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SENIOR SINN FÉIN TD Matt Carthy has said that his party would not “at any stage” in the next Government consider rerunning the family and care referendums if they form the next Government.
His comments seemingly signal a u-turn for Sinn Féin on the matter, as back in February leader Mary Lou McDonald said that in the event that both referendums on changing the constitution failed – which turned out to be the case – Sinn Féin would rerun them with different wording.
Speaking on Newstalk’s The Hard Shoulder this evening, Sinn Féin spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Defence Matt Carthy said that rerunning the referendums will not be on Sinn Féin’s priorities list “at all”.
Carthy said that Sinn Féin would focus on issues such as “housing, and the need to reform our health services” if it was in power in the next Government.
Distancing the party from its ‘Yes, yes’ stance during the referendum campaigns, Carthy said that Sinn Féin came to an “on balance” position, but always maintained that it would have run the referendum with different proposed wording.
He said that Senator Tom Clonan and people with disabilities put forward “very strong arguments” for a No vote in the care referendum, and that the Government failed to “rebuke” those arguments.
“It wasn’t our campaign,” Carthy said.
Carthy said that although his party advocated for a ‘Yes, yes’ vote in the referendums, it has always said that it would have opted for the wording recommended by the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality.
The Citizens’ Assembly in 2021 notably recommended that the Government should propose to delete the ‘Woman in the home’ article of the constitution and replace it with non-gender specific language, that obliges the State to take measures to support care within the home and wider community.
The Government’s proposed wording would have seen the State only having to “strive” to support the provision of care within the home, which critics said did not go far enough to support carers.
Back in February, when setting out Sinn Féin’s position, Mary Lou McDonald said: “Should this fail, well then yes, the question we would put would be the wording as per the Citizens’ Assembly,” she said.
McDonald at the time said Sinn Fein would rerun the referendums, with different wording, “early” in their term of Government.
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She is right though. I mean we all know that, don’t we? I’m not gonna stop eating meat, but I do know she is right. Surely we all know that, no? And her place of birth is irrelevant. Should only city folk care about these issues? Not everyone is obsessed with their own parish.
@David Clements: She is a hypocrite is what she is. You think they don’t eat meat at their many UN banquets and junkets? Only the most expensive cuts would do. When the likes of Saint Robinson of the many pensions says don’t eat meat she is only referring to the little people, not ”pillars of society” such as herself.
Well her pension won’t last her long if shes scoffing all this meat now will it. The ticker will be going bang bang.
I’d agree David. She is right. Producing meat is very carbon intensive. If people stop eating meat (especially beef) it would undoubtedly benefit our environment. Farmers (like me) would just have to adjust.
Your obviously a tillage farmer.
Not this year for the first time ever. Milk and beef only.
@David Clements: Yes export livestock to be slaughtered in foreign countries really shows us up. I don’t like Mary Robinson but she is totally right. If anybody who eats meat ever goes to a slaughterhouse would they sit down to a steak afterwards.
I love my lean steaks and the odd birra venison but at the same time I see nothing wrong with having the odd meal without meat, afterall it’s not going to do me any harm.
Did you know Mary was a savage for the bacon and cabbage herself.
How dare this woman try to help save the world when there are some farmers in Mayo who could be affected by her sensible approach!
Coming from a Mayo farming background I have to say fair play to Mary Robinson! FitzMaurice really annoys me, the usual anti intellectual bullshit that rivals the Healy Raes. They’d drag this country back to the Stone Age. Forestry is the future of farming in the west of Ireland, not over grazing with beef cattle.
@Owen Hennelly: Yeah, kill off all your lakes and rivers with monoculture spruce plantations that acidify the soil and water. Great idea Owen, you really know your stuff.
Who said anything about a monoculture? We can grow more than just one variety. Spruce is the main crop but we should also plant native species such as oak, ash, hazel, birch, pine, rowan and willow to diversify the crop.
What do the vegetables have to say about this..
No doubt if there is a vegeconvention there will be a big turnip!!!
Would we not have to import more fruit and veg if we reduced our consumption of meat, red meat in particular, since a lot of our poultry comes from Asia?
@Micheal S. O’ Ceilleachair: AS any self respecting vegetable will tell you, humans evolved as carnivores, the clue is in your mouth, look at those canine teeth. We got an evolutionary advantage by eating meat and the origins of early farming can be dated by the onset of tooth decay due to eating grains and bits of stone from the primitive millingas shown by archaeological research. We had a diet of lean game, berries,nuts and fish which is as good a diet as any and one that is easily copied and is very enjoyable. Now I’m off to knit some yoghurt flip-flops and tofu knickers
@MackPilon: Lots of animals have canine teeth including gorillas, horses and hippos – all herbivores. True meat eaters have sharp, prominent canines like dogs and cats. I’d like to see you try to attack and kill something with those mighty canines you have. Lol. Also the evolutionary advantage we got, was NOT eating meat. Lots of animals eat meat but you don’t see them shooting rockets into space. It was cooking our food, which enabled us to get more calories from a smaller amount of food and so our brain was able to become more advanced.
@Joe Murphy: I don’t think anyone asked the Cabinet for their opinion.
“especially coming from a county so reliant on agriculture” two points 1. What does he think vegetables are? 2. Perhaps it’s the fact that she doesn’t have to get re-elected 5+that means she can actually say what she believes. He on the other hand, cannot.
I stopped eating meat and dairy years ago, its the best thing I’ve ever done for my health.. But trying to tell people they shouldn’t be eating Animal products is like telling people 50 years ago that they shouldn’t be smoking..
Cosmo. I like Meat and Cheese. I like the taste of a nice piece of roast beef or a steak, I like the taste of bacon, sausages and black pudding, I like the taste of chicken, turkey, duck and pheasant, I like the taste of venison. Humans are omnivorous. The majority of us enjoy the taste of different meats, cheeses, cream and yogurts.
What about stopping globalisation of fast food restaurants? Nah we’ll just charge them less corporation tax instead. It’ll be all good.
She spends most of her days flying in planes spewing out carbon emissions on her way to various hand wringing conferences to tell other people their carbon footprint is too high. Pot, kettle, black.
The carbon footprint of cattle agriculture is unsustainable.. simple as that really
@L: They say ti s methane is the problem, why do you say it carbon? Why are you exhaling co2, surely you are as big an emitter? Let here you answer
@Val Martin: When you get a chance watch the documentary Cowspiracy and come back to me
@Val Martin:
Methane is a hydrocarbon.
Seriously. What’s next? “let them eat cake”…
@Seymour business: I have said it before, they’ll not be happy until they control every aspect of the little peoples lives. All of this climate change rubbish is just an excuse to extract money from people in countless different way and control them, that’s the bottom line. We would do well to remember that we are carbon based life forms that exhale CO2.
Let them eat cheese
Fitzmaurice looks like he could do with a vegan diet mind you. He’s the right picture of health that lad
Eating less meat would be good for peoples health and the planet. It is now increasingly likely we will have an ice-free Arctic in the summer months, as early as 2020, which will create a chain reaction that even the deniers will be shouting to tackle climate change. Tens of thousands of years of Arctic sea ice will soon be history.
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/as_arctic_ocean_ice_disappears_global_climate_impacts_intensify_wadhams/3037/
She spends her time jetting first class all over the world, how much does that contribute to global warming?
@Eamon Mac Gowan:
Whatever about her carbon footprint, she has certainly contributed a lot more to Ireland than you ever will. She is respected right around the world in a way that shames the tiny minded FF/FG gombeens.
Vegetarianism is a big miss steak
Oh yes Mary Robinson the women that considered the job of Irish President as beneath her.
She’s telling the truth but we ain’t that bothered about that sort of thing in Ireland. Far easier to make a smart ass comment about the individual than see what we might do to address the issue of climate change.
Over half of harmful emissions causing global warming are due to meat/dairy/poultry production. Also huge amounts of freshwater are used, and deforestation to provide land. She’s spot on with her comments. We don’t hear about it as the agricultural sector is protected. Transport contributes 25% of emissions yet we are constantly reminded of its negative impact yet we hear nothing about meat consumptions impact.
Has anyone looked into the data on CO2 levels and the temperature of the planet over the last millions of years?
Or when they say it’s the hottest September in 50 years. Ah so 50 years ago it was this hot too… Hmmmm
Shane this year is the hottest on record.
@Jimmyjoe. If this year is the hottest on record we here in Ireland have very little to be worried about.
She’s dead right. Michael Fitzmaurice could do with a leaf out of her book. The size of him. Bet he’s not a vegetarian lol.
Another smug millionaire lecturing the peasants. …like bono. ..save the world but let me live in style on my money….cancel the debt unless it’s my trousers someone stole..let them eat cake
How about we stop digging up and bring peat bogs instead Mr Fitzmaurice?
Never ate a piece in my life from birth and never had a sick day. Eating flesh destroys the human body and is the main cause of cancer. They never admit it.
It like the fags. It destroys you but you hide from the real truth.
His point seems to be that it’s unhelpful to those who make money from meat. I don’t think anyone disputes that. Anti-smoking campaigns are unhelpful to those who produce tobacco. Encouraging people to walk or cycle is unhelpful to those in the motor industry.
Comments like this from robbo arw grounds for expulsion from the island imo
Methinks she has lost the plop
http://xkcd.com/1732/ funny but true…
@Diarmaid O’Loughlin: Another bogus graph. Did it frighten you Diarmaid?
€135,000 a year pension for the rest of her life for her 6 years served as President – nice work if you can get it I suppose.
His picture certainly matches the words spoken anyway. If he doesn’t understand the concept of global warming and what is causing it then he opinion of Mary Robinson’s comments should surely be void.
Google “vegan body builder” – it’s very impressive, considering how much we hear you “need a bit of ‘mait’ in ya” to build muscle.
The Alt Green/left wants democracy to fool citizens into thinking they are free. But they engineer a situation where all parties have the same policies with minor differences. They put forward a BIG IDEA, in the belief most voters will fall for it. Hillary was not on the debate 2 minutes until she came out with Solar energy and with the other BIG IDEA, she had an expert group behind her. Trump should have tackled her on who this expert group were and invite them to take part.
Irish people are beginning to cop on. A lot of independents elected last year. Michael Fitzmaurice TD, is aware of the alt green left menace. The demise of religion left a vacuum which is being filed with this replacement.
The true legend and prophet of our time, Mr. Neil Fallon, Esq, said it best. Enjoy it with a nice chunky riff, chugg’n away in the background. “I got no problems with vegans. Let’s be clear on that. But have you ever met someone who has concocted his or her own convenient first-world philosophy? Cherry picked all those bits of radicalism that appealed to them and threw out the ugly bits? Someone who thinks they’re enlightened but are really just a victim of the own peer driven self-congratulatory bullshit? I have. There’s lots of those types in Washington D.C.” How’s that hardcore fanzine? Still take the piss? Y and T got records, demos on cassette. Summer of the seven inch. Too cool for school. Manifestoes at Kinko’s, pinko commies play no fools. I feel the spirit moving over me. There are clouds beneath my feet. When vegans attack on ten speed bikes. Tattoos with meaning, American Spirit Lights. It’s hard to smoke ‘em when you got to be runnin’ Congressional and D.C.P.D. Lafayette Park undercovers, The saddest sight you ever see, ever see. Tear gas electric! You know I can’t quit this riot. Strictly professional insurrectionist kid, and I can’t deny it. I feel the spirit moving over me. There are clouds beneath my feet. When vegans attack on ten speed bikes. Tattoos with meaning, American Spirit Lights. Freshmen in fatigues. You know he’s fighting for his right. Copious note taker. American Spirit Lights. I feel the spirit moving over me. I feel the spirit moving over me. There are clouds beneath my feet. When vegans attack on ten speed bikes. Tattoos with meaning, American Spirit Lights. Freshmen in fatigues. You know he’s fighting for his right. Copious note taker. American Spirit Lights.
Time is comming to choose Cows or cars result bye bye ranchers
@Upowthat Burke: If they want to outlaw cars, say so and see how many votes they will get. The are too wised up for that, The BIG IDEA is Electric Cars which simply transfers the emissions from the exhaust to the power station chimney. The environmental damage in mining and processing Rare Earths is horrendous. But its not about energy, its about promoting the Alt Green / Left agenda by the back door on an unsuspecting public.
Ireland has the resources to produce meat, (very good meat), Oman (for example) does not have that resource. Ireland sells meat to Oman and Oman sells oil to Ireland. All get to feed their families. What is wrong with that? I used to sell meat to Russia the EU banned my exports. You can see the common tread here. No young person can afford to buy a house, no young person has a pension plan. The National Pension Reserve fund is no longer in existence. All gone. Eh?
Whats bizarre about it…..climate change is the most serious issue we have. When we factor everything in, the co2 from cattle,the deforestation to feed them,the overproduction of land etc. eating meat is responsible for most of the global warming…that is a fact,too many people,and running out of time.
Do you know what’s really bizarre Mr Fitzmaurice?? Animal agriculture! Destroying the planet, killing innocent animals and ruining human health all for greed. If you think Mary Robinson’s comments are bizarre, you need to take your head out of the same. The numbers of vegans in Ireland are growing, slowly but surely. Farmers won’t be wiped out over night – like any business they will have to adapt to a changing market and produce plant based foods. You don’t morn cigarette producers or oncologists going out of business when people decide to quit smoking, do you? Yours sincerely, a proud Mayo Vegan (from a farming background).
*sand
No more steak and spuds the death of Olympic dreams !!!
Not really as the population of the world is so large that the need to change farming has to change from what it is to a more plant based system unless people turn cannibal?
The amount of food grown wasted to feed animals that could feed people a lot more without the carbon footprint?:
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