Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

We are not neutral in this dispute. We are on the side of the Tesco workers, wish them victory and think a victory for them is a victory for all workers. There are those who would like to think that the union, solidarity, strike action and pickets being respected are things that belong in the past - in the epoch of Connolly and Larkin. It is predominantly young workers and female workers who have shown that this is not the case. What used to be called Larkinism proved very effective for the Tesco workers. There is a lesson there for everybody - the teachers, nurses and Bus Éireann workers - that standing strong and standing together will win public support and can win industrial disputes. There is also a lesson where we had an opportunity last week to strengthen trade union rights and Fianna Fáil, which went on some picket lines posing as supporters of the workers, came in here to vote against it. There is a reason for Project Black and the attacks on the unions. It is because there is a way for workers to defend their interests.

See this speech in context