Who Benefits from Austerity?Anti-Austerity Alliance meeting, Teachers’ Club, 11 January 2014

Dr. Conor McCabe, Equality Studies Centre, UCD School of Social Justice

Financialization refers to the increasing importance of financial markets, financial motives, financial institutions and financial elites in the operation of the economy and its governing institutions, both at the national and international levels.

Gerald Epstein, ‘Financialization, Rentier Interests, and Central Bank Policy’,2002

1970s – The Monetarist revolution

1980s – war on labour

1990s – Credit as a substitute for wage increases

2000s – Credit solution for wage stagnation fails

Present day – open conflict over monetary policy once again

Closing down of Dissent - Attacks on Equality in IrelandEquality Bodies – closed down or with reduced Budgets

Combat Poverty Agency –closed 2008 incorporated into the Department of Social Protection Equality Authority – 2009 43% cut and now being merged with the Human Rights Commission Women’s Health Council – closed 2009  Crisis Pregnancy Agency – closed and merged with the Health Service Executive  Irish Human Rights Commission -Budget cuts since 2009 and merged with Equality Authority Equality for Women Measure - co-funded by EU Operational Programme ---budget partly transferred out

of this area and now under Dept. For Enterprise, Trade and Employment  National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) _Closed 2009  Gender Equality desk at the Department (Ministry) of Justice, Equality and Law Reform – Desk Closed

2009 Gender Equality Unit – Department of Education – Closed early 2000s Higher Education Equality Unit – UCC -Closed and merged into Higher Education Authority (early 2000s) National Women’s Council of Ireland -158 member organisations- budget cuts of 15% in 2008-11 and

38% in 2012 Traveller Education cutbacks 2011 and 2012 – all 42 Visiting teaches for Travellers removed*  Rape Crisis Network Ireland – core Health Authority Funding removed 2011

SAFE Ireland network of Women’s’ Refuges - core Health Authority Funding removed 2011

People With Disabilities in Ireland's (PWDI) - funding removed 2012

National Carers’ Strategy – abandoned 2009

Kathleen Lynch, Equality Studies UCD School of Social Justice 26

1.Tax avoidance (national and international)

2.FIRE industries (Finance, Insurance, Real Estate)

3.Privatization of public resources and services