Ó Snodaigh attacks lunacy of Fine Gael on CIE workers protest

national | anti-capitalism | press release Friday July 18, 2003 16:33 by Justin Moran - Sinn Féin maigh_nuad at yahoo dot com

Ó Snodaigh attacks lunacy of Fine Gael on CIE workers protest

Dublin South Central TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh has today described the comments of Fine Gaels Olivia Mitchell, in which she called for the costs of today’s no fares actions by CIE unions to be taken from the pay packets of the workers as “reactionary half-baked lunacy” from an “inept opposition party”.

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh said: "Just when people thought Fine Gael's ideological confusion couldn't get any worse we are treated to a bitter attack on public sector works by Olivia Mitchell. Her call to take the cost of today's no-fares protest out of the pay packet of workers, pay packets a lot smaller than the one Ms Mitchell receives for attacking them, is the kind of reactionary half-baked lunacy Trade Unions had to face in the 19th century

"The responsibility for the no fares action today rests squarely on the shoulders of Minister Seamus Brennan and the right-wing ideologues in the Progressive Democrat government who are set on breaking up CIE with a half-baked plan to emulate the disastrous private owned London transport model. If the Olivia Mitchell and the Minister want to have the cost of today's protest taken out of their bloated pay packets I have no objection.

"Fine Gael is anti-Union and anti-worker. We already have a Government with those policies, we don't need an inept opposition party to function as Minister Brennan's cheerleaders on the other side of the House.

"The actions of the Trade Unions today are to be applauded. They registered their opposition to the proposals being brought forward by the Government and did so with no disruption to passengers and consumers. Seamus Brennan should show similar common sense by reopening negotiations on his privatisation plans for public transport." ENDS