Labour gathers for last national conference before election

The Labour Party is gathering in Dublin today for its last national conference ahead of the forthcoming general election.

The two-day event is taking place at Dublin City University and kicks off a season of party conferences that will conclude with the Fine Gael ard fheis at the end of March.

The issue of the environment is high on the agenda at Labour's meeting, with TV environmentalist Duncan Stewart lined up as guest speaker tonight and climate change up for discussion tomorrow.

Policing is also among the issues due for debate, with the North's Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan, set to address delegates.

Party leader Pat Rabbitte will give his televised speech tomorrow night and may use the occasion to reveal elements of the Labour election manifesto.