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Ever since Neil Lennon came to Scotland to play for his boyhood team he has received torrents of abuse. No doubt for a section of bigots, being from Northern Ireland, a Catholic and a Celtic fan is enough to mark him out for this treatment.

The "What's Left” survey published by the Irish League of Credit Unions makes for grim reading. Even a glance at the figures presented by this nationwide survey of 1,000 people blows apart any hope or illusions that people are coping with this crisis or optimistic about the future.

With much fanfare, the government recently announced that it had got “permission” from their EU and IMF masters to reverse the cut in the minimum wage institued by the previous government. Fine Gael declared that the decision showed the government was “committed to protecting lower paid workers” while Labour TD Derek Nolan said it showed that “Labour's decision to enter government has made a real difference in people's lives”.

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.

Austerity, the buzzword for the times we live in, as the rich and powerful unleash their recovery plan through this Fine Gael/Labour coalition. 

A survey carried out across the North and South of Ireland found that 32% of respondents between the ages of 15-34 had smoked cannabis. The majority of arrests for drug offences are related to the sale or possession of cannabis. The fact that cannabis is illegal, forces users to go to drug dealers to buy it.

The Socialist Party is opposed to the visits to Ireland by Queen Elizabeth and Barrack Obama. €25 million will be spent wining, dining and protecting the Queen and Obama in a vain attempt to try to rebuild Ireland’s damaged reputation. The reputation of the Irish state was of course destroyed by the actions of the Irish capitalist class whose greed, corruption and unquestioning faith in the market has bankrupted the country.

It’s just two months into this new Dail and the character of the new government is clear. Its the same as the old one, kneels before the ditaks of the EU/IMF, with the Labour Party in particular, arrogantly lecturing working class people to accept austerity cuts. As someone on the radio said, "Same circus, just different clowns!"

With billions more going into the banks and the privatisation of semi states combined with cuts in the number of public sector jobs on the agenda, it is clear that this government is starting where Fianna Fail and the Greens left off. During the recent election while there was much talk of re-negotiating the EU/IMF deal it is evident now that both Fine Gael and Labour are committed to its implementation.

Joe Higgins, Socialist Party TD, when condemning the reprehensible nature of the distressingly misogynistic remarks caught on tape of Gardai speaking about female protesters against Shell in Mayo, said the comments were reminiscent of those of a foreign, oppressive occupying force.