The SFWP Manifesto is a living document. As the world changes, as the party changes, as new information and new alternatives reach our doors, we are committed to being receptive to all our constituents and communities and providing the strongest, most versatile and full-throated support possible.
Ireland is a nation of equals. Throughout the years, the left in Ireland have pushed hard for equality, fairness and prosperity.
This election offers the people of Ireland a chance to redraw the map with a party determined to bring real change and prosperity to Ireland. Any Government we are a part of will push past partisan divides to deliver real, tangible change for all.
This election gives you the choice to vote for change, for a fair and just society. Come election day a vote for SFWP is a vote to build a better future.
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SFWP will end Direct Provision, and fight to integrate refugees in line with best models used today. We will bring refugees into the workforce, adapt schools and community activities to improve integration, and develop introductory programs to support and educate refugees as full members of society.
SFWP believes this government must present legislation which prepares us for a united Ireland. This has always been our belief and legislation submitted has yet to be read. In the lead up to Brexit the need is growing to show we, as a nation, are devoted to fair and peaceful unification which protects the rights of all, by protecting all people equally, but with particular respect to community identity and economic needs.
SFWP will seek to amend, develop and enact housing legislation as a matter of urgency to address the many barriers to safe accommodation currently experienced by victims of domestic violence. We will increase the emergency accommodation capacity of domestic violence services. We will ring-fence and maintain budgets for domestic violence services with a view to increase budgets by 10% over subsequent years. We will ratify the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence and establish regional committees on domestic violence and ensure they are briefed in full by SAFE Ireland and its members.
We will fight for the strongest protections for reproductive rights and the aggressive implementation of women's healthcare facilities across Ireland. We will fight to make this healthcare available to all regardless of income. We will maintain a minister of Women's Rights in and out of any government coalition.
SFWP believes that mental health issues are not being treated with the urgency they should be. To combat the mental health stigma in Ireland and to help people who struggle with mental health we will increase funding to tackle this important issue and support sufficient staff, facilities, home treatments, and crisis response teams.
We support a universal publicly funded system free at the point of delivery. We must end all State subsidies and HSE contracts with private for profit organisations, staff must be directly employed by the State, and all GPs given State contracts which preclude working outside health care. We will advocate for home care as an economic and social benefit in many cases. We will work towards greater integration of Health & Social Care within the HSE increasing funding to help improve the standard of healthcare within Ireland. SFWP will also push towards ensuring full rural health care coverage and hire more nurses to ensure that the HSE runs smoothly and efficiently.
SFWP believes that to fight crime, the people must have confidence in the people charged to fight crime on both sides of the border. With this confidence shaken we will establish a cross-community commission to improve trust and transparency within the Gardaí . Recent scandals involving the Gardaí warrant special review and increased transparency. A Police Authority with members from all sections of society must be established with power to appoint and remove senior Gardaí. Gardaí must create regional partnerships to consult and increase cooperation with community activists and civic leaders.
We are calling for fundamental and structural reforms to the prison service to shift the focus within prisons from security to rehabilitation whilst ensuring the safety and dignity of both prison staff and prisoners. To secure improvements to the standards of justice it is essential that we have a system focused on outcomes which does more than simply process cases.
SFWP believes that clearer accountability mechanisms are required to maintain and bolster public confidence in the criminal justice system. We are calling for a review of the oversight mechanisms between the Public Prosecution Service, the Attorney General and the Executive whilst maintaining independence of decision-making. We believe in the importance of jurors and will support suggestions which improve their understanding, autonomy, and capability to improve the justice system.
The AIB must remain publicly owned and we must take measures to de-leverage banks from the property market to protect against housing inflation and facilitate state ownership. Working class debt must be repudiated where it can be shown as a consequence of criminal behavior and the current crisis. SFWP will push for Northern Ireland to establish a People's Bank for community and strategic investment to rebuild our economy on firm foundations of productivity, good jobs and economic democracy. On its foundation the bank will seek partnership with the British and Irish Governments for joint investment in Northern Ireland.
Above all else, the economy in Ireland can only grow and develop if it generates more employment and focuses on securing better paid jobs. More jobs enhances society by alleviating poverty and making sure that as many people as possible have the dignity of work. More jobs will also stem the flow of our young people emigrating in pursuit of a better economic future.
Every modern, open economy must prioritise investment in its most competitive assets by channelling resources to those sectors where it is in the best position to compete internationally while generating wealth domestically. We will continue to support our traditional primary manufacturing and services sectors while prioritising new sectors where we see potential for growth and export. In Ireland our priority sectors include agrifood, tourism, green jobs and ICT. In these sectors we have developed a degree of competitive advantage that deserves investment.
Under the direction of SFWP an increasing percentage of all waste will be recycled, over 40% of all municipal waste, and an ever reducing percentage must be diverted to landfill. SFWP remains committed to the continuation of this improved performance and we will commit to a long term recycling strategy on an all-island basis and will propose radical changes in waste management legislation.
SFWP has consistently championed the introduction of climate change legislation in Ireland as we believe a bill would provide new recognition to the reality of climate change and further create the clarity businesses and industries need. A new bill will help drive environmental innovation and create new jobs. We believe that the next Programme for Government must commit to the introduction of a new Climate Change Bill.
SFWP fundamentally opposes any fracking in Ireland. There is no evidence to prove that fracking can be carried out safely and responsibly and that the process raises serious concerns about the protection of our rural landscapes and the security of our water supply. Banning onshore fracking is only a good start. We support the development of new, safe and renewable sources of energy.
Housing waiting lists indicate that there are not enough new houses being built to meet housing need. There is an appetite for more affordable houses to be built, to help people make their way onto the housing ladder. We will prioritise the large-scale building of both new social and affordable houses with directly employed labour. We must ensure local authorities have the support and the planning to build vibrant mixed income communities with adequate transport, childcare, and amenities. We will strengthen the Derelict Sites Act, implement a windfall tax on profits from rezoning, end the privatisation of social housing and any property related tax incentives.
SFWP will introduce a new homelessness strategy, aimed at helping those who are homeless and protecting those at risk of homelessness. It is incumbent on statutory agencies to work together with those in the charity sector to formulate a new homelessness strategy.
We will introduce a new Housing Cooperative scheme, allowing renters to establish housing co-op’s by pooling their money together, getting access to a bank mortgage and buying their rented homes. In the future, said cooperative would be able to charge a small rent as mortgage payment. We will also introduce a graded rent control scheme for private buyers, whereby rent bands are established that correspond to the desirability of the property.
In addition to the major roads linking Belfast and Dublin with Derry, we are calling for a road-building programme spanning: 1. The planned Ballynahinch bypass. 2. A major upgrade of the road between Newry and Downpatrick (to maximise the benefit of the Narrow Water Bridge and to open up the Mournes). 3. Major improvement of the A4/N16 between Enniskillen and Sligo.
We will increase investment in public transport, and replace the NTA with a state agency concerned with cheap efficient transport and reducing dependency on and costs of private traffic. We will work with local communities to plan new and improved routes. We will support drivers, engineers and other workers, increase the fleet, and increase subvention to the European average.
Solidarity believes that Ireland must have modern rail infrastructure and we will ensure the continued development of a modern railway system throughout the island. We support improved connectivity between our airports and rail services. Access to airports through direct railways is a hallmark of most major European and international cities and it is essential to developing Ireland as a business and tourist destination. We will also look into cross-border schemes to create further links on the island.
SFWP believes that equality and understanding between the CIS and LGBTQIA+ communities is an important goal with a lot or work still ahead of it. We believe that the immediate goals of providing equal rights, protections and services are the bare minimum of any responsible government.
The LGBTQIA+ community faces unique struggles and has unique demands in physical and mental healthcare, justice, labour, family law, violence, education, prison, adoption and almost any other facet of life where one can be discriminated against. SFWP will work with members of the community both inside and outside of the party to coordinate the activism, legislation, and projects which the community feels best advances their position.
SFWP will push for LGBTQIA+ issues to be incorporated into education, historically, scientifically, and in sexual education.
Making Northern Ireland work will require significant changes to the original devolution settlement. Centralised power is a concept rooted in the past. The extensive federal and devolution settlements, which have for some time been a feature of other European democracies, are gaining and growing in relevance throughout these islands. The Northern Ireland Executive must embrace the responsibility of an enhanced devolution settlement which provides all of Ireland with the power to shape the future.
SFWP fundamentally supports a United Ireland, granted that the majority of people within Northern Ireland support it also. In such a time where a United Ireland is supported by the population we would work with both the British and Irish Governments to ensure a stable transition and equal & fair representation for all citizens.
SFWP is committed to serving and fighting for each and every person within our shores. Our duty and responsibility to protecting the rights and welfare of all our constituents comes without caveat and cannot be denied.