JOBS, EQUALITY AND JUSTICE WITH LABOUR  ELECTION PROGRAMME, NOVEMBER 1982  INTRODUCTION  Our country faces a third general election in eighteen months. The Labour Party is offering voters a real choice - the choice between virtually identical policies on offer from the two main parties, and Labour's socialist proposals.  The deep crisis in our economic and social life demands radical action and action which protects the living standards of ordinary working people. Labour insists that wealthy and powerful economic interests carry their fair share of the cost of economic recovery.  The Labour Party offers such a radical programme in this election. We represent ordinary working people, not big business, large farmers, or land speculators. Our policies are different.  Labour does not accept that essential economic and social reforms stop with the recession. Fundamental Structural changes can and must be made now. Labour proposes the extension of economic democracy, greater social justice, fundamental law reform, and the changes necessary to eliminate poverty.  Labour, with the youngest Party Leader of any of the parties, recognises the unique contribution which our young people have to make in the development of our country. Our whole election programme is designed to develop, with our young people, a fair and equal society in Ireland.  This election programme is based on Labour's socialist policies as developed in the Party Programme, in decisions of the Party's Annual Conference, and in successive policy documents issued by the Party.  WHO PAYS FOR THE CRISIS?  The main parties propose massive cuts in public spending, falling especially on health and social services, and affecting the weakest in the community.  Labour rejects utterly any policy that makes the poor, the unemployed, the sick, the homeless and the young bear the brunt of corrective measures.  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. increased taxation, on capital and wealth to yield £200 million a year;  2. the wealthy to pay the major share of the cost of economic adjustment, by higher capital taxes, and the elimination of subsidies to higher income groups;  3. more effective planning of public expenditure to eliminate waste, inefficiency, profiteering and abuse instead of indiscriminate reductions which hit services for the poor.  TAXATION  The Labour Party is committed to a fair and redistributive tax system.  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. no further increases in VAT rates on essentials;  a. 2. reform of the PRSI system to spread the burden fairly, by:  b. (a)abolition of the income ceiling for contributions  c. (b) negotiation to extend full social insurance cover to public service employees;  d. (c) introduction of full social insurance for the self-employed  e. (d) PRSI to be levied on all forms of income;  3. all farmers with a taxable income to pay tax and health contributions.  4. personal tax allowances to be at the standard rate;  5. tax relief on loans, new mortgages, VHI and insurance policies to be allowed at a maximum of 35p in the pound.  6. selective high VAT rates on luxuries with a high import content;  7. income related property tax with imputed income from property ownership included in income tax assessments. Exemptions would include:  owner-occupied houses up to a market value of £60,000 (index-linked);  farm land up to a market value of £200,000 (index-linked) and farm stock and machinery;  8. capital gains tax on development land gains to be increased to 90%;  9. an annual tax on derelict sites at 10% of market value;  10. tax loopholes and avoidance mechanisms to be abolished including guaranteed income bonds and grobonds, and an annual tax to be charged on discretionary trusts.  REZONING SCANDALS  The two main parties have combined forces to block reform in relation to urban building land and to push through massive rezonings in the Dublin areas.  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. urgent action to bring urban building land into community ownership at prices related to existing use value; this will stabilise the cost of housing;  2. 90% tax on profits from the sale of development land,  3. immediate closure of the compensation loopholes in the Planning Acts.  THE ECONOMY AND JOBS  The main parties offer drastic deflation of the economy leading to the loss of thousands of jobs.  The problem is not to get the books straight. Over 165,000 are officially registered as out of work of whom 49,000 are under the age of 25 years. 40,000 new jobs each year are required to reduce unemployment. Jobs and living standards for ordinary people are the critical issues facing us. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael offer a private sector approach to job creation which has patently failed. Labour is different.  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. active public sector involvement in job creation in industry with rigorous project appraisal to ensure lasting productive jobs;  2. a strong, effective and independent National Development Corporation, with powers to invest up to £500 million in equity capital in industry and with borrowing powers of £l,000 million.  Its tasks will include:-  the preparation of a coordinated development plan for commercial state companies.  The ownership of commercial state companies to be vested in the Corporation, freed from party political interference, and the philosophy of their Boards and Management re-defined where necessary;  investment in specific companies aimed at import substitution;  investment and re-structuring of the food processing industry; investment in high-risk high technology projects; partnership with public and private sector companies in profitable employment generating projects.  1. the payment of IDA grants to be linked to actual jobs created on the ground. A proportion of industrial grants to be converted into repayable loans when jobs are not realised;  2. rigorous project appraisal in the public capital programme to give an adequate social return and value for money in terms of jobs generated at home;  3. increased capital spending on local authority housing, on sanitary services to developing areas, and on new road construction. Realistic contributions from development levies and taxes on development gains to fund basic infrastructure;  4. the Youth Employment Agency to identify job and service opportunities in the unmet community and amenity needs of expanding urban areas;  5. the division of job tasks and content so that part-time employment can be created inside a framework of revised work systems (by agreement between Trade Unions and Employers) in both the public and private sectors.  6. Fundamental reform of economic and social structures through radical economic and social planning. A National Economic and Social Plan must provide detailed proposals to implement objectives on jobs, and on the creation and distribution of national income, not simply unrealistic targets. A National Planning Board will be established.  7. increased economic democracy through:  democratic ownership of the banking system;  the extension in the public and private sectors of worker democracy including share participation by workers;  full disclosure of company accounts to worker-representatives.  AGRICULTURE AND THE FOOD INDUSTRY  Labour believes that increased agricultural output linked with increased food processing is vital to economic recovery. A radical approach is essential to re-vitalise the agricultural sector, and to prevent large parts of the Irish food industry from falling under foreign control.  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. a comprehensive development plan for agriculture and the food industry;  2. a land acquisition and distribution policy arrived at transferring the use of land to young full-time farmers by long-term leasing and an appropriate credit policy;  3. access to the land market to be limited to competent farmers;  4. the revitalisation of the food processing industry through the state sector and the co-operative societies;  5. the planned development of our fishing industry and mariculture.  ENERGY  Labour believes that there must be a coherent national energy plan to ensure our economic survival in the eighties.  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. the Irish National Petroleum Corporation and An Bord Gais to be responsible for implementing the national oil and gas programme;  2. acceleration of development of native resources such as peat;  3. no nuclear component in the national energy programme;  4. public ownership of the gas distribution network in Dublin;  5. oil refining capacity to be retained for security reasons.  TRANSPORT  Economic and social development depend upon a modem road and transportation system. Labour believes that the future lies in the organisation and modernisation and greater efficiency of public transport.  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. opposition to the proposals of the McKinsey Report on CIE:  2. maintenance and development of the rail network as an integral part of the national infrastructure;  3. adequate capitalisation of the national road network.  POVERTY  The rising tide of economic prosperity does not eradicate poverty nor can it be solved simply by handouts. The fight against poverty is an integral part of economic and social planning.  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. a commitment to on-going redistribution of income, wealth and power in Irish society;  2. intensive action in impoverished communities, whether inner city, suburban, town or Countryside;  3. the creation of a strong and independent Combat Poverty Agency to carry on the anti-poverty programme pioneered by Labour;  4. a comprehensive EEC poverty programme.  SOCIAL WELFARE  Many social welfare benefits are still far from adequate and social progress must not stop in times of economic difficulty. An adequate social welfare system must be paid for by the community, but the PRSI burden should be spread more widely.  The piecemeal development of social welfare has resulted in a cumbersome structure with widely varying benefits payable to people with similar needs, and in a system riddled with anomalies.  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. a Commission on Social Welfare to review the social welfare system so that it meets its objectives effectively. The establishment of such a commission must not be a barrier to immediate necessary changes;  2. social welfare expenditure to be maintained in line with the cost of living;  3. Special help to be directed to those groups, who have fared worst under the present piecemeal system - long term unemployment, elderly and disabled people living alone, people caring full time for inform relatives, one-parent families - and the benefit rates payable to people in similar circumstances to be harmonised in a unified social assistance scheme;  4. social insurance cover to be extended to self-employed and part-time workers;  5. a national income related pension scheme on incomes up to f20,000 a year;  6. reform of the supplementary welfare allowances scheme;  7. the first fortnight of disability benefit claims to be made the employer's responsibility. Detailed administrative arrangements to be negotiated with unions and employer organisations.  8. loopholes in the social welfare system leading to misuse by either employers, medical certifiers or recipients will be closed.  HOUSING  There is a housing crisis for couples trying to buy their first home, and for 35,000 families on council waiting lists. But housing subsidies are now more geared to the housing "haves" rather than those in real housing need.  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. local authority housing output to rise to 7500 a year:  2. must not stop a public register of private rented accommodation;  3. fair rents tribunal for private tenents;  4. a limited scheme of tax relief for private tenants;  5. a voluntary sale and lease back scheme for elderly home owners;  6. democratic control of building societies;  7. building societies to introduce real value mortgages;  8. an end to tax subsidies for trading up the market, and tax relief on new mortgages to be limited to the standard tax rate;  9. termination of existing residential ground rents;  10. better design of housing estates to be a condition of planning permission.  HEALTH  Both main parties look to the health services as a soft target for cuts, hitting basic services while leaving abuses and profiteering unchecked.  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. a comprehensive national health service;  2. the phased extension of the GMS scheme to encourage a real switch from institutional to community care;  3. doctors in the GMS to be paid by capitation;  4. ending of two-tier medical care in public hospitals, and an end to the state subsidy for private hospital patients, saving £20 million a year;  5. a national drug wholesaling company and the purchase of generic drugs to reduce the national drugs bill.  6. upgrading for psychiatric hospitals and a realistic level of support for psychiatric patients in community;  7. more attention given to the human aspect of care, including outpatient facilities, facilities for mothers and children, and the democratisation of hospital boards to reflect patients' interests;  8. a comprehensive national family planning service.  EDUCATION  Both the main parties are proposing massive cut-backs in expenditure on education and, in effect, the dismantling of our system of free primary and post-primary education. Labour will resist these cut-backs.  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. the maintenance of free primary and post-primary education;  2. priority to be given to primary education, with a systematic reduction of average class numbers;  3. the development of second level education in line with the concrete needs of economic and social progress. The concept of free education will be honoured in practice with more capitation finance;  4. third level education to be organised to meet the needs of the community and to promote equality in society. Adequate grants and overall financing will be provided;  5. a National Scheme of Adult Education to be introduced;  6. development of properly funded pre-school education;  7. democratic control of our education system;  8. the maximum possible degree of integration between handicapped and other children in our education system;  9. the elimination of sexism from the curriculum and from school books.  EQUALITY  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. full equality for men and women in all areas of life, at work and in the home, as outlined in Labour's "Equality" policy document;  2. equal opportunities in the education system for all children irrespective of parental income, and positive discrimination for children from deprived backgrounds;  3. an end to the status of illegitimacy;  4. equal rights for the travelling people;  5. full and equal participation in Irish society by young people.  LAW REFORM  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. fundamental reform of structure of legal system and the courts to make access to justice inexpensive and speedy;  2. new Family and Children's Courts to be established;  3. medical card means test to apply to civil legal aid scheme;  4. family law reform including civil divorce for marriages irrevocably broken down;  5. capital punishment to be abolished;  6. an independent Garda authority;  7. the O Briain Committee findings to be implemented and an independent Appeals Tribunal established.  COMMUNITY PROTECTION AND CRIME  Labour will tackle the problem of crime and vandalism in our society and will vigorously root out organised crime. Labour is committed to radical changes in the social and economic environment in which crime and vandalism flourish - bad housing, high unemployment, particularly among the young, and a lack of constructive outlets for young people.  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. adequate resources for the Gardai to systematically tackle organised crime, and to protect the community especially the old and vulnerable;  2. an effective system of co-operation and liaison between the Gardai and local communities;  3. community service orders to replace jail sentences for young offenders;  4. a comprehensive review of the prison system aimed at genuine rehabilitation of offenders;  5. consistency in sentencing policy.  PUBLIC SERVICE REFORM  Labour believes that there should be a continual programme of reform and restructuring in the public service and rejects unwarranted attacks on those involved in providing essential community services;  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. the elimination of waste and inefficiency in all areas of public service administration;  2. the fostering of a well-managed, committed and fairly paid public service;  3. restructuring of local government and local government finance.  COLLECTIVE BARGAINING  The trade union movement and the public service have faced unprecedented attacks from the Government on pay and on negotiating procedures.  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. free collective bargaining between workers and employers linked to a democratic planning process;  2. opposition to statutory control of wages;  3. opposition to restrictions by the main parties on the negotiating rights of trade unions.  BROADCASTING  Labour will support public service broadcasting only.  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. Radio Telefis Eireann to have total control of radio and television wavelengths within the state;  2. pirate radio or TV stations to be prohibited;  3. the role of Radio na Gaeltachta to be maintained and expanded;  4. community radio to be developed at local level under the auspices of RTE.  NORTHERN IRELAND  The crisis in Northern Ireland continues with an escalation of sectarian and paramilitary murder. Attempts to date to create a workable political framework have not produced stability.  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. recognition of the aspiration to the unity of the people and territory of the island through reconciliation within the North, effective devolved political institutions and growing North-South co-operation;  2. unremitting opposition to violence from whatever source and to all equivocation about violence in Ireland;  3. emphasis on the importance of realistic, honest and positive dialogue between the Irish and British governments;  4. recognition that the economic and social crisis in the whole island, with almost 300,000 out of work, demands concerted and co-operative action by all the involved parties.  IRELAND AND THE WORLD  Labour, at home and abroad, is committed to the pursuit of peace, justice and human rights. In a divided and troubled world a neutral Ireland has a special role to play and a responsibility to act within the EEC and the UN.  LABOUR'S POLICY IS:  1. Irish neutrality must be active and consistent in the pursuit of the basic principles of peace, justice, human rights and development;  2. Irish neutrality must be strengthened by inserting it in our Constitution and by formal links with the Non-Aligned Movement;  3. recognition of the fact of Irish membership of the EEC while retaining a critical stance in relation to the direction of EEC policies and of the Community role in the world;  4. commitment to solidarity with the Third World through a coherent policy of development co-operation; achievement of the UN aid targets by the end of the decade and by full involvement in world development efforts.