One-day development education training course “Issues in global justice campaigning - an introduction”
Hosted by Bloom: Movement for Global Justice and Galway One World Centre
Irish Girl Guides Centre,
New Road,
Galway
GUEST SPEAKER: Carmen Luisa Castro
(Christian Aid Colombia)
For More Information Contact:
Daniel Finn,
Debt and Development Coalition Ireland,
01 6174835
daniel@debtireland.org
Report on the Call to Action from Bloom: Movement for Global Justice and the Seomra Spraoi Collective
Report on Financial Fools Day!
Many thanks for your support at our Financial Fools Day event outside the Bank of Ireland and AIB. We have collected a lot of complaint forms documenting people's views - on the banks and the global financial crisis - who came or stopped while passing by, which we will share with you in the coming days. We also have a film of the event which we will put on our websites next week. Several photo journalists and journalists came to the event.
After the protest, we went inside the banks to present our concerns to the bank managers. The Bank of Ireland bank manager defended the bank a bit, and the AIB manager said that he couldn't comment but would 'pass on' our issues to the CEO. We also presented a letter (see letter to the Bank Of Ireland below) to both banks calling for an audit of the banks to ensure that they are not implicated in facilitating tax dodging given the billions of euro that are lost from impoverished countries each year due to this practice.
It was an interesting experience inside both banks, as quite a large group came in so it became a bit like a public meeting inside the bank with customers stopping to listen. - And of course security guards and the gardaí shifting uncomfortably at the spectacle of a mass public complaint in the banks (I'm not sure whether our sporting of jester hats and helium balloons with fake money tied to them calmed them or increased their worry!).
We had an interesting experience in AIB highlighting our right to actually come into the bank to voice our opposition to the irresponsibility of the financial institutions. - Quite an unusual experience as its not often that politics and justice issues are discussed inside any bank.... People present inside the banks voiced a whole range of concerns from global tax justice, to the need for democratic control of financial institutions, to the need for salary caps, to inviting bank workers to join the protest.
Thanks all for your solidarity and to Eimear Gavin for playing to role of 'financial fool' for the day!
As you are aware, the two leading banks in Ireland have recently benefited from a huge recapitalisation scheme funded by public money. We believe that having received billions of Euro from the Irish people to compensate for their own business failings, Irish banks must now recognise that they owe new responsibilities to Irish citizens. They must respond to concerns from civil society about harmful practices in the financial sector that undermine democracy and social development.
One of the most important concerns that have been raised relates to tax avoidance and tax evasion. Tax dodging is a matter of life and death in impoverished countries. At least US$ 160 billion is lost from impoverished countries every year which far exceeds what they receive in aid. This represents desperately needed resources for people struggling to survive.
It is clear that banks have played a damaging part in tax injustice. For example, the Royal Bank of Scotland recently agreed to shut down a department which had specialised in complex international tax avoidance schemes, which is believed to have cost the UK and US treasuries over £500 million.
We request that Bank of ireland conduct a full audit of its own business and shut down any tax avoidance schemes on its books. In particular, subsidiaries based in tax havens must be carefully scrutinised to establish if they facilitate the avoidance of tax on income which is earned in other jurisdictions. Irish banks must also determine whether they hold money in their accounts which is linked to political or economic corruption in the global South. All such money should be repatriated.
Bank of Ireland should sign up to voluntary and automatic exchange of information with revenue authorities in Southern countries. This would set a positive precedent for banks in other European countries and generate momentum towards an international agreement on automatic information exchange between jurisdictions that could eliminate opportunities for global tax injustice
Yours sincerely
Nessa Ní Chasaide
On behalf of Bloom: movement for Global Justice
Irish Campaigners say ‘U2 Must Believe in Tax Justice'
As U2 prepare to launch their new album,
this week Irish global justice campaigners will be challenging the band
to put their money where their mouth is and support global tax justice.
Campaigners highlighted the millions of euro denied to impoverished governments through tax
avoidance and evasion by multi-national companies shifting their profits to avoid tax.
Nessa Ní Chasaide of Debt and Development Coalition Ireland said,
"Bono may campaign for a better deal for the world's poor –
but his band are taking advantage of the same tax avoidance schemes that rob impoverished countries of billions.
At least $160 billion drains out of impoverished countries each year because of multinational companies shifting
their profits to avoid tax. We need international action to ensure that everyone pays and pays their fair share.”
In 2006 U2 moved one of their companies from Ireland to the Netherlands to minimise their tax bill.
This is depriving the Irish government of revenue that we need to pay for social services and development aid to impoverished countries.
Andy Storey from Afri added,
"Tax is a fundamental question of global justice.
Lost taxes in impoverished countries far outweigh what they receive from rich countries in aid.
There are trillions of dollars stashed in tax havens. If that money was taxed in the countries where it was earned,
governments would have their own resources to improve the lives of their people."
Fleachta Phelan of Comhlámh continued,
“Every person and company has a duty to pay tax and make their contribution to society.
The Irish government must end tax dodging through supporting international action against bank secrecy and forcing
companies to publish where they make money and where they pay tax.”
Campaigners are inviting believers in tax justice to write alternative U2 songs for tax justice.
Please upload your contribution to the song contest to either Vimeo or Youtube and tag your entry with 'U2
Tax Justice Song Contest'. This tag will allow us to find your videos.
You could also take the time to mail us a link to your entry.
For
those unfamiliar with Vimeo and Youtube you can find 'how to guides'
at the following links:
According to Christian Aid, impoverished countries lose at least $160 billion every year as a result of tax avoidance and tax evasion by companies operating in their jurisdiction.
The lives of 350,000 children under the age of five could be saved every year if tax dodging was ended.
The OECD estimates that tax havens like Bermuda, Switzerland and the Isle of Man hold between $5 and $7 trillion in their accounts.
DDCI calls for democratic reform of the global economy to benefit people and the planet
Debt and Development Coalition Ireland calls for democratic reform of the global economy to benefit people and the planet
As George Bush hosts a conference of world leaders including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss their response to the
financial crisis, campaigning group Debt and Development Coalition Ireland (DDCI) has called for a radically different approach
to reform of the global economy.
"Bush, Brown and Sarkozy have organised a conference with a handful of countries from impoverished
regions that excludes most of the world's population from a debate that affects us all," said Nessa Ní Chasaide of DDCI.
"They want to decide on policies for the whole planet, without consulting the people from the poorest parts of the world who
are most affected by problems like unjust debt repayments, currency speculation and the global food crisis."
British PM Gordon Brown and French president Nicolas Sarkozy have been talking about the need for
"very large and very radical changes" in the global economy. But their own proposals barely scratch the surface and do not tackle
the root causes of our current economic crisis. International bodies like the World Bank and the IMF played a leading role in
promoting financial de-regulation - yet Brown and Sarkozy now want these bodies to be given greater power and responsibility in the
management of the world economy.
"We can't depend on the people who are responsible for the global crisis to pull us out of it,"
said Ní Chasaide. "Governments have found billions of dollars to bail out wealthy investors because of their own irresponsibility.
We have the resources to provide everyone on the planet with a decent standard of living. Yet there will be no effective action to
tackle world poverty as long as undemocratic bodies like the World Bank and the IMF can impose their policies on impoverished governments."
She continued, "As the old consensus stands discredited, we have the opportunity to recast the world economic system for the benefit of
the majority. The policies are there, ready to be implemented - what we need now is the political will. That can only come from a
democratic process, not the elite gathering in Washington this weekend."
'On Saturday 8th November Bloom: Movement for Global Justice held a demonstration
and called on Brian Cowen to work for a global economy that serves people and the planet.
The demonstration was held in advance of the undemocratic G20 meeting being held in
Washington this Saturday 15th November.
The photos show Brian Cowen handing over a blank cheque to bankers with activists
surrounding him asking 'What about the Poor?' 'What about the Global South?''
PARLIAMENTARIAN
DECLARATION
Parliamentarian
Declaration- ask your TDs and MEPs To
Lift the Lid on Illegitimate debts
How? By getting them to sign
up and support the INTERNATIONAL call
for more just financial relationships
between rich and poor countries.
What is the parliamentarian's declaration
for shared responsibility about?
"To prevent repeated rounds
of unsustainable and irresponsible
lending and borrowing,
the participation of parliaments
is fundamental. This will help
to ensure that loan agreements
really do reflect the aspirations
of the citizens of developing
countries around the world"
Support us in our campaigns for a Just and Equal World!
If you would like to become a member of DDCI please email: campaign@debtireland.org for a membership form.
Donate!
Donate to Debt & Development Coalition Ireland!
We really depend on your support to do our work.
You can send a donation by post to:
Debt and Development Coalition Ireland:
Unit F5, Spade Enterprise Centre, North King Street, Dublin 7. Ireland.
Response to the Financial Crisis
Debt and Development Coalition Calls for Global Response to Global Financial Crisis
Irish global justice network, Debt and Development Coalition Ireland called for a truly global response to the global financial crisis.
Attempts by the most powerful countries to stitch-up a deal for a new “Washington Consensus” with no involvement of the majority of the world’s countries will only further undermine public trust and confidence in a global financial system that has failed the most vulnerable people in the world.
Along with Debt and Development Coalition Ireland, over 550 organisations from 88 countries around the world signed a statement that calls for a UN convened review of the international financial and monetary architecture, its institutions and its governance. However, the groups highlight this will only be acceptable based on a process that is:
Inclusive of all governments of the world; representatives from civil society, citizen’s groups, social movements and other stakeholders;
Has a clear timeline and process for regional consultations, particularly with those most affected by the crisis;
Comprehensive in scope, tackling the full array of issues and institutions;
Transparent, with proposals and draft outcome documents made publicly available and discussed well in advance of the meeting.
For more information contact: Nessa Ní Chasaide, Co-ordinator, Debt and Development Coalition Ireland: +353 01 6174835, + 353 (0) 87 7507001
Lidy Nacpil, Regional Coordinator, Jubilee South – Asia/Pacific Movement on Debt and Development, Philippines, +63 917 880 0410 or lnacpil@jsouth.org
A briefing on the Washington November 15th planned Conference can be found at: www.eurodad.org
Debt and Development Coalition Ireland: Unit F5, Spade Enterprise Centre, North King Street, Dublin 7. Tel: + 353 1 6174835 Contact us: enquiries / information click here
D.D.C.I. would like to acknowledge the following funders:
Development Education Unit of Development Cooperation Ireland
European Community
This website has been designed and maintained with the financial assistance
of the EC.
The views expressed herein are those of Debt and Development Coalition
Ireland
and can therefore in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion
of the EC.
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As George Bush hosts a conference of world leaders including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss their response to the
financial crisis, campaigning group Debt and Development Coalition Ireland (DDCI) has called for a radically different approach
to reform of the global economy.
