Gilmore appeals to voters in an attempt to block FG ‘monopoly’

RECOVERING from another slip in the polls, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore appealed to voters to deny Fine Gael a “monopoly of power” on voting day.

Mr Gilmore last night also laid out the first signs of any negotiations with Fine Gael for a government by insisting that his party would oppose cuts to child welfare and any return to a system of college fees, as planned by Enda Kenny’s party.

Mr Gilmore said voters had to decide on Friday whether to elect a single party government or a coalition involving Labour.

Visiting Dublin city centre, he gave a key speech on the future of Ireland’s children, stressing recession- hit families were not just fiscal figures but real people.

But Mr Gilmore changed his tone from last week’s attacks on Fine Gael, advising voters to elect a balanced government by putting his party in power with Enda Kenny’s.

“It’s pretty clear it’s either going to be a single-party Fine Gael government with a monopoly of power to one political party, or it is going to be a coalition government with Fine Gael and Labour which is balanced and focused on doing things fairly.”

Mr Gilmore said that after voting day, the attention immediately would turn to getting the country back on its feet.

It was already clear though that Fine Gael was going to be in government, he admitted during a visit to a community centre in Carman’s Hall.

“Everybody will be going into their polling stations on Friday with their eyes wide open. They know what the choice of government is going to be,” he said. In a speech on values and families, Mr Gilmore stressed that life in Ireland could not be measured in money.

“The recession has cost 300,000 people their jobs. These people are not statistics. In this election, the country is broken up into 43 constituencies. But there is a 44th constituency — the people who don’t have votes — our children. Children cannot be the forgotten constituency in this election,” he said.

Speaking on RTÉ news last night, Mr Gilmore said his party would fight off any cut in child benefit or a return to college fees if it entered government with Fine Gael.

Earlier in the day, Mr Gilmore spoke to members of the Irish Farmers Association, pledging to protect the sector and their rights.

While telling delegates at their Dublin headquarters that Labour was not traditionally recognised as a farming-linked party, he set out his party’s pledges.

The party leader answered questions on protecting EU subsidies, challenging trade talks with South American countries over the import of beef into member states and relief for struggling farmers.

Mr Gilmore will today launch a manifesto on children’s rights before attending tonight’s three-way televised leaders’ debate.