Leader of the Labour Party and spokesperson on Foreign Affairs Brendan Howlin TD has said: “It is a matter of deep regret that 12 months on, Northern Ireland is still without a functioning Executive, and without a voice in the critical talks underway on Brexit. “However, the move by the Irish and British Governments to…

Labour Party member of the Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment, Jan O’Sullivan TD, has called for the Taoiseach to unequivocally commit to holding a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment in the month of May. Ahead of the Dáil debate, Deputy O’Sullivan said: “Public statements up to very recently have set May as the…

I welcome the Minister to the House, and welcome this important and historic debate. First – I, and my party, Labour, fully support the report’s recommendations, in particular the recommendation that the Eighth Amendment, Article 40.3.3, should be repealed simpliciter. We also support the recommendations for legislation on abortion if repeal is achieved – to…

  On Wednesday 4th May 1983, then Senator, Mary Robinson moved an amendment in Seanad Eireann.   It said that Seanad Eireann refuses to give a second reading to the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution Bill On the grounds that the Bill is so unclear and ambiguous that it is not a proper subject for…

Labour spokesperson on Climate Action and the Environment, Senator Ivana Bacik, has welcomed plans by the EU to ensure all plastic packaging is recyclable by 2030, saying that Ireland must move to tackle the issue before that. Senator Bacik said: “The sheer volume of plastic packaging used in everyday items now is astonishing, and the…

I am an Irishman. Son of a woman forced to leave the Civil Service when she got married. Grandson to women who were born with no right to vote. Brother to a woman born the year the 8th amendment passed – when as Emily O’Reilly put it – ‘The Masterminds of the Right’ got their…

Labour spokesperson on Affordable Housing, Joanna Tuffy has called on South Dublin County Council to look to example of the Poolbeg West Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) Planning Scheme when amending it’s SDZ Planning Scheme for Clonburris. Joanna said: “In the Poolbeg SDZ Planning Scheme adopted last year by Dublin City Council, 900 social and affordable…

Speaking in advance of the Dáil debate, Labour spokesperson on Health, Alan Kelly TD, has called for the pay of Section 39 workers to be restored in line with their Section 38 colleagues in the public sector. The Labour Party has called for this in the Dáil over the last three months, is supporting today’s…