Irish government more committed than ever to advancing the interests of the global monopoly corporations and international financial institutions.
The government continues its strategy of absolute subservience to the needs and interest of global imperial interest in relation to foreign policy, its ongoing efforts to undermine and get rid of Irish neutrality and the Triple Lock and its absolute unquestioning commitment to market forces solving the housing crisis.
Despite substantial public solidarity with Palestine in Ireland, the government’s actions remain superficial. This State’s relatively progressive position on Palestine is only as a result of sustained popular actions over many decades by the Irish people in support of the Palestinian people. The Irish state is prepared to sacrifice this legacy of support in a heartbeat in favour of US interests. This is linked to the state’s strategy of attracting global financial interests to invest in building apartments for long term rents.
The world stands on the precipice of a wider conflict in West Asia resulting from the proxy war being carried out by the zionist regime against Iran on behalf of the US/EU. This was most clearly articulated by the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz who stated “This is the dirty work Israel is doing for all of us”(the war against Iran). It is in this context that we can fully understand the proxy role of both the Zionist state and the Ukraine. They are fighting for the interests of imperialism.
The genocidal war against the Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza but also on the West Bank, being carried on by the Zionist state with the backing of US/EU and their allies, has exposed once again that the strategy of the imperial powers is continued support for the zionist state. They see it as their primary ally in West Asia whose task is to contain and control the peoples and resources of the area.
These ongoing conflicts in West Asia plus the the proxy war in Ukraine, have exposed the double standards of the western governments and their political institutions and client mass media. While preaching and lecturing nations across the world of the importance of and the sanctity of “International Law” and institutions like the UN, they completely set aside “international law’ or the UN when it does not suit their imperial agenda. They demand that “liberal bourgeois democracy”, democracy they themselves wish to jettison, as the only form of democracy allowed.
Governments inaction amounts to complicity in genocide:
The Irish government has been trying to square the circle of on the one hand attempting to appease the people of Ireland who have shown remarkable solidarity with the Palestinian people and in opposing the genocidal action of the Zionist state, while at the same time taking very limited political steps regarding the genocide and attempting to justify the zionist states attack on Iran by repeating the worn out cliche that “Israel has the right to defend itself.”
The government’s refusal to implement the Occupied Territories Bill and instead bringing forward their own legislation that excludes services which make up 70% of this state’s trade with the zionist state, clearly indicates that it will not impose sanctions that would really impact and force a change of direction for the zionist regime. By their inaction they are complicit in this genocide.
The establishment learned lessons from the mass pressure asserted upon them to impose limited sanction on apartheid South Africa. The imperial powers where unhappy with that strategy and with the Irish state breaking with the imperial ranks.
While the small political steps taken by the Irish state in recognising the state of Palestine (Over 146 states had already done so) and joining South Africa in taking a case again the zionist state in International Court of Justice (ICJ) are to be welcomed, its actions have been an attempt to blindside the people, to pretend that its listening to their concerns and hoping to dampen down public opposition and protests. This strategy has clearly not succeeded and public resistance continues to grow.
At the same time by refusing to take any meaningful action or sanctions against the zionist state for its genocidal actions in Gaza and its unprovoked attack on Iran, it continues on the well worn path of hiding behind, and doing only, what their EU masters will allow them to do and say and will go no further.
Growing military spending in line with EU strategy:
This continued subservience to the EU political and military strategy is also express in the Irish governments defense commitment as outlined in High Level Action Plan(HLAP) to reach €1.5 billion spending on defence. The 2025 budget allocated €1.3 billion to the defence forces, a 23% increase since 2022. This increase in spending has been sold as “modernising” the defence forces. This increase in military spending is in line with EU militarisation strategy. It also marks a shift away from a defence model to one aligned to the military intervention strategies of EU/NATO.
The HLAP strategy outlines the following areas for development:-
- Integrated radar system.
- Reorganise army structure
- Purchase of Airbus C295W aircraft, planning to spend €2.5 billion to purchase fighter jets.
This is a significant diversion of resourse away from social necessary spending on health, housing, education, community development and critical environmental protection measures. The deeper the military engagement with the EU & NATO military becomes, the higher the spending will be.
Proxy wars of imperialism:
The crisis for imperialism in West Asia as well as the proxy war in Ukraine continues to cause growing difficulties. It is clear the EU and in particular Germany do not want to see a ceasefire and a peace settlement in Ukraine. Rather Germany has seized upon the Ukraine proxy war as an opportunity to assert itself openly as the dominant leading forces within the EU and re-arm and assert its military and strategic objectives.
This also applies to events taking place in West Asia. The EU is arming itself for a more active future role in pursuing its imperialist interests and will pull Ireland increasingly into this if left unchecked. A small but growing part of the economy is already increasingly tied into military trade and Shannon continues to operate as a US base and the Central Bank of Ireland is used to facilitate the sale of Israeli war bonds.
EU militarisation and Irish neutrality not compatable:
It is also clear the drive by the EU Commission to force majority voting in relations to foreign affairs, would completely render any independent action by the Irish state impossible.
The Irish state has used the proxy war in Ukraine to push to end neutrality and the Triple Lock. By abolishing the Triple Lock this will the Irish government/state to engage more freely and actively in conflicts both in Europe and globally. Acting without a UN mandate or the support of the Dail itself, will allow the Irish state to participate in unilateral action in support of imperialism, undermining the state’s support for international law and the UN charter.
Therefore, it is vital to continue to educate and mobilise the people of Ireland regarding neutrality and what it really means and why the Irish ruling class wishes to abandon it. There is a clear fissure between the people and the government/state over Palestine and what course of action is required. We have to develop and further strengthen these shoots of independent thinking and the weakening of the dominant idealogical narrative now being manifested among our people, particularly the youth.
In relation to current economic strategy there is no attempt to break free of the long-term strategy of complete reliance on Transnational Corporations for economic and social development. The tariff wars between the Trump regime and, in particular with the EU, may well have a very detrimental impact upon the people of Ireland. Whatever agreement these two political blocks, which represent the interests of global monopoly capitalism, the interests and needs of the working people of Ireland will not be seriously considered.
While welcoming the small signs of questioning the governments economic dependency strategy visa vie multi-national corporation by some sections of the trade union movement, it needs to go much further. It needs to move beyond mere press statement to actively educating its members on the urgent necessity for an alternative economic and social strategy centred on working people.
We need to continue to push the trade union movement towards a more militant industrial strategy and to break away from the industrial peace model that has led the movement to support the present model of economic dependancy.
Housing strategy now dominated by finance capital.
In relation to the housing strategy of this and previous governments continues to prioritise market forces (profit) over social needs. Markets satisfy and take advantage of demand but do not cater or serve social needs. The commodification of shelter continues to strengthen the market’s stranglehold over housing policy. The recent policy announcement on housing only strengthens and deepens the financialisation of housing.
The governments strategy to incentivise global finance capital in order to get them to invest in the building of apartments in this country is a strategy to extract huge profits and sanctioning supper profiteering by international finance houses and global banks (vulture funds). A strategy promoted and encouraged by the EU. We know from bitter experience the result and consequences from the unregulated and uncontrolled financial housing speculation strategy in 2007.
These changes are clearly a mechanism to incentivise greed and profiteering at the expense of working people. As are the changes in the planning regulations designed to maximise the density and minimise the apartment size, thereby maximising profits.
Permanent high rents:
The governments strategy will not reduce rents but rather open the door to permanent increasing rents and the already precarious situation facing tens of thousands of renters will only get worse. We need the maximum mobilisation for the 5th July housing demo called by CATU. Every day the situation confirms our position that only a mass public house building programme can meet the social and material needs of working people.
Need to build a serious resistance to imperialism:
A number of issues, both national and global, have thrown the predatory and inhuman nature of the system imposed upon working people into sharp relief. Genocide, war and peace, spending on armaments instead of spending on social needs such as health, education and housing, are all interconnected and have thrown up growing resistance and challenges to monopoly capitalism and its political representative and institutions.
There are small but clear signs of an idealogical fracture or rupture between the people and the interests and strategy of the imperialist powers. It is within this terrain that we need to build and strengthen these green shoots of questioning, to strengthen these beginnings of anti-imperialist struggle. In the concrete conditions of Ireland this means building and strengthening the solidarity with the Palestinian people and their resistance.
We need to build a serious campaigning force to defend neutrality and the Triple Lock, thereby weakening the subservience of the Irish ruling class and its dependency on the needs and interests of EU/US/NATO/Brits (imperialism). The struggle against imperialism, the struggle for radical economic and social change, must be built around concrete national struggles.
The other key area of resistance is the fight for shelter free of the control and domination of international finance capital as well as domestic corporate landlordism. Government strategy will only reinforce the precarious nature of shelter, the precarious nature of employment and workers rights, where they work and where they live.
The government and the state have drawn their line in the sand regarding solutions to the dire need for shelter by tens of thousands of workers and young people. The fight for public housing was never more urgent.
The fight against imperialism takes many forms and requires a clear strategy.
