LABOUR YOUTH STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE

Issued : Friday 5 November, 2010

 

It has been a privilege and an honour to have served as National Chairperson of Labour Youth over the last twelve months. Being involved in Irish politics at this time is both a challenging and demanding experience. The announcement yesterday that the budget will bring cuts of up to 6 billion is, for me, the final straw. Fianna Fáil has failed us all. When Labour left office in 1997, the budget was balanced, the economy was growing strongly, and employment levels were rising rapidly. In the period since, Fianna Fáil has broken our economy and destroyed the lives of the people of Ireland.

Their pathetic mantra of everyone sharing the pain is a lie. The golden circle of bankers, developers and builders who seem to own the majority of our wealth don't seem to have to suffer at all. Those suffering are families with young children, others who due to savage pay cuts cannot afford to meet their mortgage repayments, the unemployed who have seen dramatic attacks to their social welfare payments and indeed the youth of Ireland almost 30% of whom are currently unemployed.
Let us not forget that the cleaner who gets up at 7am to clean the Ministers' Office has taken a bigger cut in her wages than any minister. How is that sharing the pain?
We have had an extremely successful year in Labour Youth and I hope that we continue to build on that success next year. Labour Youth have campaigned for 31 years for real change in the Irish political system, and we must continue such campaigning in the year ahead. Now is the time for Labour, it's the time for a Labour led government and it is time for Eamon Gilmore to be the next Taoiseach.

All of this is possible. But only if you are willing to make it possible. Across the country we have candidates in place ready to fight for Labour. They need you. They need you to tell all of your friends to get out and vote for them. They need you to get out and knock on doors on their behalf.

This election will be won through the work of activists like us standing alongside Labour candidates. The campaign for a new and better Ireland has already started and we're waiting on you to join us.

Finally, the Government have presented us with the first part of that challenge. After 17 months of needless delays, they have agreed to hold the by election in Donegal South-West on November 25th. Our candidate, Cllr. Frank McBrearty, was selected as the Labour candidate in November of 2009. In the year since, he has done fantastic work on the ground, but now he needs our help. For the first time in recent memory, we have a genuine chance of electing a progressive politician in Donegal - our support will be vital in achieving that goal.

As you go to the polls this weekend to elect your new National Youth Executive, I encourage you examine all the ideas being put forward by the candidates and to examine people's past record of commitment to the organisation. Make sure you vote for the people you trust to help Labour Youth continue to grow.

In conclusion, I joined Labour Youth 6 years ago. I remember attending conferences with 30 people. Today over one hundred and twenty of you are sitting in front of me - the largest Labour Youth Conference ever. Our membership has grown to over 1500 members in the last year, and we have more branches than ever before, including one in every university in the country, as well as constituency branches in places such as Kerry, Westmeath and Wexford. Let us be proud of that achievement.

We must be strong so that we can continue our fight for a better, fairer and more equal Ireland.