(from Pamphlet: “IRISH CITIZENS, WE MUST EMPOWER OURSELVES!”)
The task now is to build The People’s Convention in every constituency and in every part (local electoral wards) of each constituency. To coordinate the effort, there is a need to create a National Committee. Building the organisation requires individuals who see this necessity; and step forward and begin the work in their area. The National Committee will do what it can to assist.
Each constituency organisation of The People’s Convention needs to create a committee to organise the meetings, publicity, fundraising and votes on selection of candidates and policy matters. The function of the constituency committee is to organise and facilitate, not to direct policy discussions. The initiative for policy can come from anybody or any organisation of the people, and of course from the Dáil or local authority deliberations and proposals.
It is inevitable that there will be those who will say that with all this discussion, meetings and taking of votes people will not have time to participate and also live their lives.
There are two points to be made here:
- Firstly, it is necessary. We have been effectively denied democratic control over State policy for 90 years, the political parties do not represent us or our interests. None of them want to empower citizens. In fact, they are planning to make it more difficult for citizens to exercise our rights and to further erode national sovereignty. Only we, ourselves, can bring about our own empowerment.
- Secondly, so many of us already devote huge amounts of time in voluntary and other work made necessary by the failure of the State to provide for people’s needs or in protesting at the many attacks on our rights and livelihood. If we are able to use our energy in a positive way, to build the basis for solving these problems, then much of the effort that goes into volunteer work or protests will become unnecessary.
The People’s Convention is neither a reactive organisation nor a protest movement. It is a new way to organise ourselves to rule our country without being under the thumb of vested interests or the political parties that have wrecked the country.
