Speech to Members and Friends of Bandon Labour - 16th July 2010
Issued : Friday 16 July, 2010
Mr. President-Elect, Mr. Chairman, Madam Constituency Chairperson, Branch Officers, Comrades and friends,
I would like to welcome you all here to our Summer Barbecue and to thank you for supporting what, I hope, will become an annual event in Bandon Labour’s calendar.
This last year has been an eventful year for me. In June of 2009, I had the great honour of being elected to Bandon Town Council with an unexpected and over-whelming mandate. That honour was further enhanced when I was elected Mayor of this Town – my home town. For this privilege – and it is nothing less than a privilege to serve – I am deeply grateful to the people of Bandon.
In the course of the year, there were some low points but many more high points. The lows were made easy and the highs were enhanced by the unfailing support of so many people. Tonight gives me an opportunity to thank some of them.
Firstly, I would like to thank my family - my brother, Kieran, my grandparents, my uncles and aunts and all my cousins, but most of all my parents, Ger & Elma. I realise that the last year has been a baptism of fire for you. Your support has been steadfast and unwavering. I will be forever grateful for your loyalty and confidence in me.
Secondly and contrary to what most people believe the Labour Rose is not the only rose in my garden. For I am blessed to have the loveliest Rose of all – Niamh. Niamh you have been an amazing support to me all year. The sacrifices you have made – and you have made so many – have not gone unnoticed by me. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.
Thirdly, I would like to mention Eamonn & Miriam Kirwan and John & Iris Lyons. Your generosity to me has known no bounds. Your support has sustained me; your knowledge has educated me; your passion has motivated me and your friendship means the world to me. For all you have done I humbly thank you.
Fourthly, I would like to thank the membership of the Bandon Branch and in particular our leader, Donie Long who has always provided direction and focus for our Branch activities. Tonight is the culmination of an exciting year for the Bandon Labour Party and it provides us with an opportunity to reflect. Everything that has been achieved in the last year is down to the combined effort of a small but committed group of people who believe passionately in a better and more effective kind of politics for Bandon and for Ireland.
A political organisation can only ever be as strong as the commitment and work of its members. All of you here have given so much of your time and energy with great generosity. I thank each and every member of the Branch for this time, energy and generosity.
We have come a long way. A little over a year ago, the Bandon Branch consisted of about six or seven members. Tonight we can boast of a membership of nearly 50 people. Through our meetings and activities, this Branch is determined to foster the development of a Party that is inclusive and centred on our membership. A Labour Party that is grassroots driven and that is campaigning on the issues affecting our community. A Labour Party that works for the common good.
The work of the Bandon Branch is a microcosm of the work done by the Party nationally. We have changed the political landscape in Bandon in the space of 12 months. However, there is much more work to be done. In Cork South-West, we cannot rely on the Gilmore factor to secure a Dáil seat in the next election – Gilmore factors and Spring tides don’t work in West Cork!!!
What we can and must do is to continue to support our community by providing strong and honest representation and committing ourselves anew to a standard of hard work and truthfulness.
As the most active political Party in Bandon we have a responsibility and a duty to put the political concerns of the people of Bandon onto the national agenda. We have done this many times in the last year and rest assured we will continue to do this. For example, last autumn the people of Bandon were outraged by the expense claims of the then Ceann Comhairle, John O’Donoghue.
Following on from that debacle, this Branch took a motion to Labour Party National Conference in April calling on all Labour representatives to publish their expenses on an annual basis. This motion received the unanimous support of conference delegates. In so doing, the Bandon Branch changed our Party rules and ensured that the Labour Party has set a benchmark for other political parties to follow. As our colleague in Clonakilty, Cllr. Aidan Pendlebury so eloquently put it:
“Honesty, transparency and accountability – these are taglines for some but they are principles for Labour.”
We are in the midst of the biggest economic and social crisis since the foundation of the State. Political cronyism, bad economics and plain old greed has brought us to this point. Community endeavour, human solidarity and entrepreneurship will bring us through it. There is an awful lot that we, as individuals and as a group, can do locally to alleviate the problems we face. We must support Bandon businesses and Bandon jobs. We must be more willing to get involved in the many community and voluntary groups, which carry out fantastic work in our town for little or no recognition.
We must be more pro-active in highlighting the social consequences of this recession. Unemployment, reduced services, cuts in social protection, increased poverty, home repossessions, homelessness etc. etc. – these issues have been largely sidelined by a media and a body politic that is obsessed with NAMA, bank bailouts, leadership heaves, stag hunting and dog breeding.
It is time for change – real and positive change. It is time for real politics – a politics of principle and honesty and integrity and fairness and solidarity. I believe the future is bright for Bandon, for West Cork and for Ireland but I believe we have to make it happen. With our policies and through our principles, I believe the Labour Party offers us the best opportunity to realise that future. It is time for Labour and it is time to be proud to be Labour.
Thank you.
Cllr 
