Cork SWP

People Power against the Corporations.

A government by the people for the people is an ideal of Irish politics. But it is fast disappearing as corporations take more control. They have only one goal -profit - and use buzz words like "competitiveness" and "flexibility"to make all of society serve it.

Major corporations such as Microsoft view Irelandas an Atlantic tax haven which offers light state regulation. They want the countryto become a bridge head for the American way inside the EU.

"The Corporate Take Over of Ireland" examines the effects on Irish life andshows how democratic decision making has been subverted by money.Efforts to ban advertising to children and to restrict promotion of alcohol have beenprevented by large global corporations.

A new medical apartheid is being created inhealth as huge US health corporations stand ready to move into the private healthcare market. Waste collection is no longer organised as a public service but isbeing turned into big business. State enterprises such as Aer Lingus and Eircom havebeen handed over to private investors.

"The Corporate Take Over of Ireland" calls for a new movement of resistancethat will put people before profit and bring about more genuine democracy.

Dr Kieran Allen lectures in the Department of Sociology, University College Dublin andhas published widely including his book "The Celtic Tiger- The Myth of SocialPartnership"

This meeting and book launch is hosted by the Cork Branch Socialist Workers Party, onTuesday 3rd April at 8.00pm in the Victoria Hotel, Patrick St., Cork.