Joe Higgins walks out over Rehn’s insistence on the confidentiality of discussion

The opening salvos of the debate about the Fiscal Treaty from the right-wing political parties and the establishment media have attempted to ridicule the argument that this is an Austerity Treaty. Leo Varadkar called on the Socialist Party not to "lie about the treaty and what it's about" (quite a serious charge, especially considering it's over a week since I wrote to him seeking a public debate and have received no reply!).

When Dell ceased production in Ireland they employed 3,000 workers directly, and the loss of these jobs was correctly seen as devastating for the people involved and the wider economy. Now a similarly huge jobs massacre is being carried out, but this time in the so-called “nationalised” banks.

The Government plan to introduce a property tax on the family home and a water tax by 2014. They are introducing a household charge in January as an “interim measure” for 2012 and 2013. The charge will start at 100 euro for 2012. It will be levied on 1.6 million households or 86% of all households in the state.

Since publication of this article, further details of how the tax is being introduced have come out, these can be read in this article by Joe Higgins TD.

Below is an article written by the sister section of the Socialist Party in the US, Socialist Alternative. A tremendous struggle in the US resulted in the historic Roe vs. Wade ruling in 1973 that legalised abortion. In the light of the restricting of abortion rights in a whole number of US states in recent years, as well as the current growing mood and movement for abortion rights in Ireland, the lessons from this struggle are really relevant, as well it being a timely moment to ask how the right to choose can be won permanently for women.