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The priorities of our next government, whatever its makeup, over the coming 5 years have never been more important. The outline of Ireland’s next programme for government is being negotiated now amidst a global pandemic, and it is important your voice is heard during these crucial discussions.
The Covid-19 pandemic has turned our lives upside down. Some of us have lost loved ones, some of us have become sick, some of us have lost our jobs or are now working from our homes, away from our friends and families.
This pandemic highlights how interconnected we are globally, and how increasingly vulnerable we are to shocks. However, global injustice and inequality are at the centre of the Covid-19 pandemic. The most vulnerable in societies will be impacted worst by this crisis, both here in Ireland and in the countries where Trócaire works.
Of course, we need to know the next government will continue to work to navigate our country out of this immediate crisis and prioritise the containment of the Covid-19 pandemic in Ireland and globally so no more lives are lost. But we also need more.
It is vital that we work to build resilient communities and ensure that the global recovery from this pandemic is built upon principles of social justice, environmental sustainability, and the protection of human rights. Fairer and faster climate action and the enactment of the Occupied Territories Bill are two tangible ways this can be achieved.
The next government and its priorities have not yet been finalised. There is still time to use your influence as a citizen, as a constituent, on the priorities of our next government. Your TDs, and their parties could be crucial to ensuring the above principles are represented in the new programme for government.
So, we are asking you to ring your local TD today. Ask them to ensure that climate change and the Occupied Territories Bill are prioritised in the programme for government, if they are involved in its negotiation.
It’s easy and quick:
Climate change and environmental degradation are at existential threat levels. The response to the Covid-19 crisis nationally and globally shows that when there is the political will to do so, our governments and societies have the ability to react to challenges of such an enormous scale.
‘Now more than ever, I want to see climate action being prioritised by the next government.’
‘Please ensure you and your party deliver fairer and faster climate action in the next programme for government. Specifically including an 8% annual reduction in emissions over the lifetime of the Government and passing the new Climate Action Bill within 100 days of the Dáil functioning again.’
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Trócaire believes it is unjust for innocent families to be evicted from their homes and land to make way for illegal settlements. We stand in support of international law and for the principles of peace and justice. If the Occupied Territories Bill became law, it would ban trade of goods and services between Ireland and Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank.
Political agreements have been made in Israel earlier this month, to formally annex a large part of the Palestinian West Bank, as part of party negotiations to form a unity government in Israel. This demonstrates that despite the Covid-19 crisis, the relentless effort to illegally acquire as much Palestinian land as possible is only escalating.
‘The Occupied Territories Bill provides a vital opportunity to challenge the ongoing injustices in occupied territories such as Palestine, where illegal Israeli settlements are being built on stolen land, and can show Ireland to be a leader in defending the human rights of the marginalised and oppressed.
‘Please ensure you and your party do all they can to include the enactment of the Occupied Territories Bill in the next programme for government.’
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You voted for your local TDs only 3 months ago. You have a voice as their constituent. They will listen to you. Use this chance to let them know that you need a fairer Ireland over the next 5 years. An Ireland where the needs of the most vulnerable at home and abroad are considered and acted upon.
