Ruairi Quinn has said that the health service and reform of the Gardaí would be the Labour Party's priorities in Government. The Labour leader told the Party's special pre-election conference that they would use the National Pension fund to pay for improvements in the health services.
Labour has built its election platform on six key pledges. Saying that the country should be ambitious for the future, Mr Quinn gave an idea of how its commitments would be funded.
Mr Quinn said that improvements in the health services could be funded by diverting three quarters of the State pension fund for five years, generating over €5bn. Labour would also borrow to pay for infrastructure programmes in the National Development Plan.
Mr Quinn said Labour would not serve in a Government that did not place Gardaí reform high on the agenda. He said that extra Gardaí need to be put on the streets. He said that, although special operations and special units had their place, the force had to be reconnected to the community, to tackle anti-social behaviour and under-age drinking. He said that this means a new Garda Authority and a Garda Ombudsman are needed.
Mr Quinn said a vote for Fianna Fáil would be a vote for five more years of complacency, underachievement and low standards. On the other hand, he said that a vote for Labour would be "an indication that we can create a better society and that we would no longer accept second-best".
Earlier today at the conference, the Labour Party made six pledges. It says that these will be delivered if the party enters the next Government.
These include free GP health care for all, properly funded schools, action on poverty, provision of pre-school and childcare places, an end to means testing of carers' allowances, and a right to affordable housing.
Opening the conference, party president Proinsias de Rossa said they wanted the Government to be called to account for the fact that almost all public services are now worse than they were in 1997.
