Labour leader Pat Rabbitte has attacked the Government for buying votes at the last general election by making promises they have not delivered.
In his address to the Labour Party conference in Killarney, Mr Rabbitte also outlined his vision for what he called the 'Fair Society'.
In his first conference speech as Labour leader, Pat Rabbitte launched a blistering attack on the Government parties, who he accused of buying the general election.
He claimed that Fianna Fáil promises now have the same value as a failed Lotto ticket, as they had failed to deliver additional medical cards, extra Gardaí, or the school building programme.
And Deputy Rabbitte attacked the PDs for backing the changes to Freedom of Information, saying they were providing shelter to Fianna Fáil to revert to the bad old ways of doing business.
He said the greatest challenge facing his party was to persuade people who thought like Labour, to vote Labour - and predicting that the Government parties would be in no hurry to face the electorate, he said the next election campaign would be a marathon, not a sprint.
If returned to Government, he pledged that Labour would restore Freedom of Information, reverse any reintroduction of third level fees, and deliver structural reform of the health service to put the needs of patients first.
He said Labour wanted to build a Fair Society, in which world-class health care, housing, transport and public services would be provided in return for a fair and equitable contribution through tax.
And Mr Rabbitte called for a new Garda Authority, a fully independent Garda ombudsman, and structures to ensure that the Gardaí are fully responsive to local communities.
