Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank colleagues in the Labour Party for attempting to re-establish the principles of Connolly. It is a great pity that the cause of labour comes a bit too late. They sat in government for five years and should have used their influence at the Cabinet table with colleagues in Fine Gael to get this Bill for workers through much more swiftly. Why was it not done? It was not done because Fine Gael is ideologically opposed to it and trade unionists should not forget that Fine Gael is ideologically opposed to most things that represent ordinary workers in this country.