A Plan For Ireland's Future

A Letter from Ireland

a Chara, Hello from Ireland. It’s been all about budgets since I got home. In both Irish and British terms, a budget is the government plan for spending for the coming year; mostly tax changes and spending on public services.

In London, the government of Liz Truss brought forward a mini-budget that has caused economic chaos. In Dublin, the Irish Government has spent a lot to do little. Failing to deal with the systemic failures in housing and health care while offering little to those facing cost-of-living and energy crisis. At a time of rising inflation, and increasing costs, the British Government has decided to significantly cut taxes to the highest earners and to pay for this with increased borrowing. The result was a collapse in the value of the sterling pound and an increase in the cost of mortgages to working families. The expectation is that the dollar will reach parity with the pound. Liz Truss seems to take the same approach to economics and markets as she does to international law and relations: All should bend to Britannia's rule. This British Government does not have a plan, it has a worldview. High on their own supply of nostalgia for a long-gone empire, it runs on hubris. But the reality is biting. As the economy is tanking, they are continuing to fight with the EU on Ireland and alienate the US Congress and administration. The British Government is in a hole of its own making and seems determined to keep digging. While we might look on with a smile, their actions have a real cost. That cost is borne by families struggling to make ends meet. That cost is borne in the North of Ireland, which has been without a government due to successive British Governments choosing to fight with the EU over honoring their agreements and legal obligations. It is borne by businesses living with the uncertainty of the next British Government action. People are moving on. More and more realize that Westminster and London do not represent the best interests of the people in the North. We can do better, together as a unified island. This week thousands will gather in Dublin to discuss Irish Unity. The event organized by a civic group known as “Ireland’s Future” will hear from a very broad spectrum of speakers. The common thread is Irish Unity. It will be a remarkable gathering with speakers, guests, and attendees from all over the island. While Britain is looking back, Ireland is looking forward. Have a good weekend. Is mise,

Ciarán

Ciarán Quinn is the Sinn Féin Representative to North America. Each week he writes a letter from Ireland with news and analysis. It is featured in the weekly Friends of Sinn Féin USA Newsletter. Be sure you are subscribed to stay up to date.