Politics, not justice, is Labour’s compass

POOR Aodhan Ó Riordain. Last week, the Labour party TD personified the dilemma haunting his party.

That’s the benign interpretation of what befell Ó Riordain when he strayed into a hostile gathering. A less charitable explanation would be that he was engaging in what backbenchers in Bertie Ahern’s Fianna Fáil excelled at — masquerading as the opposition.

On Tuesday, Ó Riordain turned up at a press conference organised by groups representing lone parents. They were outlining their concerns at major changes to the new social-welfare bill.