Sinn Féin to consider tightening up probationary period for new members

Sinn Féin will tighten up the probationary period for new members joining the party, under a motion to go before the party’s ardfheis this weekend.

Currently, new members have to serve a probationary period of six months but under a motion put forward by the party’s Meath comhairle ceantair, this will be lengthened to a year.

Members will also have to sign up to a cumann, or local party organisation, for a period of a year before their probation is lifted.

The party will hold its ardfheis this weekend in Dublin’s RDS where it is set to reaffirm its commitment to working towards a unity referendum as well as its core policy goals.

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The clár, or programme, for the weekend outlines a range of motions to be put to a vote, including an invitation to “British and unionist citizens who have a crucial contribution to make in the shaping of the new Ireland”.

Delegates will vote on motions calling on the Government to convene an all-island citizens’ convention and assembly on Irish unity and to “plan and prepare for constitutional change”. The production of a white paper on Irish unity and expansion of the work of the Shared Island unit in the Department of the Taoiseach are also called for.

Separately, a motion calls for joined-up approaches to policy matters such as health on an all-island basis, including the sharing of medical information across the HSE and the NHS while working towards an “all-island National Health Service”.

Another calls for a “study group” to be set up by the party nationally “in order to formulate a draft mission statement which would give a more accessible overall view of the kind of society – politically, economically, socially and culturally – which it is envisaged should be brought into being”.

The party will vote on a variety of policies in specific sectors, including a reduction in transportation prices with free public transport for the under 18s, as well as an acceleration of the retrofitting of homes and increased public investment in order to reduce fees for childcare for parents by two thirds.

It also will vote on a proposal that, in government, Sinn Féin would prioritise the promotion of the Irish language and provide access to adult Irish language classes for all levels through local authorities or adult education structures.

Another motion calls for the relaxation of rules which “are destroying the fabric of rural Ireland” by “preventing families living in rural areas from building on their family land or near their childhood home”.

It will reiterate support for existing policies such as a ban on rent increases in the private rental sector for three years and refundable tax credits for renters and will vote on a motion that “condemns the refusal of the Office of the Planning Regulator to attend a meeting of Dublin City Council to explain its orders supporting Build To Rents in Dublin city”.

On Ukraine, a motion calls for the “full restoration of Ukrainian national sovereignty” and an “immediate withdrawal of all Russian armed forces” as well as the “maintenance of all appropriate political and economic sanctions until these outcomes are achieved”.

There is also a motion calling on the party to reiterate its opposition to an EU army and European defence budget “and moves by the Irish Government and others to facilitate such an attempt to undermine our position as a neutral state”.