| Far from stealing Green Party clothes, Labour have decided to remain stark naked and exposed.
Over the last two and a half years, the Labour Party has had to break every false promise they made to the Irish people about what they would do if they were to form a government. The most obvious of these is of course their faithful adoption of the economic strategy that had been set out by the previous administration and their careful adherence to implementing it line by line. Their worst deceit has been to victimise and single out the young people of this country, who have borne the brunt of increased college fees and slashed grants, savage social welfare cuts, and the abject failure of Labour to provide any substantial protection to our education system while they are in power. Where Labour have taken the initiative, their policies have been damaging and their implementation inept. Sean Sherlock introduced regressive and damaging digital regulations which were widely condemned by the technology industry here. Alan Kelly is overseeing the dismantling of our national public transport system, and the Labour Ministers have to take their share of the blame for the ongoing disaster that is James Reilly's mismanagement of our health service. What also characterises the Labour Party in Government is the sense that they are missing the opportunities that are there to radically reform our political and administrative system. Joan Burton seems more interested in protecting her own reputation than taking the chance to modernise our social welfare code. Eamon Gilmore and Brendan Howlin have made the excessive centralisation of our system ever more acute by bringing all key decisions into a new inner cabinet. The policies they have implemented are no less than what you would expect from a cabal of four old hands. The last two and a half years have shown one other thing for sure: that the Labour Party in Ireland has not the slightest interest in the critical environmental challenges of our day. They are a party which is blind to the growing recognition that the interests of Labour and Natural Capital are intrinsically linked. They have missed the opportunity to take on the climate and energy challenges we face and in the process build a new and sustainable economy. We need a Green voice back in Irish politics to expose the broken promises and missed opportunities that the Labour Party are leaving behind them - Eamon Ryan, leader of the Green Party. |