But, are you happy?

Posted on March 04, 2007 at 01:34 PM

www.makeachange.ie

February 13th, 2007

Labour leader, Pat Rabbitte, has launched a new ad campaign entitled - 'But, are you happy?'

If you want to see why Labour is asking this question, head to a new site - http://makeachange.ie and see Pat himself explain to you.

This campaign is about Labour reflecting what people say to us when we meet them in their homes and on the streets. People in many parts of the country have to get up at six o'clock in the morning to commute for two hours to get to work, by the time they get home in the evening their children have already gone to bed or they are too tired to spend quality time with their kids. What we're saying is that people have a right to expect things to be better. We believe that we can do better in Ireland together. Pat Rabbitte has set out 5 personal Commitments for Change to people to show how we can do that.

Explaining the campaign, and echoing the theme of his speech on Saturday night to the Labour party conference, Pat Rabbitte said:

"For a decade and a half, our economy has boomed. There are more jobs and there is more money. These are very welcome, and should never be taken for granted.

But, are you happy?

Are you happy to live in a wealthy economy, but in a society under strain?

All over the country, I continually meet people who get up at six in the morning to go to work and mind their children, people who work so much, cope with so much, contribute so much - just to get through the week. Caught on a never ending treadmill of work, traffic, responsibility. Weighed down by a day that never seems to have enough hours in it, by rising bills and by a Government that doesn't care.

You've been working harder than ever, while asking yourself the question - "Is it worth it?" - life today seems to be more work, more pressure, less benefits - less time for yourself and less time for your family.

So yes, many things are better, but:

Are you happy that with all your effort and work, your quality of life isn't what it should be?

Are you happy at the condition of our schools, where thousands of children are in overcrowded classes and where so many kids have to be taught in prefabs rather than proper classrooms?

Are you happy with the level of crime, where the number of offences is rising and detection rates are falling, where anti-social behaviour is a plague in some of our communities and the drugs gangs feud openly on our streets?

Are you happy at the condition of our health services?

The US President Lyndon Johnson once said:

'The purpose of protecting the life of our Nation and preserving the liberty of our citizens is to pursue the happiness of our people. Our success in that pursuit, he said, is the test of our success as a Nation."

The people I meet, up and down the country, the hard working families who have built this economy, know that the current government has failed that test.

People know life isn't easy and frankly they don't expect it to be easy.

I'm talking about people who want to take responsibility for themselves, for their families and for their own communities.

But they want the government to take some responsibility too.

To do just a few of the basic things well.

To put their interests first.

To help them build a better quality of life.

In Ireland today, the people work; it's the government that doesn't work.

But people know, deep down, that we can do better. They know that Ireland can do better.

But, to do that, we need to make a change.

To make a change to a party that will put your interests first, and that will work, might and main, to deliver on a set of key commitments that will improve the quality of our lives.

I have set out how I believe Ireland can do better with Labour by spelling it out in 5 key commitments.

I am making a personal commitment to you that I, in government, will deliver on them and make them happen.

I think they would go a long way to making a big change in your life, for the better.

I invite you to look at them, consider them, and if you, like me, think they would make a difference, then I invite you at the next election to vote Labour and, make a change."

For our press release on this campaign - click here.

(Edit: February 26th - The date of this post has been changed to keep it at the top of the page)

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