Federal Ireland needs discussing

Firstly I think we should dispel the myths and misconceptions surrounding the idea of a Federal Ireland. We must understand that Ireland is a 32 County Nation and that is not going to change. In the 6 counties we have a unique issue compared with the rest of Ireland which is British occupation, however the concept of a Federal Ireland does not just answer the question of British occupation and offer a somewhat acceptable future Ireland for the unionists, it should also appeal to the people of the 26 counties who are currently governed in an over-centralised manner leading to deprivation and corruption. No other current proposal for Ireland takes into account the needs and wants of the people of the 26 counties, instead, they focus entirely on the 6 counties just simply joining the free state or hoping that the current status quo is successful.  


There is a belief in some circles that a Federal Ireland is not a united Ireland, it is necessary to point out that a Country can be united through a unitary or Federal state, a lot of people believe united means unitary however there are many “united” countries in existence that are Federal in structure such as Switzerland or the USA.


Criticism has also been made of a four Province Federation, such criticisms have included that it is administratively cumbersome, that Ireland is too small a country to have four assemblies, this to me is an unfounded criticism, Ireland is historically divided among provincial lines, it would enhance Irish democracy, the more power closer to the people the better, this also allows for better accountability and less chance of corruption going unchecked. It would also ensure that there is a just distribution of wealth and power throughout the country and ensure that no one group of people could dominate the other. 


The key element of any proposal is that it is not written in stone, the Federal concept is no different. It is open for all the people of Ireland to have their say on how it would work. Republicans have not been the only people to propose a Federal solution for Ireland, we have had many proposals in the past, from Fine Gael who had a new Ireland Forum where they proposed a two state Federal solution to Desmond Boal, founding chairman of the DUP who suggested a Federal Ireland retaining “Northern Ireland” as a Federal state.


From a policy perspective Republicans who advocate Federalism have generally thrown their weight behind Éire Nua.


Éire Nua was first launched as the policy of Sinn Féin in 1971. Éire Nua is a detailed proposal on how a New Ireland post-British withdrawal could work along Federal structures. Advocating a four state Federal government with a central Government (Dáil Eireann), it is generally seen as the definitive Republican Federal position. In 1982 the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis rejected Eire nua in favour of a Unitary State, formally removing it from the constitution in 1983.Those responsible saw it as a Sop to Unionism, laughable considering that same personnel is today Power sharing with Unionists in Stormont. After the Sinn Féin Split in 1986 around abstentionism in was re-adopted by Sinn Féin Poblachtach (Republican Sinn Féin) and is today their current policy.


With Brexit looming and it set to affect everyone in Ireland people are scrambling to look at political solutions, the idea of an independent Ireland is starting to sink into the Unionist people as a reality of the future. I believe that as Republicans, that we as the people wanting to change the status quo and create a New Ireland it is incumbent on us to create the solution. We need to unify around a proposal for Ireland that can be acceptable to the vast majority of the Irish nation and this, of course, includes those who currently subscribe to British Unionism while not losing sight of our Republican Principles either.


We live in a diverse society, I believe that a Federal Ireland acknowledges and caters for the diversity of our society. The concept of a Federal Ireland is little known. When I bring up the subject a lot of people had never even thought of this idea as a solution. I am not saying that any one idea out there today is the answer, that Federalism is some kind of magic formula to solve all our woes. What I am saying is that it is an answer and at the very least we should be discussing it. I would like to see the day that every person in Ireland at least understood the concept at a basic level. This Blog piece does not go into the nitty gritty of what would be involved, that would be a much longer piece, but I hope it at least serves as a catalyst for discussion.


Cáit

Comments

  1. I agree with everything you have written, Cáit. The 4 province Federal solution should be promoted by Republicans now to prevent a greater Free State with the 6 Counties being tacked on as a semi-independent province becoming ingrained as the only possible united Ireland.

    The decentralisation that comes with Federalism should be embraced. I would support community councils, direct democracy at local level, petitions to force referenda etc. These things would help not only the running of the state but assist with the empowerment of the people which leads to a greater quality of life for citizens. Isn't that what Republicans and socialists want after all?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Agree, at the very least it should be promoted to the level that the general public at least understand what it is and what it means, for me that is our job and we have certainly neglected it! 5 year plan that federalism gets adequate media attention and discussion and a natural body of support can grow from that

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Republicans must stand united in defiance of British rule and all its vestiges

Image
Republicans must stand united in defiance of British rule and all its vestiges The disgusting scenes from the British Armed Police in Lurgan today are enough to shock anyone; it is a throw back to what middle of the road mediocre pundits would call “the dark old days”. But to look at what happened in Lurgan today we must understand why it happened.

In Ireland Republicans and anyone who assembles on the street must seek permission from the British State, many Republicans in recent years have done this in order to avoid any kind of annoyance, for peace sake you may say. For many Republicans seeking permission from the British state stands in direct contradiction of being a republican, I am one such Republican. I stand by the Proclamation of 1916, I do not take it as a mild suggestion, to me it is the cornerstone of my faith and I abide by it as faithfully as I can. The Proclamation is not vague when it comes to this issue:

“We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership …
Read more

Shampoppy!

Shampoppy!
So having a casual look through Facebook, as you do on a cold Tuesday night, I couldn’t help but see the interest in Leo Varadkar and his sporting a glitzy Shampoppy in Leinster house today. For those of you who don’t know, the leader of the Freestate today donned on his lapel a red poppy which commemorates the British Army but to “paddy” it up a bit, it was surrounded by a Shamrock!

Why is this alarming? Well for many people they still live in the days when even the Freestate wouldn’t be so obvious or offensive to the people of Ireland as to commemorate an Army that has murdered, tortured, harassed and mutilated its people. The idea floating about now is to try and rehabilitate the British army and to get the general public to accept a notion that “our men” died in its ranks and so, therefore, we should commemorate. Even PSF in later years have attended British Army commemorations and who can forget the image of Alex Maskey laying a wreath at a British Army cenotaph.
Person…
Read more

Hooded men ruling gives permission to torture

Image
Taking someone to a secret location against their will, putting them up against a wall in a stress position, beating them, hooding them, playing white noise constantly, denying them food, water and sleep doesn’t constitute torture according to the European court of human rights!

I awoke this morning to find the news that the hooded men case had upheld the original 1978 ruling, to say I am aggrieved for all the men involved in an understatement, but am I surprised? Not really if I am honest, it is nothing to do with the reality of the case, anyone with even a scant interest in human rights will concede that the five techniques used against these men most certainly counts as torture. I am not surprised because when it comes to human rights abuses there are certain countries that are deemed above that, players if you will and the UK is one of them.

In 1971 Ireland was in the midst of mass Internment by the British government, for 14 men this meant the beginning of a period of torture, tort…
Read more