Gerald Nash (Labour) | Oireachtas source

It beggars belief that Fianna Fáil, a party that continuously tells us it is moving to the left, has decided to oppose this modest legislation to enhance the terms, working conditions and pay of some of the lowest paid workers in society. That is a party that has traditionally apportioned to itself some responsibility for representing the interests of working people in this country. Senator Davitt outlined some of the ways in which it had sought to do that historically. This is the same party, one must remember, that cut the national minimum wage at the first sign of an economic crisis. This is a party that we can not now trust with the interests of working people in this country.

Quite frankly, the dividing lines ahead of the next general election are clear. Why do we not simply move to a point where Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil forget their marginal political differences and merge once and for all and create a real divide in this country and give people real choice in terms of who they support and what kind of Government they want to see formed in this State?