People's Movement (Ireland)

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People's Movement
Irish: Gluaiseacht an Phobail
Type Pressure group
Headquarters25 Shanowen Crescent, Santry, Dublin 9, Ireland
Chair/Cathaoirleach
 Patricia McKenna [1]
Website www.people.ie

People's Movement (Irish : Gluaiseacht an Phobail) is an Irish pressure group which has campaigned on a number of issues such as protecting Irish neutrality and against greater European Union integration. In addition to campaigning against the 2008 referendum to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, [2] [3] the group has also previously campaigned against the war on Iraq and the use of Shannon Airport by the US military. The People's Movement is considered left-wing and opposes the institutions of the European Union, arguing that they undermine workers' rights and lead to a "race to the bottom" between the workers of underdeveloped members of the EU. [4] As of 2021, the organisation was included in the register of third parties maintained by the Standards in Public Office Commission. [5]

Contents

Sponsors

Supporters of the People's Movement have included artist Robert Ballagh, former TD Declan Bree, former MEP Patricia McKenna, Chris O'Leary, Bronwen Maher, Thomas Pringle, Catherine Connolly TD, and Irish-language broadcaster Seosamh Ó Cuaig. [6] Tony Gregory was also a supporter of the group. [7] As of 2008, McKenna was the organisation's chairperson. [8]

Lisbon Treaty

The group campaigned against the constitutional amendment to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon, stating that the treaty would increase Ireland's involvement in military commitments of the EU, [9] compromise workers' rights and negatively impact Irish neutrality and sovereignty. [3] The People's Movement reportedly argued that the Lisbon Treaty was a step towards a "more 'Corporate Europe'". [10] During the campaign, the People's Movement queried whether the documentation issued by the Referendum Commission was impartial, stating that some leaflets were "designed to influence a Yes vote and were an abuse of taxpayers' money". [11] [12]

The People's Movement made submissions to the National Forum on Europe, [13] which was set up in the aftermath of the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in the first Lisbon referendum.[ citation needed ]

After the 'no' vote in the first Lisbon referendum in 2008, the People's Movement criticised the decision to re-run the referendum in 2009. [14] In advance of the second Lisbon referendum, the group called for legislation to "prevent multinational corporations from trying to sway voters' opinions in future referenda" stating that it was inappropriate for such companies to spend millions on campaigning without "having to explain where the money comes from". [15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "RTÉ Archives - Voting For Or Against Lisbon Treaty". rte.ie. 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  2. ↑ Cottam, Harry (2020). The EU - The Liberal Empire?. ISBN   9781912505746. Patricia McKenna, a Southern Irish member of the European Parliament (MEP) and leader of the People's Movement which opposed the Lisbon Treaty
  3. 1 2 Viola, Donatella M. (2015). Routledge Handbook of European Elections. Routledge. p. 249. ISBN   9781317503637. On the left, a number of small Trotskyist parties [..] were joined by [..] groups such as the People's Movement in arguing that the Lisbon vote provided an opportunity to vote against the economic cut-backs, privatizations and reductions in welfare, assaults on workers' rights, and the undermining of Irish neutrality and sovereignty
  4. ↑ Fitzgibbon, John (2020). "Why did Ireland Reject the Lisbon Treaty in 2008?" (PDF). University of Sussex European Institute.
  5. ↑ "Standards in Public Office Commission - Annual Report - 2022" (PDF), sipo.ie, Standards in Public Office Commission, p. 27, 2022, retrieved 11 July 2025
  6. ↑ "People's Movement Home Page". people.ie. Retrieved 11 July 2025. Patrons Robert Ballagh [..] Cllr Declan Bree [..] Catherine Connolly TD [..] Bronwen Maher [..] Patricia McKenna [..] Seosamh O Cuaig [..] Cllr Chris O'Leary [..] Thomas Pringle
  7. ↑ "Press Statement - Death of Tony Gregory TD" (PDF). people.ie (Press release). People's Movement. 2 January 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  8. ↑ "Govt 'Yes to Lisbon' funding queried". rte.ie. 6 February 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  9. ↑ "People's Movement - Lisbon Treaty". www.people.ie.
  10. ↑ Laffan, Brigid; O'Mahony, Jane (2008). Ireland and the European Union. Bloomsbury. p. 117. ISBN   9781137048356. The People's Movement and Joe Higgins's Socialist party argued that the Treaty was a step in the direction of a more 'Corporate Europe'
  11. ↑ "No groups unhappy with Commission leaflet". rte.ie. 16 September 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  12. ↑ "McKenna claims referendum leaflet is misleading". Irish Independent. 1 September 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2025. The People's Movement is accusing the Referendum Commission of being extremely misleading [..] The group [..] claims a leaflet sent out by the Commission is clearly geared towards securing a Yes vote [..] "This booklet is not balanced, it is not impartial"
  13. ↑ "The People's Movement Submission". National Forum for Europe.[ dead link ]
  14. ↑ "Lisbon Treaty re-run criticised". independent.ie. 3 April 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  15. ↑ "'No' group slams multinational interference in Lisbon". Irish Independent. 30 September 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
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