Ivana Bacik, head of the Labour party, addressed the annual conference, labelling the housing shortage as the civil rights problem of our times. She vowed that a Labour-led government would repurpose the Land Development Agency into a state-owned construction firm for home building.
She guaranteed that her party, aiming to preserve the rights of renters, would reintroduce a prohibition on evictions without a cause. Specialised housing for the elderly and disabled individuals would be implemented, plus a fresh fair deal system to assist older individuals in home living will be introduced. She emphasised, “We pledge to acknowledge and reward caregiving through proper remuneration and working conditions.”
The party leader made clear to about 600 attendees at the Helix in DCU that the home-building initiative holds top priority for her party if they come to power, echoing Labour’s promise of a million homes in ten years, with 50,000 new constructions and 50,000 refurbishments yearly. She passionately argued against solving supply and affordability crises with developer subsidies, calling instead for more robust state initiative.
Ms. Bacik claimed, to applause, that “people are calling for substantial revolution, not superficial transformations.”
She pledged the completion of free GP care initiatives, removal of HSE hiring freeze, and opposition to healthcare privatisation in discussing health.
With regards to assisted dying, the Labour party would bring forth legislation, implement its community policing scheme, and employ more police officers on the streets.
She asserted that her party would establish a “truly free” educational system, separating the church from the state and ensuring all children have access to schooling. As part of their vision for a unified Ireland, a Labour government would create a “dedicated Department to facilitate the complex process of reconciliation, integration, and unity planning”.
Legislation around disabled rights would be updated and social protection payments would automatically adjust with inflation, under Labour’s leadership.
She concluded that Labour would “terminate the Direct Provision system and implement a just and practical policy on immigration”, criticising the current government’s treatment of refugees and their neglect of empty buildings.
During a speech permeated with calls for increased State intervention, she attacked the Government for using our basic necessities to create a pyramid scheme, providing citizens a meagre fraction of their tax funds to cover non-existent services that should already be in action. She went on to critique the political parties in power, criticising them for their disbelief in the power of the state and blaming ministers who are disconnected, incompetent or who have resigned their roles. Accused of being more interested in internal leadership battles, she claimed they were eager to do everything other than govern.
During a convention usurped by Fine Gael leadership alterations, the party’s seven TDs aimed to invigorate their members to advocate for local and European elections in a bid to augment their council member count from 56 and secure at least a single seat in the European Parliament.
Ms Bacik lamented the plight of young adults forced to live with their parents, ensnared in a rental trap, subsiding someone else’s mortgage or postponing having offspring. This, she stated, was the grim reality of contemporary Ireland – a place of insecurity, uncertainty, and a burgeoning precariat.
The Dublin Bay South TD drew attention to Ireland’s empathy and the country’s outspoken condemnation of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, reiterating her call for Ireland to sever diplomatic and trade ties with Israel. She also reiterated her party’s disapproval of Ursula von der Leyen’s reappointment as EU Commission President, alleging that she covertly supports Netanyahu’s government’s apartheid strategies.
In a veiled criticism of Sinn Féin, she accused the party’s EU parliament branch of voting against laws aimed at restoring nature and covertly supporting Putin’s tyrannical regime in Russia.
She pledged her party’s commitment to reducing electricity bills and helping families save up to €700 annually, by amplifying State-backed efforts in renewable energy and retrofitting grants enabling people to afford home upgrades.
The resignation of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, she declared, is the ultimate demonstration of no confidence in his own Government. She acknowledged Simon Harris’s efforts but challenged the new acting Taoiseach, asserting that if truly he believes in this Government, he should call for a general election immediately. Thus, allowing the people to determine the radical changes necessary.