The derogatory remarks made by Mick Wallace TD about the Socialist Party while speaking on the Personal Insolvency Bill, reflect poorly on a TD who claims to operate in the public interest. The Socialist Party has taken a principled stand on all the issues related to Mick Wallace and his failure to declare and pay VAT – we reiterate that he should pay all the monies now owed to the state and put all the relevant information regarding his dealings with the Revenue Commissioners into the public domain.
His remark that people from the Socialist Party “never employed anyone in their lives. Many of them never did a day’s manual work…” illustrates a class bias that says that those who “employ” are more virtuous than the rest of us. Other bosses, like Michael O’Leary, have come out with the same self-congratulatory spin. The reality of profit-hungry capitalism is completely different.
It is not Irish “employers” but ordinary working class people whose instincts and attitudes are to work with others in a co-operative way, so that people do come before profit, that represent the future of this country.
The fact that Mick Wallace attacked the Socialist Party because we called on him to act in the public interest regarding the controversy surrounding his VAT payments will baffle PAYE workers who work hard and whose taxes are deducted at source. We reiterate our call today and defend the record and policies of the Socialist Party in regards to jobs and all issues affecting working class people as well as our right to comment on economic and business issues.
