand mal seizures)..
I realise that saying you aren’t drinking is frequently met with a reaction of almost shock in this country, it’s almost on par with saying you don’t plan to have children if you’re female. But that aside, has anyone here ever suffered this kind of, I dunno, fear(?) surrounding your condition when you say that you have epilepsy?
It’s a condition I know most people have very limited knowledge of, hell, I didn’t even know temporal lobe epilepsy existed until I discovered that’s what had been happening to me since my teens, but with ignorance often comes fear – do any of you have to deal with that too?
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