John Gormley

Speech to Dáil Éireann, 6 December 2006, by John Gormley TD, Green Party Chairman

I’m glad to have the opportunity at last to speak in the House on the issue of the running down of our Post Office network. As you know, Ceann Comhairle, I have repeatedly submitted questions, motions and requests for adjournment debates on this issue over the past few months. On each occasion, the matter was ruled out of order on the basis that the Minister is not responsible for An Post. However on the 11th of May this year, Minister Seamus Brennan told my colleague Dan Boyle in the House that “The Government is committed to maintaining a viable network of post offices throughout the country”. How can the Government be committed to an objective, and yet refuse to take action on it, and refuse to even answer questions about it in this house? (more…)

Mr. Gormley: It is important that we debate this issue and I am glad that the Government has put forward this motion.  My colleague, Deputy Boyle, has previously suggested that we use our pension funds in ethical ways and this may have been alluded to earlier, but certainly the suggestion that has come from our AWEPA group is worthy of consideration.  What AWEPA has suggested, and what the Green Party has previously suggested, is that we look at the pension funds in a creative and constructive way and that we should not use our pensions money to invest in harmful products such as tobacco, alcohol and armaments.  AWEPA is suggesting that we divest Irish pension funds from Sudan.  It is a suggestion which the Government Deputies ought to consider.  AWEPA states clearly that while the diplomatic deadlock persists, this is a means of applying extra pressure on Khartoum and that President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan has rejected the plan to allow the African Union UN force to be deployed in Darfur by 1 January next.  If we were to take the action AWEPA is suggesting, it would be a small step, which perhaps some would regard as insignificant but which would set the ball rolling for a much wider campaign at European Union level.  We can light that torch.  If that is done and all of the European Union countries were to act together on this, the effect would be significant.  That is why it is important that the Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, takes that initiative to his colleagues in the European Union as a way forward. (more…)

Speech delivered during an adjournment debate in the Dáil today by John Gormley, TD for Dublin South East:

I would like to thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to once again raise the ever increasing problem of graffiti in our city. You may recall, Ceann Comhairle, that at the beginning of the summer I raised this issue in the hope that the Government would take action to deal with the problem, but sadly very little has been done and the complaints from constituents about this problem continue.

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Mr. Gormley: I thank the Minister of State for outlining these proposals in detail.  He will have the full support of the House for this Bill.  I will not speak for long because most of the issues have been covered.

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Mr. Gormley: The White Paper has been warmly received by the NGO community and I welcome many aspects of it. During the summer I was in New York with the Taoiseach and the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan. On my return I stated that the Taoiseach’s speech had been well received at the UN. Ireland’s good work is acknowledged, particularly by those in sub-Saharan Africa. Ireland is playing a major role in aid. (more…)

Mr. Gormley: It is very important that we discuss this topic at length in the House. We have spoken about it in committees, but this is the first time we have done so in the Chamber. At a time of unprecedented economic growth and prosperity, why is there an increase in suicide? There are several answers to the question. If one reads the report, one can get an indication of that. Going back 100 years, Durkheim stated that many suicides occur when the attachments between an individual and society are strained and fragmented. We have an economic system and parties, such as that of the Minister of State, which advocate a certain economic orthodoxy that places the emphasis on the individual as opposed to society. Margaret Thatcher once famously said that there is no such thing as society, only the individual. That is very dangerous and we can see the consequences of that kind of thinking. So much of life has now become a commodity. The rearing of children, child care and looking after older people are now commodities. People are paid to do things and the idea of volunteerism is now gone. The extended family is gone and the type of society that we now have is based on capitalism and the market. We can call it an industrialised society or a consumer society, but it amounts to the same thing; the individual seems to be under enormous pressure. That has led to an increase in suicide, despair, depression and alienation from society as the individual sees it.

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Mr. Gormley: It is only right and proper that the House should have the opportunity to debate the deployment of 150 Irish troops to Lebanon.  I said yesterday that the Government might have been reluctant to debate this matter in the House because, strictly speaking, it is not a chapter 7 mission, although Condoleezza Rice has said that, for all intents and purposes, it is such a mission.  Like Deputy Ó Snodaigh, I ask that the Minister clarify the position.  Lebanon did not want it to be a chapter 7 mission but it seems that the United States has managed to manoeuvre matters in such a way that it may become such a mission.

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Mr. Gormley: This morning the Tánaiste said the Progressive Democrats believes in accountability, though he refused to answer two of my questions regarding payments received by the Taoiseach from sources in Manchester. Had his privacy legislation been in place, the recent stories relating to payments to the Taoiseach would not have emerged. The purpose of that legislation is to protect the most powerful and wealthy people in society. I believe this is the function of the neo-conservative Progressive Democrats. There is very little accountability.

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 Mr. Gormley: I am grateful to the Chair for giving me the opportunity to raise what is a very important issue for my constituents especially and, indeed, anyone who cares about the environment.  The mission statement of Waterways Ireland reads as follows:
Waterways Ireland is the guardian of Ireland’s inland navigations.  Our mission is to provide a high quality recreational environment on waterways in our care for the benefit of all ….. The inland waterways have intrinsic value as areas of ecological, archaeological, architectural, engineering and historic value.  Their size and geographical extent within Ireland are of regional and international significance. (more…)

Mr. Gormley: The purpose of the summit was to try to deal with the impasse that continues in the European Union following the rejection by the Dutch and French of the European constitution.  It seems that we will muddle along on the basis of this summit.  I have not seen any concrete proposals emerging simply because countries have different points of view.  The British believe the constitution is dead and do not want to know about it.  They were never enthusiastic about it anyway.  The French do not want to say too much because their people have rejected it and domestically it would not look good to suggest holding another referendum, as it would not be acceptable to the French people.  The Dutch are in a similar situation which leaves the Germans under Angela Merkel, who want to resuscitate the constitution and who are its main drivers. (more…)