Type: Speech

Check against delivery Delegates and friends, Good evening, and welcome to Wexford. Here in 1911, workers faced the first lock-out after demanding decent terms and conditions. Two hundred metres from here is the grave of John Redmond – leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party. For more than two centuries, men and women in this town…

This is my fourth selection convention in the past week.   And it has been genuinely encouraging to see so many members turn out at every meeting, in support of our fine party candidates.   Ged Nash in Louth, Rebecca Moynihan in Dublin South Central and Andrew Montague in Dublin North West have already been…

It’s great to see so many of you here this evening, in support of two fine party candidates. The last twelve months have been pretty lacklustre in Irish politics. Far from seeing the dawn of a ‘new politics’, as so many hoped for, this has become, in Jan O’Sullivan’s words, a do-nothing Dáil. 2016 saw…

It’s great to see such a turnout here to support our lad from Drogheda! The last twelve months have not represented Irish politics finest hour. Having squabbled for 70 days, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael finally came to an agreement. And we might have thought that some work would begin. Very quickly, we realised how…

Speech on Motion re Garda Síochána, Dáil Éireann, 11th April 2017 I move the amendment in my name and that of my Labour Party colleagues. In doing so, I want to concentrate on the many areas on which there is I believe broad agreement in this House. We were all disturbed at the news that…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled “an Act to Amend the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009” Our bus network is an essential public service and if we are to have private competition with public operators, it is critical that we have a basic threshold on pay and conditions, a reliable…

Speaking on Private Members Motion on the Defence Forces I would like to formally move the Labour Party addendum to the motion. This is a very welcome motion tonight with a lot of good things in it. However we wished to add some important points we feel are absent from the original Motion. Labour has…

Speaking in Dáil Éireann on Statements on Brexit. With the formal Brexit process now underway, and no certainty on what the outcome will be, Ireland faces years of uncertainty. The exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union will present Ireland with its greatest social, economic and diplomatic challenge since the Emergency. For some…

Speech by Brendan Howlin, T.D., Leader of the Labour Party At the launch of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY Good morning, Martina and Margaret have spoken eloquently about the problems that we are hoping to resolve with this Bill. It falls to me to briefly set out how…

Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE PROFESSIONALS (AMENDMENT) BILL 2016 Detailed Scrutiny Opening statement of Brendan Howlin TD  AGREED APPROACH IN TACKLING ROGUE CRISIS PREGNANCY ‘COUNSELLORS’  30th March 2017, 9:00 am  I am grateful to the Committee for inviting me to make a statement. Members will recall that this initiative was taken…

I thank the Deputies who are here for the debate on this Bill. It is a small Bill but it is very important legislation that will have a dramatic impact on the microbrewing and distilling industry. I welcome to the Gallery a number of my good friends and colleagues – craft brewers from the four…

Speech by Jan O’Sullivan TD in Dáil Éireann on Thursday 9th March 2017 on ‘Statements on the announcement by the Commission of Investigation confirming human remains on the site of the former Tuam Mother and Baby home’. I welcome the fact that the Minister has indicated she will publish the report. We need an explanation…

Speech by Brendan Howlin TD, Leader of the Labour Party in Dáil Éireann on the motion re. Commission of Investigation (Grace case) 7th March 2017 I said this afternoon, and I am happy to repeat, that Deputy John Deasy has campaigned with compassion and determination to bring this story to light. I also list Daniel…

Good evening, and thank you for being here this evening. I think it is important to take some time to give members some insight into what I am thinking. Because Irish politics is in a strange place. And the world looks like a scary place. In that context, I believe that our movement is more…

Good afternoon, and thank you all for being here. This is my first time speaking to the Trade Unionists as a group. As a lifelong trade unionist, it is an honour to be here, and an honour to be leading the party that fights for trade unions. Our history as a party is inextricably linked…

Introduction Brexit represents a challenge as great to our nation as the economic crisis from which we are just emerging. We face the prospect of a border being reintroduced on this island. Some suggest we face the prospect of the ending of the Common Travel Area. And we face a hit of 4% on our…

Speech by Brendan Howlin to the Central Council of the Labour Party.  Last September, I spoke in the Mansion House about how the Labour Rebuild was underway. That night, I said that: “Through hard work; Through progressive, principled policies; Through parliamentary procedure, allied with grassroots campaigning; We can, and we will rebuild this historic party…

It is nearly four months since we first met in plenary. Since November, we have received some clarity as to what Brexit will mean. Our closest neighbour will leave the Single Market, and in all likelihood the Customs Union. Thousands of questions have been asked, and much remains to be answered. There are two key…

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY Thank you, Ceann Comhairle. The events that have lead us to this point have exposed Irish society in a way that few others issues could have done. All of this began with the relatively low-key efforts of a decent man who wanted to highlight wrongdoing within our police force. That the situation…

Speech on Private members debate on Northern Ireland and Brexit This week, we have a Government in crisis – while the UK is just weeks away from triggering Article 50. It doesn’t bode well for Ireland that the collective responsibility of our Cabinet has broken down, just as Ireland faces a challenge that will define…

Check against delivery – on Government Confidence motion. Ceann Comhairle, Since this Government was formed, I have had no confidence in it. I didn’t vote for this Government, and I have been dismayed by its performance over the last few months. When the Government was formed, I predicted it wouldn’t last a year – that…

Introduction I think we are all getting weary of speeches that begin by emphasising the gravity of the challenges we face. Yet Brexit and the upheaval facing the EU have brought about another series of conversations that sound all too familiar. A decade ago, we began talking about potentially ruinous levels of banking debt, the…

Address by Brendan Howlin, T.D. Leader of the Labour Party To a meeting of the Labour Party Executive Board Leinster House 19th January, 2017   As we enter 2017, a cold wind is blowing. Theresa May has decided that Brexit means hard Brexit. No matter the consequences. Donald Trump will be inaugurated tomorrow. And we…

Speaking in the Dáil on ‘Statements on Northern Ireland’ Tuesday 17th January 2017. Check against delivery. Taoiseach, Last evening, the Assembly in Northern Ireland fell, and elections are now underway. The political crisis over cash for ash has driven a wedge between the two governing parties. Over recent weeks, we have seen a scandal caused…