Mary Lou McDonald calls for €1bn of Apple tax windfall to be spent to help working class communites
Picture: Ahead Event Féin Of Square In Canal Party Colleagues, President In Media In Speaking Surrounded To Pa Party's Grand By The Mary The Mcdonald, Dublin Sinn Lou Think
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has called for a new €1bn fund from the Apple tax windfall to be directed towards working class communities that have been “left behind”.
At the party’s think-in in Dublin, Ms McDonald called for a portion of the tax windfall to be directed towards areas badly impacted by austerity policies.
“That [fund] will be directed at those communities that have been left behind again and again and again by successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments,” Ms McDonald said.
“The very communities that suffered the worst of austerity at a time when these Apple taxes should have been collected.”
She said the monies would go towards constructing infrastructure like sports facilities, youth facilities, arts and cultural centres and public spaces.
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Ms McDonald said there is a “wider job” to be done in building communities across the country, which she said would be a “central plank” of the Sinn Féin offering at the next general election.
“It’s about taking a particular focus on those communities that have been left behind and that are really, really struggling now.
“They struggled through the lean times, they struggled through the so-called Celtic Tiger and we’re determined to get under the bonnet of that.”
Ms McDonald said she wants to assist communities by investing in infrastructure first, and then through improvements in current spending.
The Sinn Féin leader repeatedly criticised the Government over the tax ruling in her keynote speech to party members, saying it had spent €10m to block Ireland from receiving €14bn.
Ms McDonald said she hopes to be “third time lucky” with the number of candidates selected for the upcoming general election.
“We need to call this correctly,” Ms McDonald said.
She said around 70 candidates are running for the party, but this was not a final figure. This compares to the 42 candidates that the party ran in 2020.
The Dublin Central TD also criticised Fianna Fáil’s Jack Chambers following the finance minister's criticism of Sinn Féin’s policies on housing and the economy, saying that his party had helped crash the economy in 2008.
Asked if Sinn Féin would go into Government with Fianna Fáil, Ms McDonald did not rule it out, but said that her priority is for a left-wing government.
“Our job is now to present Sinn Féin and all of our plans and we’re going to go out and we’re going to say to people: ‘Please do the right thing, do the smart thing. Put Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael out of Government'.”