It is more than likely that next week the Taoiseach will confirm polling day as November 29th. Now, more than ever, we need your help as supporters on the ground, canvassing, postering, and assisting in any way you can for our wonderful candidates. We are a campaigning party – a party of activism – and the most effective way to spread our message and win support is through talking with people on the doors and streets of our constituencies. I know just how brilliant our membership has been at turning up for our candidates already. If you have not already been out on the campaign trail in recent times, I would encourage you to do so and get in touch with your local Labour candidate or constituency team.

Meanwhile, your Labour representatives in the Oireachtas have been working hard as hard ever as this Government pushes through the last of its legislative agenda. Our TDs and Senators have provided robust opposition and scrutiny in many areas in recent weeks, opposing the short-termist nature of the Budget, putting pressure on Government to enact the Occupied Territories Bill, and proposing legislation to ensure redress can be paid to survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. Additionally, on Wednesday last week we introduced a private members’ motion on staffing in the HSE – to lift the recruitment cap and deliver safe staffing levels in our hospitals to support patient care.

As we say farewell to this Dáil, over the last four and a half years the Labour Party has provided effective but constructive opposition to this Government. We have introduced the Reproductive Health Leave Bill to provide for a compassionate approach to fertility in the workplace, the Renters’ Rights Bill to ensure tenants have solid legal protections against evictions, the Dublin Bay Bill to protect biodiversity and improve water quality – and we have proposed legislation to ensure stronger citizenship rights for the children of migrant parents in Ireland – among other initiatives.

Meanwhile, in Europe, our newly elected MEP, Aodhán Ó’Riordáin has gone to great lengths to ensure the establishment of a European Housing Commissioner, to provide a European-wide solution to the housing crisis. These efforts speak to our values of fairness, equality, and solidarity. This is work that the Labour Party can be proud of doing.

In the next Dáíl term we need to build on this work. Ireland needs affordable housing, we need universal public childcare, and we desperately need long-term investment in our public services – in health, education, transport and more. This is what we as a party stand for. As we organise and campaign together to win Labour seats, I again stress the need for your involvement to help us to deliver change – and to build better together.

Is mise le meas,