Labour Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Senator Ivana Bacik, has called for Ireland to take a stronger stance against Russia, in light of the appalling situation in Aleppo, with the ongoing bombardment of the city by Russian and Syrian government forces having resulted in the deaths and injuries of so many civilians, including children. Senator Bacik said that…

Labour TD and Spokesperson on Housing, Planning and Local Government, Jan O’Sullivan, has called on the Government to bring forward the new Vacant Site levy by one year, from 2018 to 2017, to tackle the housing crisis. The levy, which consists of a 3 per cent charge of the market value for unused land, aims…

Next week Budget 2017 will be revealed. The entire commentary to date is about the ‘fiscal space’ and what sectors will get a slice of the pie. The Budget should be about guaranteeing that every citizen has a sufficient income to make possible a minimum acceptable standard of living. For the two million working adults…

Labour Party TD and Spokesperson on Transport, Brendan Ryan, has welcomed progress made in the Dublin Bus dispute. Workers will now be balloted on improved pay proposals reached following extensive negotiations between unions and management at the Workplace Relations Commission. Unions have suspended planned industrial action until the outcome of the ballot is known. “While…

“If a nation is defined by its culture – and it is – it’s hard to grasp why we Irish have allowed one of our greatest cultural assets – our music and song – to be banished from our primetime radio airwaves during the last few decades. It happened gradually – that’s why we didn’t…

Labour Party Senator and spokesperson on Labour Affairs and Workers’ Rights, Ged Nash, has called on the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connell, to quickly move to establish an Employer-Labour Conference, after the Labour party motion was successfully passed in the Seanad, last night. The proposed body would complement and support the…

Labour Party Senator and spokesperson on Dublin, Kevin Humphreys, has again called for construction to begin on the new National Maternity Hospital as a matter of urgency. Plans for the new facility have been delayed in a dispute over who should have governance control at the proposed site on the campus of St Vincent’s Hospital….

I am pleased to move this motion on behalf of the Labour Party. The motion seeks to provide a route map towards the satisfactory resolution of the Dublin Bus dispute. It also seeks the introduction of a new mechanism, designed to complement and support the work of government, and our excellent industrial relations institutions to…