Public Will Not Be Fooled
STATEMENT BY Cllr Dermot Lacey
Labour Party Councillor for Pembroke
12th March, 2004
PUBLIC WILL NOT BE FOOLED BY ATTEMPTS TO GLOSS OVER BROKEN PROMISES
Labour Party Councillor Dermot Lacey has described the recent Fianna Fail Ard Fheis as “one of the most blatant attempts ever at an outrageous confidence trick on the Irish people, even by that party’s notorious standards.”
“The new commitments to decentralisation and one-off housing are this year’s attempt to buy votes at the local and European elections in June. However, this time around the public will not be fooled.
“In recent weeks the Taoiseach has walked away from the Hanly Report as well as laughing off the specific commitment he and the Minister for Health gave on May 6th 2002 that hospital waiting lists would be cleared within two years. I suspect the 27,000 patients still waiting often agonising months for hospital treatment will not regard it as such a laughing matter.
“Promises such as the commitment to provide an extra 200,000 medical cards did not even merit a mention during the Taoiseach’s address and were clearly a cause of no concern to the delegates present. Then, we had to endure the hypocrisy of Junior Minister Willie O’Dea deploring the inadequacy of policing, despite his government discarding the promise to recruit an additional 2,000 Gardai.
“The more the decentralisation announcement is debated, the more clear it becomes that it was ill-thought out and is little more than an old fashioned Fianna Fail stroke to get them past the local elections and has nothing to do with balanced regional development. I also suspect that the people of rural Ireland will find that Minister Cullen’s much-heralded announcement on one-off housing does not amount to very much.
“The forthcoming Local and European elections offer an ideal opportunity for the electorate to bring the Taoiseach and his colleagues back to earth with a resounding bang.
“A vote for Labour in the local and European elections will be a vote for honest and accountable representation at home and abroad. It will be a vote for policies that are rooted in the community, that put people first, and that are based on a commitment to sensible and compassionate economics combined with social justice.
“Most of all, a vote for Labour in this election, as well as being a protest against a dreadful government, will be a vote for a fresh start. In the Local and European election campaigns Labour is ready and willing to provide new leadership and to become the major force in a real alternative to this clapped-out arrogant and out of touch government.”
ENDS
For more information contact: Dermot Lacey at 087-2646960
