Sinn Féin’s candidate for Dublin South West, Seán Crowe, has called Sinn Féin’s election manifesto, which was launched this week, as a manifesto for change.
Seán Crowe said:
“This is a manifesto for change. It is a manifesto to give workers and families a break, to put money back in people’s pockets and to fix the health and housing crises.
“It is a manifesto that sets out Sinn Féin commitment to working for Irish Unity and sets out a pathway towards reunification.
“The solutions contained in this manifesto are progressive and positive, uplifting and fair; they are modern and they are achievable.
“This is a manifesto that seeks to give back to the people whose hard work and effort created the economic recovery by putting money back in their pockets.
“It is a manifesto that will use the economic recovery to deliver better health services, better education services and better transport services, and that prioritises investing in frontline staff including doctors, nurses, teachers and Gardaí.
“Sinn Féin has put housing at the centre of our manifesto. We will take on the housing crisis and we will solve it.
“The single biggest failure of Fine Gael in government, supported by Fianna Fáil, is that rents are too high, Council house waiting lists are too long and there is no affordable accommodation.
“A whole generation of young people are now locked out of homeownership, thinking about emigrating and moving back in with their parents in their thirties.
“Sinn Féin will deliver the biggest public housing programme in our history, and we will cut rents and freeze them. We will ensure that affordable housing is available and really affordable to people, and we will end the scandal of homelessness.
“We will also stop the pension age increase to 67 and will return it to 65. Returning the retirement age to 65 is affordable. The cost of implementing this will be €368 million per year and this will be paid from the Social Insurance Fund which has surplus of €1.4 billion.”
Crowe continued:
“Our manifesto has been costed by the relevant government Departments and is affordable and will be delivered. There will be no borrowing necessary. In fact, we will run surpluses and have a surplus of more than €3 billion in 2025.
“All taxpayers who earn under €100,000 will see a decrease in their tax of up to €700 a year.
“There is no party more ambitious for workers, for families, or for Irish society than Sinn Féin.
“This election is about choices. People are looking for solutions. They are looking for change. They are looking for something new from government.
“Sinn Féin has the solutions. Now we need the chance. I am calling on people to vote for me and Sinn Féin on Saturday 8 February.”
ENDS
You can read Sinn Féin’s full manifesto here – https://www.sinnfein.ie/files/2020/SF_GE2020_Manifesto.pdf