{"id":585,"date":"2008-10-14T20:18:15","date_gmt":"2008-10-14T19:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/?p=585"},"modified":"2021-03-03T18:54:45","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T18:54:45","slug":"%e2%80%98celtic-tigers%e2%80%99-and-%e2%80%98celtic-lions%e2%80%99-both-pussycats-for-big-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/2008\/10\/14\/%e2%80%98celtic-tigers%e2%80%99-and-%e2%80%98celtic-lions%e2%80%99-both-pussycats-for-big-business\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Celtic Tigers\u2019 And \u2018Celtic Lions\u2019 Both Pussycats For Big Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have come to Dublin to set our aspirations for Scotland\u2019s future.
\nAlex Salmond, speaking at Trinity College, Dublin, 13.2.2008<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There two official economic visions currently being offered to the electorates of these islands. The first has been promoted by Blair, Brown and New Labour. Their British imperial vision involves bowing and scraping before the rich and powerful, and subordination to the interests of big business, whilst flying the union jack.<\/p>\n

The second vision initially had a more limited appeal \u2013 to the electorate of the 26 counties of the Irish Republic. Successive Fianna Fail governments have bowed and scraped before the rich and powerful, and have subordinated themselves to the interests of big business, whilst flying the Irish tricolour. This \u2018alternative\u2019 vision has been labelled the \u2018Celtic Tiger\u2019.<\/p>\n

The night before St. Valentine\u2019s Day, Alex Salmond declared his love for the \u2018Celtic Tiger\u2019, when he made a keynote speech to politicians, businessmen and union leaders, at Trinity College, Dublin. Only in Scotland\u2019s case this vision is to be marketed as the \u2018Celtic Lion\u2019, and is to be labelled with a saltire. Salmond hopes to build a wider alliance, bringing in the new administrations in Wales and Northern Ireland, to promote a common front of \u2018Celtic Tigers\u2019, \u2018Lions\u2019 \u2018Dragons\u2019, and perhaps, \u2018Red Hands\u2019, against the beleaguered British New Labour vision, now clouding over after the collapse of Northern Rock.<\/p>\n

So, what can we expect in Scotland, if we go down Salmond\u2019s \u2018Celtic Tiger\u2019 road? Scotland\u2019s right wing Policy Institute has highlighted what it sees as the key policies in Ireland\u2019s economic success story. Ever since the launching of the 1987 National Economic Plan, Irish governments have pursued a policy of slashing corporate taxes, so that they now lie at 12%. It has very low inheritance tax. It has encouraged a huge speculative property boom, mightily helped by some of the loosest planning regulations to be found anywhere. New infrastructure projects are done under PFI<\/acronym> schemes. In other words, Irish governments do whatever big business wants. A series of corruption charges, going to the very highest levels of the Irish government, have underlined this.<\/p>\n

A key feature of this pattern of development has been the neglect of social investment in housing, education and health. The private sector has been given responsibility for dealing with this and, as usual, is highly selective in its approach. Increasing swathes of society are left trapped in poor quality peripheral housing schemes. The labour shortfall is made up by importing migrant labour, forced to live on low wages in sub-standard, overcrowded accommodation.<\/p>\n

Poor shape<\/h3>\n

A decade ago, Ireland\u2019s outdated physical infrastructure was in a very poor shape. Now, with business interests demanding change, new motorways are being rapidly built. This is being done with total disregard for Ireland\u2019s historical heritage, particularly in the case of the new M3 near the ancient Celtic site of Tara. The Irish government now allows National Monuments to be destroyed, if they interfere with the plans of big business. Where people need new infrastructure, however, there is no such haste, as the scandal of Galway\u2019s contaminated public water supply has highlighted.<\/p>\n

However, perhaps the starkest example of the \u2018Celtic Tiger\u2019s subordination to big business, has been Shell\u2019s development of the Corrib gas-field, located off the coast of north Mayo. Ray Burke, former Minister of Communication and Energy, now facing corruption charges, made the following deal, when in office. The Irish state undertook to pay Shell\u2019s exploration and development costs. Shell would pay no royalties to the Irish government. Shell was given executive powers to undertake compulsory access and purchase orders for the land it wanted at Rossport to build a new refinery. Irish citizens became, in effect, Shell\u2019s corporate subjects.<\/p>\n

\"A
A North Mayo mural pf Ken Saro-Wiwia, campaigner against Shell, executed by Nigerian government.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mike Cunningham, former director of the Irish Statoil, said that, No country in the world gives as favourable terms to the oil companies as Ireland<\/q>. The World Bank considered Ireland to be a softer touch than even Nigeria. It was here that Shell had brought about devastation to the Niger Delta lands occupied by the Ogoni people. Ken Saro-Wiwa, the Ogoni\u2019s best-known public advocate, was executed by the Nigerian military government in 1995.<\/p>\n

In 2005, the Rossport Five were imprisoned for 94 days by the Irish government, at the behest of Shell. They had protested against Shell\u2019s proposed seizure of their land in Mayo, and the construction of a dangerous high pressure gas pipeline, near to their homes and community. They were only released after massive protests. Nevertheless, Shell got their way and are proceeding to build an onshore refinery, against the wishes of the local community, who campaigned for one built offshore \u2013 \u2018Shell to Sea\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"Hey
Hey Mac - just do as you're told!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Policy Scotland and Scotsman writer, Bill Jamieson, made the following observation, when comparing Ireland and Scotland. The loose planning system\u2026 is in marked contrast to attitudes in Scotland. The planning regime is much stricter<\/q>. Well, that is until the US<\/acronym> property tycoon, Donald Trump, made his demands. Then, the SNP<\/acronym> administration, and fawning local media, went into hyper drive to bulldoze local objections to Trump\u2019s proposed development of the environmentally sensitive, Balmedie Beach, on the Aberdeenshire coast.<\/p>\n

Trump wants to build 2 championship golf courses, a 5 star luxury hotel, 1000 holiday homes, and 36 luxury villas. He even has the nerve to invoke his one-time, croft dwelling, Lewis mother, as an inspiration for a development that will amount to a new \u2018clearance\u2019, as far as public access goes. \u2018Mactrump Towers\u2019 has all the hallmarks of yet another exclusive gated development for the very rich. Trump has also pushed for the cancellation of the proposed offshore wind farm, important for the development of renewable energy. It might offend his \u2018guests\u2019. And, just like Ireland\u2019s National Monuments, so Scotland\u2019s Special Sites of Scientific Interest, may well prove expendable too, if Trump gets the final go-ahead.<\/p>\n

Of course, Jack McConnell, when he was Scottish First Minister, personally lobbied Donald Trump in New York. Under the new SNP<\/acronym> administration, any \u2018McTrump Towers\u2019 reception centre may have to fly the saltire instead of the union jack. But whether its New Labour, SNP<\/acronym>, or Fianna Fail, \u2018It\u2019s business as usual\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have come to Dublin to set our aspirations for Scotland\u2019s future. Alex Salmond, speaking at Trinity College, Dublin, 13.2.2008 There two official economic visions currently being offered to the electorates of these islands. The first has been promoted by Blair, Brown and New Labour. Their British imperial vision involves bowing and scraping before the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,125],"tags":[230],"class_list":["post-585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-emancipation-liberation","category-issue-16","tag-author-allan-armstrong"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"views":12762,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=585"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18053,"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585\/revisions\/18053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}