FF history lesson for Rabbitte
The derisory tone adopted by the leader of the Labour Party serves only to highlight his own ignorance of Irish history.
People with even a cursory knowledge of our history know that Pearse and Connolly, as leaders of the republican and labour movements, fought side by side in 1916 to proclaim a republic in which the egalitarian ideal was one of the central objectives.
Ten years later, Fianna Fáil was formed as a constitutional party with the explicit aim of giving effect to the aims of the 1916 Proclamation.
The social republican principles of Fianna Fáil have had a positive impact on improving the quality of Irish people's lives.
Not even our most ardent critics can deny that it was Fianna Fáil who brought about the welfare state and introduced unemployment assistance.
In Fianna Fáil's very first budget in 1932, the old-age pension, which had been cut by Ernest Blythe, was immediately increased. It was Fianna Fáil, too, who cleared the slums with social housing programmes and built up a public health service.
Later, it was Fianna Fáil who implemented enlightened social legislation, provided free secondary education for the first time and did so much to improve conditions for the elderly.
It is little wonder that Sean Lemass used to affirm that in terms of social justice: "Fianna Fáil is the real labour party."
In more modern times, the policies which Fianna Fáil in government has implemented since 1997, leading to record job creation, unprecedented investment in our health and education services and co-ordinated strategies to combat homelessness and educational disadvantage, are a continuation of the socially inclusive, republican policies which our party has pursued since 1926.
Indeed, using the definition of poverty accepted by Labour and Fine Gael in 1997, well over 250,000 people have been lifted out of it since Bertie Ahern became Taoiseach.
Recently in the Dáil, in a variation of Lemass' famous phrase, the Taoiseach described Fianna Fáil as "the real workers' party".
It is hard to argue with this contention when one considers that the average single industrial worker earns almost 10,000 more today than in 1997 and pays roughly 250 less in tax or levies.
Getting Ireland working and keeping Ireland working has been a massive achievement. Despite the international downturn, we are creating 1,000 jobs a week and Ireland now has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the developed world.
When Bertie Ahern became Taoiseach in June 1997, unemployment was in the region of 11%. Today it is just over 4%.
That transformation for a country which has been plagued with high levels of unemployment and emigration since long before our Independence is one of the biggest social achievements in Irish history and should be recognised by people of all political ideologies.
Máire Hoctor TD
3A Ormond Court
Ormond Street
Nenagh
Co Tipperary
