Sunday 11 October 2009

QUB GREENS VOTE FOR GREEN CHANGE

The Young Greens celebrate the news that the party membership overwhelmingly endorsed the renewed programme for government at the special convention!

QUB Green delegates attended the Green Party special convention in Dublin's RDS to vote on the new programme for government negotiations!

Our delegates voted in favour of the new programme as it contained some of the most radical changes we have yet seen since the Green Party entered government in 2007.

Here are some examples of what has been gained and will be implemented by the government:

  • 127,000 new jobs to be created in the green and smart economies over the next decade!
  • 12,000 new jobs in locally-based rural enterprises between now and 2013!
  • No 3rd Level Fees in the Republic of Ireland!
  • 500 new teaching posts at primary and secondary level over the next 3 years!
  • Protection for the Hill of Tara by designating such areas as Landscape Conservation Areas!
  • A Cap on Incineration capacity!
  • An end to corporate donations to political parties!
  • Transport will be 2:1 in favour of public transport over roads!
  • Ireland will become a GM Free Zone!
  • Fur-farming will be phased out over 3 years!
  • Stag hunting will be banned!
  • There will be no more culling of badgers!

You can read a summary of all that has been gained at this link.

2 comments:

Práta said...

I'd just like to note that it is not an end to coporate donations to political parties but a reform in the way these donations are handled. As I understand it, these donations will be divided to the parties on the basis of how well they do in the previous elections. Is it just me that thinks this may be a throughly flawed idea?

from Bob.

QUB GREENS said...

Hi Bob! Thank you for your input :-)
You are correct on the electorial fund however I do not feel it is flawed. Corporate Donations can no longer be given to political parties, this is a major change in Irish politics cutting off big business and organisations from funding the likes of Fianna Fail or Fine Gael. The electoral fund you mention will seem absolutely insane to those big businesses because you can rest assured that the companies that donate to the big parties like Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, perhaps even Labour will baulk at the thought that a portion of their donation is going to Sinn Féin or smaller left-wing parties. You could not imagine any kind of take-up for a fund like this so the arrived at solution will most likely reach the same end result in my opinion. It was apparantly this that led to more heated negotiations because Fianna Fail expectedly found it hard to swallow.

Mark
Co-Chair
QUB Greens