Eamon Gilmore leading Labour Party to the Right, says Ó Snodaigh

Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh

DUBLIN Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh has criticised Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore for championing IBEC’s call for a three-year pay freeze for workers.

Speaking today, Deputy Ó Snodaigh said such calls are irresponsible and would further depress the economy.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh said:

Along with championing IBEC’s call for a three-year pay freeze, Eamon Gilmore also called in the Dáil this week for an end to tax reliefs for trade union fees.

This type of nonsense politics is irresponsible and would only serve to further depress the economy as workers would have less disposable income to spend in the economy.

Those who claim to be on the Left of Irish politics should not be championing opportunistic calls from IBEC to punish workers in the current economic climate.

Eamon Gilmore is clearly leading Labour to the Right while hoping he can retain votes from the traditional Labour base. He has joined with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in championing cuts in public spending while joining with IBEC in calls to freeze the pay of workers.

Labour can no longer legitimately claim to be the champions of the working man or woman. Nor can they claim to be a party of the Left for that matter.

Eamon Gilmore should stop trying to court votes from every sector of society and just be honest with the electorate.