Labour leader in visit to Limerick
Labour Party leader, Eamon Gilmore was in Limerick to speak at a reception being held at the Marriot Hotel. More photos below, and video of the speach is coming shortly. The text of his speech is below the fold.
Labour Leader Eamon Gilmore meets local Labour Party members at the Marriot Hotel reception
Limerick City Councillor, Joe Leddin at the Labour Party Reception in the Marriot Hotel.
Mayor of Nenagh Cllr. Virginia O’Dowd with Labour spokesperson on Health Jan O’Sullivan TD at the Labour Party Reception.
Click below the fold for the speech.
The Leader of the Labour Party, Eamon Gilmore TD, has renewed his call for a new agreed Plan for National Recovery to deal with the economic crisis, reverse the massive rise in unemployment and ensure that whatever corrective measures have to be taken are based on the principles of fairness and equity.
Deputy Gilmore who was speaking in Limerick (Thursday) said that said that what was required was not simply a repeat of previous national agreements between the social partners, but an entirely new type of agreement involving the whole of Irish society.
“Nobody can be in any doubt about the seriousness of the economic situation we now face. The Exchequer situation continues to deteriorate; Ireland’s reputation is suffering enormous damage abroad from the ongoing disclosure of shocking abuses in the banking system; unemployment has reached record levels; and now we are faced with the prospect of a prolonged period of industrial disruption in the public and private sectors.
“The situation has not been helped by the decision of the government to unilaterally impose an unfair and unjust income levy on all public servants, regardless of income level or ability to pay. The legislation has gone through the Dail and will be through the Seanad by the weekend and despite all the promises and all the crocodile tears shed by government backbenchers, there has been no tweaking and no adjustments. The levy is the same unfair and unjust proposal that it was when it led to the collapse of the social partnership talks on February 3rd.
“I cannot understand the approach of the Taoiseach this week when he spurned a very generous offer from the General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to re-open talks.
“Government Ministers have also engaged in quite a shameful campaign to scapegoat public sector workers and to drive a wedge between those who work in the public and private sectors. One of the most encouraging things about last Saturday’s massive demonstration in Dublin was the clear solidarity that was evident between those employed in the public and private sectors.
“Twelve years of Fianna Fail mis-government has left us on the edge of economic abyss. If we are to avoid plunging over the edge and ensure that the country is put back on the road to recovery it will require a totally new approach. The basis of this approach should be a new Plan for National Recovery, negotiated not just between the government and the social partners but involving all sections of society.
“Such an agreement would be framed over a three year period and would include all the elements required to save the country. These would include a programme to preserve and create jobs; major reforms to our system of financial regulation and a clean out of those who played such a role in bringing our economy to its knees; an agreed timetable to put the national finances back on a sound footing; the protection of key public services, especially in the area of health and education; and measures to protect consumers from exploitation.
“This is not the first time I have made this suggestion. I suggested it at the Labour Party Conference in Kilkenny last November. I proposed it following the special meeting of the Labour Parliamentary Party in January. And I spoke it about it again at a meeting in Mayo on February 9th. However, the proposal has been ignored by the government.
“Apart from the suggestions I have made about a Plan for National Recovery, as far back as last September, when the government had still failed to appreciate the seriousness of the situation facing us, Labour published a set of key proposals to return stabilisation and growth to the Irish economy. In that document we argued that to restore confidence, and to demonstrate its commitment to fiscal stability, the Government should bring forward a medium-term budgetary strategy outlining a pathway to return the public finances to order within three or four years. We have still yet to see any such document coming from the government.
“In the Dail on a number of occasions I have specifically invited the Taoiseach to bring forward proposals to deal with the jobs haemorrhage which we could support. The response from the Taoiseach was a deafening silence.
“The government keeps appealing for what it calls a more constructive approach from the opposition and says that it wants to proceed on the basis of consensus. However the Government repeatedly spurns offers of constructive engagement. The Taoiseach rarely resists the temptation to have a partisan go at the Opposition parties. The Government definition of consensus seems to be ‘we decide and you support’. In the ten months since he was elected, the Taoiseach has never held a conversation with me on the economic situation, other than across the floor of the Dail.
“Preaching consensus but practicing partisan politics is no basis for finding a solution to the scale of crisis we now face. Labour has been consistently constructive in its approach to the economic crisis.
“The big political question however is whether or not the present Government has the authority, the ability and the will to provide the leadership now to put together a plan for national recovery and to win the co-operation necessary for its implementation.
“That is why at the beginning of this year I called for a general election. I still believe that we need a change of government, with fresh ideas, a new mandate, different personnel; a government that would be free of the taint of the disastrous economic decisions made over the past twelve years. However, regardless of whether this government struggles on a new government is elected by the people, any administration will need t
Will have video later tonight, but for now, here is a copy of the speech below the fold
The Leader of the Labour Party, Eamon Gilmore TD, has renewed his call for a new agreed Plan for National Recovery to deal with the economic crisis, reverse the massive rise in unemployment and ensure that whatever corrective measures have to be taken are based on the principles of fairness and equity.
Deputy Gilmore who was speaking in Limerick (Thursday) said that said that what was required was not simply a repeat of previous national agreements between the social partners, but an entirely new type of agreement involving the whole of Irish society.
“Nobody can be in any doubt about the seriousness of the economic situation we now face. The Exchequer situation continues to deteriorate; Ireland’s reputation is suffering enormous damage abroad from the ongoing disclosure of shocking abuses in the banking system; unemployment has reached record levels; and now we are faced with the prospect of a prolonged period of industrial disruption in the public and private sectors.
“The situation has not been helped by the decision of the government to unilaterally impose an unfair and unjust income levy on all public servants, regardless of income level or ability to pay. The legislation has gone through the Dail and will be through the Seanad by the weekend and despite all the promises and all the crocodile tears shed by government backbenchers, there has been no tweaking and no adjustments. The levy is the same unfair and unjust proposal that it was when it led to the collapse of the social partnership talks on February 3rd.
“I cannot understand the approach of the Taoiseach this week when he spurned a very generous offer from the General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to re-open talks.
“Government Ministers have also engaged in quite a shameful campaign to scapegoat public sector workers and to drive a wedge between those who work in the public and private sectors. One of the most encouraging things about last Saturday’s massive demonstration in Dublin was the clear solidarity that was evident between those employed in the public and private sectors.
“Twelve years of Fianna Fail mis-government has left us on the edge of economic abyss. If we are to avoid plunging over the edge and ensure that the country is put back on the road to recovery it will require a totally new approach. The basis of this approach should be a new Plan for National Recovery, negotiated not just between the government and the social partners but involving all sections of society.
“Such an agreement would be framed over a three year period and would include all the elements required to save the country. These would include a programme to preserve and create jobs; major reforms to our system of financial regulation and a clean out of those who played such a role in bringing our economy to its knees; an agreed timetable to put the national finances back on a sound footing; the protection of key public services, especially in the area of health and education; and measures to protect consumers from exploitation.
“This is not the first time I have made this suggestion. I suggested it at the Labour Party Conference in Kilkenny last November. I proposed it following the special meeting of the Labour Parliamentary Party in January. And I spoke it about it again at a meeting in Mayo on February 9th. However, the proposal has been ignored by the government.
“Apart from the suggestions I have made about a Plan for National Recovery, as far back as last September, when the government had still failed to appreciate the seriousness of the situation facing us, Labour published a set of key proposals to return stabilisation and growth to the Irish economy. In that document we argued that to restore confidence, and to demonstrate its commitment to fiscal stability, the Government should bring forward a medium-term budgetary strategy outlining a pathway to return the public finances to order within three or four years. We have still yet to see any such document coming from the government.
“In the Dail on a number of occasions I have specifically invited the Taoiseach to bring forward proposals to deal with the jobs haemorrhage which we could support. The response from the Taoiseach was a deafening silence.
“The government keeps appealing for what it calls a more constructive approach from the opposition and says that it wants to proceed on the basis of consensus. However the Government repeatedly spurns offers of constructive engagement. The Taoiseach rarely resists the temptation to have a partisan go at the Opposition parties. The Government definition of consensus seems to be ‘we decide and you support’. In the ten months since he was elected, the Taoiseach has never held a conversation with me on the economic situation, other than across the floor of the Dail.
“Preaching consensus but practicing partisan politics is no basis for finding a solution to the scale of crisis we now face. Labour has been consistently constructive in its approach to the economic crisis.
“The big political question however is whether or not the present Government has the authority, the ability and the will to provide the leadership now to put together a plan for national recovery and to win the co-operation necessary for its implementation.
“That is why at the beginning of this year I called for a general election. I still believe that we need a change of government, with fresh ideas, a new mandate, different personnel; a government that would be free of the taint of the disastrous economic decisions made over the past twelve years. However, regardless of whether this government struggles on a new government is elected by the people, any administration will nee
he sort of Plan for National Recovery I am proposing”.