Much has happened since our last Ard Fheis - there have been major political developments nationally and internationally. As a political movement based on the interests of the working class in Ireland, we have to respond to those developments. We have done so and it is now up to the membership to endorse or reject our response.

We had grave difficulty in convincing people that the so-called ³peace process² was inherently unstable and while it was long on promises it would be short on delivery. We did not buy into the politics of the Peace Process. Yet we recognised the desire of the people for peace and took a conscious political decision not to, by word or deed, endanger that process. Our record speaks for itself on this. During the first Provisional cease-fire, the INLA, on the advice of the IRSP, did not engage in any action that would endanger that cease-fire. It was the only armed group that respected that cease-fire although not buying into the politics of it.

The INLA maintained a position of defence and retaliation and it was in line with that policy that the INLA executed the leader of the LVF (an organisation devoted solely to the murder of Catholics). It was a direct response to their continuing murderous campaign. The response of Loyalist organisations was predictable. A spate of sectarian assassinations of nationalists by organisations supposedly on cease-fire took place; however, as the talks gathered momentum we had to re-assess the political situation. The leadership monitored the talks and when the Good Friday Agreement was endorsed by referenda in both parts of the island, then we had to re-examine our options.

We oppose the Good Friday Agreement. We believe that the base Republican position was undermined and a new Stormont would copper-fasten partition.

We stand by the "Republic". Not the Republic of the gombeen clerical-dominated State that emerged out of the war of independence, but one based firmly on the secular principles of Tone's Republicanism and with a social policy firmly based on the needs of the Irish working class in line with the Socialism of Connolly.

Let us remind ourselves why we opposed the Good Friday Agreement:

    1. It institutionalises sectarianism
As socialists we find that anathema. We know that there is a large constituency out there of people who have no wish to be associated with either of the two sectarian blocs and who demand radical and fundamental changes to the two existing states on the Island. Their voice is classified as "other" for the purposes of the old head count. On contentious issues in the Assembly the ³others² will effectively not have their votes counted. "Some are more equal than others!" After thirty years of conflict, civil rights agitation and death, destruction and mayhem, the end result is that we have now got a more sophisticated headcounting exercise. There is no incentive for people to move away from entrenched sectarian positions

    2. Irish sovereignty is not recognised.
The agreement still did not restore the right of sovereignty to the people of the island. Sovereignty is now so ringed around with pre-conditions and confusions that two perfectly sane people can interpret the issue of sovereignty in the agreement in diametrically-opposed positions. Our view of sovereignty differs from that of others. We do not hark back either to the 1916 Proclamation or the results of a Westminster election in 1918, though we recognise their historic importance. No, comrades, for us around the issue of sovereignty there is really only one question to be asked and answered - Does this give power back to the people of the island?

By that criteria the Good Friday Agreement calls for "Northern Ireland in its entirety remains part of the United Kingdom." (Article one of Appendix A of the agreement)

    3. Equality for all is problematic
After all the deputy leader of the Unionists said that Nationalists could not expect equal rights to Unionists because Unionists were the majority. The weak legislation now being enacted proves that when push comes to shove the Brits will always side with the Unionists. When is the target date for equality of treatment and equality of opportunity? Is it the year 2000, 2010, or 2020?

    4. The cross-border bodies are not moves towards unity
They are simply pragmatic responses towards the need for capitalist economic efficiency within the context of the European Union. Does anyone here think that improved co-operation on issues such as "animal and plant health, teachers qualifications and exchanges, waste management, social security fraud control, aquacultural accident and emergency services" was what the last thirty years was all about? Well comrades, as Connolly said ironically, "Lets whoop it up for liberty!"

    5. The unreformed RUC
The RUC are and will still be there after the Patten report. We made a submission to the Patten commission, but we did so without any real conviction that the final report would abolish the RUC. Despite their record, despite their behaviour, despite their history we do not think that the RUC will be abolished or dissolved. Nor do we think that the establishment of the new Stormont will make a fundamental difference to how policing is delivered in nationalist working class areas. Sometimes the more things change, the more they are the same.

So for all the above reasons we opposed the Agreement. We therefore called for a No Vote in the referenda north and south and we pay tribute to the comrades who actively campaigned. We believe that Republicans did not give their support for armed and mass struggle and did not endure the raids, the internments, the torture, nor the marginalisation and demonisation of a whole people, the poverty and the exploitation, for parity of esteem in a British state.

We do not believe that the struggle was about a democratised SIX counties. We were and are about liberation, about self-determination and socialism.

We were unable to persuade the Irish people that our position was the right one. When the referenda were done and dusted we sat down and analysed the new situation. We were mindful of the position taken after the democratic discussion at last year's Ard Fheis. We took sounds from the membership around the country and how people felt. We were aware of the concern felt by many coming up to Drumcree and expressed those concerns to the leadership of the INLA. When the immediate Drumcree crisis had passed we came to the collective decision that as a political leadership we had a responsibility to the Irish working class to recommend a cease-fire decision. We did so and that recommendation was unanimously accepted by the leadership of the Army. We acknowledge that some of our members and supporters had and have doubts about the direction we took. This leadership is not above criticism and is certainly not in the business of suppressing other views. But we took the view that as a movement we have to recognise the will of the people.

We believe that the liberation of the Irish working class can only be carried out by the Irish working class. That is and has always been our primary goal. For years our movement has criticised absolutely correctly in my opinion the Provisional movement for its elitism and its stance of knowing better than the Irish people what was good for it. As socialists, as democrats, as republicans we reject that kind of elitism. Therefore this leadership, while believing that in relation to the referenda the people made an error, we must also accept their expression of opinion.

Believing there was no basis for republicans to continue the war because the war was over, we made our recommendation. Comrades, the war is over. Conflict will continue - Drumcree last Thursday night showed that. But in our considered political opinion, the war for republicans is over. We still maintain that "Northern Ireland" is a failed political entity. We reject the creation of any all-class alliance involving the imperialist USA, the Free State establishment and the SDLP.

This is not the republican approach. Irish republicanism was and is about the establishment of an independent secular state led by the most progressive elements in Irish society.

It was not and is not about creating a new set-up in Ireland that would have the backing of the world's strongest Imperialist power! Sovereignty should rest with the Irish people, not in the corridors of Washington.

However, being critical does not mean we stand in a corner proclaiming our purity. Comrades, we need to interact more with the body politic and it was to this end we advocated a Republican Forum. We believe it is essential that open dialogue commences with fellow republicans and anti-imperialists. The decision of the Sinn Fein leadership to enter into the new Assembly was a defining moment for Republicanism.

We do not accept the existence of a "republican family." Rather, we say there are different traditions of republicanism, which today include such diverse elements as Fianna Fail, the Provisionals, the "Reals", the Republican Sinn Fein, the Official Republican Movement and the Republican Socialist movement. We believe and will always believe that dialogue with other republicans is desirable. And do not confuse dialogue with alliance. In any talks we have not compromised the core beliefs of republican socialism.

We engaged in dialogue with other republicans over the past 12 months on matters of mutual interest. We pointed out that marginalising those who share the fundamental tenets of republicanism was not in the interests of the Irish people. We opposed the malicious rumour-mongering that has gone on in an attempt to drive progressive thinkers away from our movement. We respect the integrity of others. Let them respect our integrity. The condoning of physical attacks on members of our movement and trying to bar us from pubs and clubs were indicators of how a narrow elitist version of politics can lead not only to the thought police mentality (best seen around the Donegal Celtic debacle) but also to physically beating both working class youths and political opponents off the streets.

This party is opposed to both mind control, community control and punishment beatings. That is not a road socialists should walk down. Social problems cannot be solved by a crack from a hurley and baseball bat. It is not our intention to act as policemen against our own working class communities.

While individuals have to accept the consequences of their own actions, we are in no doubt that much anti-social activity is the result of appalling social and economic conditions. Where there is no sense of worth, no sense of belonging, no sense of hope, then individuals turn in on their own. It is the duty of socialists to give semblance of hope to people. It is our task to put self-confidence back into the class, to accentuate the positive values of solidarity of co-operation and comradeship. That requires our movement to earn leadership of the class and that is not an easy task.

Over the past twelve months we have begun, but the task is huge and comrades, we are talking about a long-term project. There are no short cuts, instant solutions or easy options. Difficult decisions have to be made. We have not backed down from making some in the last twelve months.

We realised that there are logical consequences to an acceptance of a cease-fire situation. This leadership has tried to live up to those responsibilities associated with that decision.

In line with the apology given by the INLA in its ceasefire decision, the leadership has begun the necessary actions to rectify a grievous wrong done by the movement in the past. There is no doubt much pain and suffering out there. We have faced up to our responsibilities there.

We persuaded the INLA that their cease-fire should be total and unequivocal. It is despite the provocative actions of the RUC and informer and agent to try to break that cease-fire.

We have opened a dialogue with both the British and Irish Governments with a view to facilitate the release of our prisoners and secure funding for their re-integration into civic society.

And most important of all we have re-politicised the republican socialist movement. Our past difficulties were essentially caused by the fact that we forgot our roots and became a depoliticised armed group. The firm reaffirmation of our commitment to class politics and dogged resistance to all forms of imperialism is the way forward.

To those cynics who have argued that the cease-fire was a tactical devise to secure the release of the prisoners let us say we have been consistent in ensuring that the prisoners were not a bargaining chip, no secret deals were done, we were not bought off, our political ideals were not compromised.

Now let us look at thorny issues of de-commissioning. In January 1996 in a statement the views of the Republican Socialist Movement views were spelt out: "Under no circumstances will any section of the Republican Socialist Movement sanction, agree to or advocate that weapons under the control of this movement be decommissioned. So long as Britain claims sovereignty over any part of this island then we reserve the right to take appropriate action to loosen that claim."

The IRSP has no weapon. It is politics, not guns, that make our organisation revolutionary. We are an open legitimate political organisation committed fully to the political road and will continue to use what influence we have to continue to keep the gun out of the equation.

For that reason, we believe that there should be no barrier to a member of the IRSP meeting with the Decommissioning body. We have refrained from making any recommendation to the INLA because we saw how decommissioning has been used as a stick to beat other republicans. Let us say that those of us who remember the Falls Road in '69 are reluctant to return to those days but are grateful today for the silence of the weapons.

To our prisoners, Comrades, we send you our greeting and our heartfelt admiration for your loyalty, steadfastness and discipline during the past period. We know that under previous leaderships many of our prisoners were neglected, scorned or forgotten. We hope by our actions of the past four years that our commitment to our captured comrades has been clear. No one should be in any doubt anymore as to the political nature of your offences.

The flow of politics from the jails has inspired those of us on the outside and we look forward to the release of all our comrades and the impact that they can have on working class struggles.

We have already mentioned the equality issue. But lest we be mistaken it is important to place on record our version of equality. We do not believe that both Catholic and Protestant working class should have equality of poverty. That is what the end result of the current equality legislation will produce. Of course, we want to see the ending of a situation where people suffer discrimination because of their perceived political background. But we also want to see an end to discrimination because of class.

Take education, which for all the fancy words of the theorists is elitist and biased and discriminatory against working class families on both sides of the border. The status quo is defended by all the vested interests in society like the Churches, the educational establishments and business and university sectors. They see themselves as the guardians of the traditions and interests of the middle classes. We call for the radicalisation of the education system to create an egalitarian education system.

Comrades, we need to build an alliance of the dispossessed, of the powerless, of the deprived throughout this country. Such an alliance must challenge those who using either nationalist and unionist rhetoric have feathered their own personal nests and robbed the wealth that rightly belongs to the people. We make no apology for being old-fashioned socialists.

There still is a class struggle in Ireland, north and south, and the 30% of the population who struggles daily below the poverty line know it, the single parents know it, the political prisoners know it, the low-paid know it, the gay population know it, working class women know it, workers in the public sector know it, the young unemployed it, harassed by either Gardai or RUC know it, the students facing accumulative debts to pay for their education know it and the Irps know it.

We see at present the dire straits that threaten the livelihood of the small farmers in Ireland, some of whom are driven towards suicide by their plight. We believe that it is the entitlement of all adults in society to a basic income from the state regardless of circumstances. Such a situation would ensure that farmers could remain on the land and continue to farm. The decline in rural life is not the in the interests of anyone and we support the retention of small schools. We do not believe that economic considerations should always overcome social considerations.

On the drug crisis let us say clearly we believe that the sternest actions should be taken against the importers of hard drugs into the country and that a national rehabilitation drug programmes for the victims of the Drug Godfathers should be established and financed from the seized assets of those self-same drug lords. Our party comrades, particularly in Dublin, have been active in the campaign against drug dealers in working class areas.

That work has been based on assisting local communities to organise themselves. It has not been about manipulating those self-same communities. We know the damage the drug trade has done to life in the working class ghettoes.

Remember comrades, the drug business is the finest example of unfettered capitalism. It is tolerated by capitalism because it directs the anger of working class youth away from social and economic problems. It stifles local resistance and is profoundly anti-working class. We are opposed to the drug trade. For many years the Free State ruling elite ignored the devastation drugs were causing in working class communities.

However, when the communities began to organise against the drug dealers the state machine moved. So long as the drug dealers were content to ruin working class areas with huge imporations of heroin and crack then the Dublin Bourgeoisie basically turned a blind eye to their activities. When the communities began to react then the State acted. The courageous resistance of communities to the evil in their midst led to a Gardai-led state-inspired crack-down on those self-same communities.

Drug barons amassed fortunes, untouched by the tax inspectors, leading criminals got repeated bail to carry on their trade whilst judges and the judiciary reserved their heaviest sentences for republicans and travellers. The Gardai used their cronies in the media to hype up propaganda against the local anti-drug activists. Lies, distortion, and half-truths became the order of the day. We for our part are cynical of the state¹s new-found energetic anti-drugs drive and will continue to support local communities in their resistance to this insidious form of capitalism.

However, we believe also that the time has come for an open debate to begin on the question of the legislation of soft drugs. Everyone accepts the evils of the tobacco industry and the effect it has on the health of the people and the cost to the country in treatment. If tobacco is legal then the case for the legalisation of cannabis is at least very strong.

Both states in Ireland have large sections of the population living in poverty and nearly 100,000 people are either homeless or living in dire conditions. Be assured, comrades, the attention of the USA, British Governments and E.U. on the conflict in Ireland is not to end the inequality of poverty or income. It is to create a stable environment for the extraction of profit for private shareholders.

All the 'peace' money may make roads, banks and community centres look nice but it will not fundamentally alter the economic power structures which have allowed conflict to fester. The IRSP have always said that the class question was inextricably linked up with the national question. That is a core value of this organisation.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union it has become embarrassing for some former socialists to mention class or Marxism. Comrades, we are a class party, of and from and for the working class. Our analysis is influenced by Marxist theory. We are part of a long tradition of Republican Socialism in Irish history that encompasses Radicals, Marxist and Republicans as diverse as Thompson, Lalor, Davitt, Connolly, Larkin, Mellowes, O'Donnell, Ta Powers, Gino Gallagher, and Seamus Costello.

We are part of a proud radical vein of revolutionary politics. We regard other Republican organisations as mainstream nationalists representing an all class approach to the Irish people. We for our part stand with the Irish working class regardless of religious background. We are unashamedly a working class, Marxist republican movement. But it is not enough to proclaim our politics. We need to do something about them. The leadership is proud to report a tremendous increase by party activists in political activity. All party branches are now involved in some aspects of working class struggles.

We are moving towards a situation of wherever the party is, there is agitation. If we do not become an activist party then we have no right to talk about the working class. We have also increased the level of political education within the movement and that is ongoing. However, we failed to produce a regular "Starry Plough" and this failure has hindered our development. A party newspaper is the lifeblood of the movement and we hope that the new leadership will tackle this task immediately.

As Connolly predicted, Partition has been a political, economic and social disaster for all the people on this island, and in particular the working class communities in the north who daily suffer the consequences of its imposition. Partition must be ended. It is a running sore on the body politic and until it goes there will never be opportunities for working class people to unite in their economic and social interests.

There is not doubt that there is an intellectual awakening in the leadership of the loyalist working class and an attempt made by some of their leaders to update their ideology into the 1990s.

There are attracting community activists and are engaged in dialogue with many forces. They also differentiate themselves from the ruling unionist elite. We welcome a growing critical awareness within Loyalism and more importantly within the Protestant working class. In the absence of armed conflict there should be dialogue between all progressive viewpoints.

As radical working class republicans, we must use every opportunity to reach out and engage in dialogue and see if there is a commonality of interests with working class concerns. In this the 200th anniversary of the crushing of the United Irishmen, it is important that Republicans reaffirm the non-sectarian nature of our beliefs. Our own organisation's supporters have been guilty of acts of sectarianism in the past and that has to be condemned and never repeated. In particular, the attack on the Gospel Hall in Darkley was an appalling act of sectarian hatred. Genuine Republicans are not blind to the rising tide of sectarianism. We may understand it as an inevitable consequences of the actions of orange supremacists over issues such as Drumcree, but we can not excuse it.

Moreover, it is not good enough to talk about Unionists/Protestants being deluded Irishmen/Irishwomen. That is simply patronising them. They see themselves as British and they should be accepted as such. Perhaps it is time for all nationalists to get real about both unionism and Loyalism. Given their history and their traditions there is little possibility of Loyalists becoming "good little republicans" even if the British Government pulled out.

Genuine progressive developments within Loyalism will take a long, long time and cannot be imposed from outside. In the meantime, it is time to stop paying lip service to non-sectarianism and really act on it. All manifestations of sectarianism should be opposed by republicans.

Republican Socialists recognise the sectarian nature of both existing states in Ireland today and need to campaign against both. We have to be firmly against all manifestations of sectarianism, otherwise how can we break its stranglehold?

There also needs to be dialogue. We therefore advocate face-to-face talks between the representatives of the totality of the republican positions and the political representatives of the loyalists working class groups. We in the IRSP are ready for such talks and have been calling for such talks since May 1995. At the same time the IRSP makes clear that we are totally opposed to the racism, fascism and sectarianism of the armed gangs that dance to the British Government agenda. There can be no political compromise with these. This Party will continue its ideological and practical opposition to reactionary ideologies, but will also reach out to progressive thinking no matter where it comes from.

Capitalism in Ireland, despite its superficial successes epitomised by the so called 'Celtic Tiger' helped mainly by membership of the European union, has produced mass unemployment, widespread poverty, ravaging crime, abuse of women, drug and alcohol addiction and youth alienation. Internationally, capitalism in crisis manifests itself through economic attacks on the working class through welfare cuts, low wages and restrictions on trade union rights.

However, while we are implacable opponents of capitalism, that does not blind us to its resilience strength and ability to continue to expand. The collapse of "Soviet style communism" has opened up huge markets that has given capitalism a huge boost. Comrades, capitalism is not on its last legs. This sad reality means that we have a hard task winning back support for socialism. We are aware of what we want to achieve; do we know how to go about achieving it?

No party or movement can rest on its laurels, or past record, sing the old songs, call itself socialist or revolutionary and expect the working class to flock to its banner. Comrades, throw away the old certainties. This is not the sixties or seventies, the state socialist projects have collapsed, capitalism unfettered is rampant and the road ahead is long, hard and arduous if a belief in socialism is to be reborn in the working class. Our movement, to be relevant, must update its republican socialism.

Who shall speak for them if not us? No movement in Ireland understands better than us the feeling of isolation. We have been deliberately excluded from many forums, from fighting elections, and maligned consistently in the media with lies, falsehood and slander.

Comrades, when the movement was set up it was to provide republican leadership to the Irish working class. It was not set out down a militaristic road. The military option was a response to the situation of that time and was based on the refusal of the Unionist/British elites to recognise the legitimacy of the republican position. Military oppression did not destroy resistance, if fuelled it.

We oppose state terrorism. No genuine revolutionary movement can hope to survive by dividing itself from the working class and individual terroristic actions do exactly that. Our general theoretical perspective is that political action by a revolutionary movement should be in support of the working class, not in spite of it or in substitution for it.

A revolutionary movement in the context of today's Ireland and the enormous changes taking place in the composition of the working class needs to be a movement in support of and responding to the needs of that working class. It must not be a substitution for the class for once we go down the road of thinking that we know better than the class, then, elitism, terrorism and arrogance grow. A revolutionary movement is a movement of the people or it is nothing.

We do believe in the old slogan ³Workers of the world unite. You have nothing to lose but your chains.² So we have established fraternal relationships with a number of worker organisations throughout the world and we welcome some of them here today.

Our internationalism led us to protest at the visit of Clinton to Ireland whilst he continues to blockade Cuba and threatens war against the people of Iraq. US imperialism is for us just an anathema as British imperialism and our organisation will not be making alliances with either in order to gain respectability in the palaces of "the great the good."

The Irish Republican Socialist Party exists because we want to establish in our country a socialist republic. We want to help put the working class in control of society. There is no justification for small, powerful elites controlling our economy and dictating the policies political parties should follow. Socialism is about putting the majority in control. We oppose State collectivism that centralises power in the socialist party and calls that state power socialism. Socialism is about freedom for all, not control by a few.

The Republican Socialist movement has been in existence since December 8th, 1974. Naturally, during those years errors and mistakes were made. Wrong policies were followed that at time nearly destroyed this movement.

Those mistakes will be analysed and learnt from. As socialists, we constantly evaluate and re-examine our policies to ensure that they are responsive to the needs of the Irish working class, our natural constituency.

The survival of our distant form of Republican politics may have cost us a heavy price, but it is one that all genuine revolutionary organisations have to pay. It is the intention of the leadership of the whole Republican Socialist Movement to learn from our mistakes, rectify past errors and continue to build a revolutionary working class organisation committed to establishing socialism in Ireland. It is our historic task to build a revolutionary internationalist party in Ireland that will neither elevate any method of revolutionary struggle to that of an untouchable principle nor rule out of the equation methods that may offend some susceptibilities.

Such a party will be principled and flexible and will serve the long-term interests of the class. In the coming period the IRSP has set itself a task of articulating and representing the aspirations of those groups in society who have been marginalised whether poor, unemployed, gay, political prisoners, north and south of the border. In whatever forum we find ourselves this movement will continue to be the authentic voice of Republican Socialism, and will continue to point out that the only road towards working class freedom is the road Republican Socialism.