Ceann Comhairle, The Labour Party will be voting against the nomination of Enda Kenny as Taoiseach today. We do principally because this new government arrangement is a charade. Talking yesterday about the length of time it has taken to produce this deeply flawed arrangement, my colleague, Willie Penrose, referred to the old saying that a…

Following the news that President Obama is considering establishing a national monument to honour the LGBT movement in America, I believe the Irish government should follow suit. It would be a fitting tribute to the hardship and discrimination LGBT people in Ireland have suffered in their fight for equality and serve as a call to…

Speaking on Dail Eireann Statements on Crime Ceann Comhairle, In recent weeks, we have seen a string of cold-blooded murders and attempted assassinations on the streets of Dublin. It is clear that the criminals behind this murderous feud have no compassion for life, no respect for society, and do not fear the State.  It is…

Speaking on behalf of Parliamentary Labour Party Narrow political self-interest has trumped fair play and sound policy, with compliant taxpayers squeezed in the middle in the deal hatched between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. It seems to me that the two priorities of this document are first to set out the ‘pre-nup’ for how this…

Number of people unemployed falls by 25,700 The Tánaiste and Labour Party leader, Joan Burton T.D., has welcomed new CSO data showing unemployment down to 8.4% in April, a drop of 1.3% since the same time last year. The number of people unemployed fell by 25,700 over the 12-month period.  The Tánaiste said: “When Labour…

Labour Party Senator Kevin Humphreys has called on the Minister for Health to intervene immediately in the dispute over the location of a new National Maternity Hospital. Senator Humphreys commented: “Further delays to a new National Maternity Hospital being built are completely unacceptable. I am calling on the Minister for Health to intervene immediately. “The…

I would like to congratulate Senators Ivana Bacik, Kevin Humphreys, Denis Landy, Ged Nash, and Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, all of whom won seats for the Labour Party in the 25th Seanad. The fact that we achieved a clean sweep, with all our vocational panel candidates winning seats, is testament to the work put in by…

I am very pleased to have this opportunity to address the House on the challenge of addressing the impact of the unprecedented combination of conflicts and humanitarian crises worldwide, but especially in the broader Middle East and Africa. I have been proud to lead the Irish aid response over the past two years as Minister…