Type: Speech
PRIMARY CARE WILL BE LABOUR’S PRIORITY FOR NEXT FIVE YEARS
Speaking at Launch of ‘Towards a new National Community Health Service’ The last five years have been challenging for the health service and the people who work in it. It has been a time of change; a time of reform and a time when resources have been stretched. The system is far from perfect….
Read more »Only Labour in government guarantees fairness and decency for workers
Speaking at the Trade Union Council of the Isles Annual Dinner, Mansion House, Dublin, Thursday 11th February 2016 Good evening, Lord Mayor, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you to Patricia and ICTU for your kind invitation to this Council of the Isles dinner. I am delighted to address this annual meeting of the four trade union…
Read more »SOLUTIONS IN HOUSING REQUIRE LONG-TERM PLANNING, NOT SHORT-TERM SOUNDBITES
“Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m delighted to be here today with my colleague Minister Alan Kelly to launch Labour’s housing policy. I have said before during this campaign that the choice people make on Friday 26th next will define the direction of Ireland for the rest of this decade. This is especially…
Read more »LABOUR WANT TO DELIVER AN AFFORDABLE HOME FOR ALL
Speaking at Labour’s plan for Housing, ‘Making Homes Affordable’ launch in Limerick this morning: “Minister O’Sullivan, Friends, Colleagues, Thank you for being here to launch our housing policy document. I just want to start by stating the Labour party has always historically prioritised the building of social housing. Every time Labour have been in…
Read more »Extending parental leave by 3 months a Labour priority – Wall
You are all very welcome today to the launch of ‘Standing Up For Families’– Labour’s plan for quality and affordable childcare. My name is Mark Wall. I am a Councillor and Labour election candidate for Kildare South. I am also a parent. It means I’m acutely aware of the day-to-day financial pressures that arise when…
Read more »Standing up for families by making childcare affordable – Conway
Last year, Joan Burton asked me to chair a working group within the labour party to come up with a plan for quality and affordable childcare. We consulted widely within the Party, and more importantly within our local communities and this process of engagement gave us a very clear insight as to just what the…
Read more »Affordable childcare will allow parents to make choices – Burton
At the launch of ‘Standing Up For Families’ – Labour’s plan for quality and affordable childcare As a woman leader, I feel passionately about children’s rights and childcare. That’s why standing up for children and families is one of my priorities. Since 2011, Labour in government has done a great deal. We put the children’s…
Read more »Labour’s vision is not just for full employment, but for fair employment – Nash
Speaking at the launch of ‘Launching a Skills Revolution’ – Labour’s plan for a living wage and investing in skills Jobs are at the heart of this election campaign. Decent well paid jobs lift families out of poverty and provide economic security. They are the means by which all our people can share in the…
Read more »Labour believes in opportunity for all, not just for a few – Burton
Speaking at the launch of “Launching a Skills Revolution” – Labour’s plan for a living wage and skills investment I’m delighted to be here today in Clúid, a Living Wage employer. And just today, we had another employer, Cornmarket, follow the lead of Clúid, SSE, Aldi, IKEA, Lidl, Dublin Food Co-op and Oxfam. All those…
Read more »We’ll ensure low and middle-income workers will be freed from USC
Speaking at the launch of ‘A Strong Economy for a Decent Society’ this morning This plan is about a simple principle: fairness. Ensuring the recovery is protected and sustained. And spreading the benefits to those who need them most. That’s precisely what Labour’s plan will do. We’ll stand up for working people, families and…
Read more »The next step is to transform a recovered economy into a decent society
Speaking at the launch of ‘A Strong Economy for a Decent Society’ this morning This election is about the future of our country. A future rescued from the scrap heap it was left in by Fianna Fail five years ago. A disastrous situation which would only have been made worse if the…
Read more »Economic plan is for a stable and job-sustaining economy
Good morning, and welcome to the launch of the centrepiece of Labour’s policy platform in this election – our Plan for Economic and Social Progress. This morning, we are setting out a unique policy approach that will maintain the strong and stable economy we have built, and sustain a decent society with strong public services,…
Read more »Growing the green economy will create & sustain thousands of jobs
Climate change is the biggest single challenge facing humanity. The Labour Party, in Government, ensured that the coalition did more than any of its predecessors to face up to our responsibility to future generations. When I published my Energy White Paper last December, we became the first Irish Government to commit to a zero-carbon energy…
Read more »If you want green policies implemented, vote labour
Labour has a proven record of standing up for the environment and delivering jobs. The lesson from the last five years is if you want Green policies to be implemented you have to vote for the Labour Party. The last Government of the Greens and Fianna Fail failed in four years to pass a climate…
Read more »New energy efficiency plan will deliver warmer homes, thousands of new jobs
Protecting the environment and creating more green jobs are central parts of Labour’s policy platform for this election. Our new policy being launched today – ‘Growing the Green Economy’ – maps out how Labour intend to leverage green policy to help generate more jobs and stimulate growth in sectors such as the construction and…
Read more »Economic recovery must be spread to all sectors and regions
Speaking at the launch of ‘Standing Up for Rural Ireland’, Labour’s plan for balanced regional development. I’m delighted to be here in Athy this morning for the launch of “Standing up for Rural Ireland”, our plan for balanced regional development. And I’m delighted to be with three of our fine Labour Party candidates – Mark…
Read more »Labour will stand up for rural communities
Speaking at the launch of ‘Standing Up for Rural Ireland’, Labour’s plan for balanced regional development. When I was appointed Minister for Rural Affairs in 2014, I was the first Labour TD to hold that portfolio. The appointment of a Labour TD to the position was testament to the commitment that this party has to…
Read more »We will use our economic strength to continue to build a decent society
Speaking at the Labour Party General Election campaign launch: Five years ago this week, the 30th Dail was dissolved amid unprecedented political and economic crisis. Our country was bankrupt. The economy was in freefall. The Fianna Fail-led government had ceased to function. On that occasion, the Labour Party asked the people for a mandate. A…
Read more »Conference 2016 Address
Colleagues, friends, This will be a year of profound journeys for Ireland. We’ll journey back in time, to 1916, to reflect on the spark that lit the flame of independence. We’ll journey to airports, ferries and train stations, to see our loved ones return home in great numbers as the recovery gathers…
Read more »Labour will stand up for working people, families and communities
Saturday morning address at Labour Party Conference Colleagues and friends, It’s a great pleasure to be here in Mullingar, and I’d like to thank Willie Penrose for his warm welcome. Nobody needs reminding of the unique blend of political wisdom, legal skill and passion for people that Willie brings to the Dail. …
Read more »Banking Inquiry Report demonstrates Fianna Fail’s mismanagement of the economy
Speaking on the report of the Banking Inquiry I welcome the report of the Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis. I want to thank the chairman, Deputy Ciarán Lynch, and the members of the Committee for their hard work and dedication over the last year. The report adds significantly to our understanding of…
Read more »Labour is standing up for education
Speaking at the Labour Party’s public meeting in the Croke Park Hotel, Dublin 3, this evening on Standing Up for Education, Deputy Joe Costello stated: “Education is lifelong, from the cradle to the grave. It enables each person to grow to their full potential and live independent lives beholden to no one. “The Labour Party…
Read more »Skills strategy an indication of Labour standing up for working people
Speaking at the launch of National Skills Strategy I’m very pleased to be here in Blackrock Further Education Institute to launch the new National Skills Strategy. This Strategy has been named “Ireland’s Future” and for good reason. While we will shortly have more than 2 million people at work and unemployment has dropped to 8.8%,…
Read more »Recovery Labour is driving, has brought Ireland to a better place
Speaking on Motion of Confidence- Check against delivery A Cheann Comhairle, I’m pleased to have the opportunity to support the motion that the House has confidence in me as Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection. I was appointed Minister in 2011. As one of the Labour team which negotiated the Programme for Government with Fine…
Read more »