Sinn Féin received €12million in donations from US

Lockstep · 05-03-2015 04:14PM #1

Fairly interesting stuff: SF received large donations over the last two decades from a variety of sources, from unions to celebrities (Martin Sheen and Viggo Mortenson)

Source

cerastes · 05-03-2015 04:27PM

I dont get it?
whats the point you are making?

NomadicGray · 05-03-2015 04:29PM

Aragorn still fighting the good fight then

mikom · 05-03-2015 04:30PM

Lockstep wrote: »

Fairly interesting stuff: SF received large donations over the last two decades from a variety of sources, from unions to celebrities (Martin Sheen and Viggo Mortenson)

Source

*Insert Viggo Mortenson/Sinn Féin "History of Violence" comment here.

maccored · 05-03-2015 04:47PM

fair dues to them. better than taking money off vested interests in order to politically pander to them.

Iwasfrozen · 05-03-2015 05:16PM

maccored wrote: »

fair dues to them. better than taking money off vested interests in order to politically pander to them.

Yeah trade unions are well known for offering donations to political parties without looking for anything in return.

Good on SF, one more reason not to vote for them.

maccored · 05-03-2015 05:32PM

Iwasfrozen wrote: »

Yeah trade unions are well known for offering donations to political parties without looking for anything in return.

Good on SF, one more reason not to vote for them.

american trade unions. fat lot of good SF can do to help them politically in ireland. barrel and scraping are two words that come to mind.

blackwhite · 05-03-2015 05:45PM

maccored wrote: »

american trade unions. fat lot of good SF can do to help them politically in ireland. barrel and scraping are two words that come to mind.

Unless of course SF were in power in Ireland, and decided to implement policies which made inward investment into Ireland unattractive, or even resulting US companies relocating activities back to the US.

MadDog76 · 05-03-2015 05:55PM

Lockstep wrote: »

Fairly interesting stuff: SF received large donations over the last two decades from a variety of sources, from unions to celebrities (Martin Sheen and Viggo Mortenson)

Source

Bargain!!
It cost the British Government over 20 billion pounds to fund the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts ........

05-03-2015 06:00PM

A left wing party milking right wing dollars, that's the point.

Karl Stein · 05-03-2015 06:00PM

It's over 20 years which would make it an average of €600,000 PA.

Iwasfrozen · 05-03-2015 06:19PM

maccored wrote: »

american trade unions. fat lot of good SF can do to help them politically in ireland. barrel and scraping are two words that come to mind.

The idea that American trade Unions could possibly have concealed objectives that are against the interests of the Irish people, particularly a country that is recipient of so much American FDI as Ireland, that coincides with hampering American investment and hurting free trade is clearly inconceivable to you. :rolleyes:

blackwhite wrote: »

Unless of course SF were in power in Ireland, and decided to implement policies which made inward investment into Ireland unattractive, or even resulting US companies relocating activities back to the US.

SF hamper inward investment? Surely American lobbyists wouldn't be so underhanded?! :eek:

My name is URL · 05-03-2015 07:00PM

Iwasfrozen wrote: »

The idea that American trade Unions could possibly have concealed objectives that are against the interests of the Irish people, particularly a country that is recipient of so much American FDI as Ireland, that coincides with hampering American investment and hurting free trade is clearly inconceivable to you. :rolleyes:

<

Conspiracy Theory forum is that way

Seriously.. that's some of the most deluded tripe I've ever read. You seriously think that trade unions donating money to a left-leaning party is some sort of long-con, designed to hurt Ireland?

What would you say Chuck Feeney's reason for donating are, or Anjelica Huston's? Some joint billionaire / Hollywood plot designed to topple us?

Mod: No personal abuse

yipeeeee · 05-03-2015 07:03PM

Do they have to pay tax on donations?

I presume so

Iwasfrozen · 05-03-2015 07:23PM

My name is URL wrote: »

Seriously.. that's some of the most deluded tripe I've ever read. You seriously think that trade unions donating money to a left-leaning party is some sort of long-con, designed to hurt Ireland?

Nope, but the idea of trade unions promoting trade barriers is neither new nor conspiratorial.

My name is URL · 05-03-2015 07:43PM

Iwasfrozen wrote: »

Nope, but the idea of trade unions promoting trade barriers is neither new nor conspiratorial.

Where have they ever attempted or succeeded in promoting trade barriers between the US and Ireland?

Do you have a single link to back up what you are saying?

You're talking complete nonsense.

This is just from a few weeks ago - far from promoting trade barriers

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/irish-and-us-trade-unions-sign-historic-agreement-1.2081718

An Irish trade union has signed a historic agreement with one of America’s largest unions that will lead to training for Irish workers in additional skills that will help them secure new employment prospects.

In the first arrangement of its kind, the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) signed a federation agreement with the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices, which represents 370,000 craft workers in the US, Canada and Australia.

Under the agreement, the TEEU will bring US trainers to Ireland to teach workers new skills under a “train the trainers” programme.

cisk wrote: »

A left wing party milking right wing dollars, that's the point.

Which of the individuals or organisations that donated would you consider to be 'right-wing'?

Iwasfrozen · 05-03-2015 07:49PM

My name is URL wrote: »

Where have they ever attempted or succeeded in promoting trade barriers between the US and Ireland?

Who is they?

Do you have a single link to back up what you are saying?

What would you like a link to?

My name is URL · 05-03-2015 07:56PM

Iwasfrozen wrote: »

Who is they?

The US based trade unions that you claim want to hurt trade or relations between the US and Ireland

What would you like a link to?

Evidence of the above. In your own time.

http://i.imgur.com/PqZdNPw.jpg

Iwasfrozen · 05-03-2015 08:08PM

My name is URL wrote: »

The US based trade unions that you claim want to hurt trade or relations between the US and Ireland

Evidence of the above. In your own time.

I don't appreciate your tone, take a breath and ask yourself why you're asking me to provide proof for something I haven't claimed. Maybe you can come up with an answer because I sure as hell can't.

expectationlost · 05-03-2015 08:31PM

donations to SF NI and SF have to be distinguished to some extent because Irish political parties can't receive donations from foreigners but of course they are connected, I wonder how though

an old Elaine Byrne blog says SF NI getting foreign donantions and then donating to Sinn Fein Ireland TDs http://elaine.ie/2009/05/22/worrying-fall-in-disclosure-of-funding-by-parties/

but I looked at the SIPO records and I don't see that happening, 2011 atleast, I see SF TDs Irl giving money to they party, but thats their receive TDs pay take Average Industrial Wage* and donate rest to constituency scheme.

*tax?

Nodin · 05-03-2015 09:48PM

cisk wrote: »

A left wing party milking right wing dollars, that's the point.

There are left wing people in America too, you know.

Nodin · 05-03-2015 09:52PM

Lockstep wrote: »

Fairly interesting stuff: SF received large donations over the last two decades from a variety of sources, from unions to celebrities (Martin Sheen and Viggo Mortenson)

Source

"and?" is about all I can say to this.

johnnyskeleton · 05-03-2015 09:57PM

Iwasfrozen wrote: »

Who is they?

What would you like a link to?

Mod: This is not the cafe, if you dont want to debate issues seriously you will be banned. You made an assertion then pretended that you did not know what assertion you had made

Crooked Jack · 06-03-2015 10:29AM

cerastes wrote: »

I dont get it?
whats the point you are making?

Of course, the point is to try and vaguely discredit SF in some way, for example, the Indo headline to this story was "From Working Class To First Class." An attempt to make an accusation that SF members, particularly Adams, are in some way benefiting personally from all this. Expect more of this rubbish as elections near.
The Irish Times followed this story up with this gem.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/miriam-lord-adams-annoyed-at-d%C3%A1il-decibel-levels-1.2126509

A sneering rant about Adams and SF because they dont get involved in playground shouting matches in the Dail, have the temerity to demand that the government listens to their questions and concerns and prefer to speak through the chair.

Oh, and Adams "glares." ohhhh, menacing

maccored · 06-03-2015 12:04PM

Crooked Jack wrote: »

Of course, the point is to try and vaguely discredit SF in some way, for example, the Indo headline to this story was "From Working Class To First Class." An attempt to make an accusation that SF members, particularly Adams, are in some way benefiting personally from all this. Expect more of this rubbish as elections near.
The Irish Times followed this story up with this gem.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/miriam-lord-adams-annoyed-at-d%C3%A1il-decibel-levels-1.2126509

A sneering rant about Adams and SF because they dont get involved in playground shouting matches in the Dail, have the temerity to demand that the government listens to their questions and concerns and prefer to speak through the chair.

Oh, and Adams "glares." ohhhh, menacing

... and on the flipside they claim SF is economically illiterate. wish people would make up their minds since we have an apparently economically illiterate party who has managed to fund themselves much better than the opposition without using any brown envelopes.

jank · 06-03-2015 12:15PM

It is a valid point to bring up by the OP. If one sees no problem with foreign money stemming in to help a political party and their causes then they should see no problem seeing foreign money helping out the pro-life campaign in donations to Youth Defence or Iona. I seem to clearly hear criticism of the latter by many supporters of Sinn Fein. Will they criticise this?

BoJack Horseman · 06-03-2015 12:34PM

maccored wrote: »

... and on the flipside they claim SF is economically illiterate. wish people would make up their minds since we have an apparently economically illiterate party who has managed to fund themselves much better than the opposition without using any brown envelopes.

Trying to draw equilavance between getting a tonne of cash from the good old' boys stateside with macroeconomic competence is very veeeery weak!

Crooked Jack · 06-03-2015 12:50PM

BoJack Horseman wrote: »

Trying to draw equilavance between getting a tonne of cash from the good old' boys stateside with macroeconomic competence is very veeeery weak!

I believe he was highlighting the self-contradictory arguments people throw out at sinn fein when they're frantically trying to smear them.
For example, just yesterday, in the same thread on a Belfast Telegraph post, one guy accused SF of being marxist, and later, fascist.

Sierra Oscar · 06-03-2015 12:51PM

maccored wrote: »

fair dues to them. better than taking money off vested interests in order to politically pander to them.

Sinn Féin met with US business people to discuss economic policy

Sinn Féin’s rising popularity prompted a group of American businessman, including some with Wall Street backgrounds, to travel to Dublin in January of this year to find out more about the party’s economic plans and how they could form future government policy given the party’s recent performances in the polls.

In fairness it is pretty clear for all to see that Sinn Féin's economic policies have become far more 'moderate' in recent years. That's fine, but it does beg the question as to who exactly steers policy in SF?

You can be sure that donors have some level of influence.

conorh91 · 06-03-2015 01:03PM

I think we have gone too far in impeding the funding of political parties. Although I wouldn't necessarily agree with the model the US has adapted, I think our funding limits for political parties (€2,500) and for individual politicians (€1,000) are too low.

The result is that Fine Gael received total private donations to the party of €112,000 in the last year for which records are available, but received over 20 times that amount from the taxpayer, bringing up its funding to €2.8 million.

Not only are these restrictions on "private" (publicly reported) donations an impediment to political free speech, they also make the political parties too dependent on the State.

Either we need to change the way in which funding is provided, or increase the limits on donations, because the current regime is too generous to established parties, and too repressive towards new and emerging political parties.

expectationlost · 06-03-2015 01:25PM

jank wrote: »

It is a valid point to bring up by the OP. If one sees no problem with foreign money stemming in to help a political party and their causes then they should see no problem seeing foreign money helping out the pro-life campaign in donations to Youth Defence or Iona. I seem to clearly hear criticism of the latter by many supporters of Sinn Fein. Will they criticise this?

if the record keeping was as good...

Sinn Féin received €12million in donations from US

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