MERGER OF THE IRISH LABOUR PARTY AND THE DEMOCRATIC LEFT

Early day motion 137, tabled 16 December 1998 by Harry Barnes (Labour). Signed by 6 members.

That this House warmly welcomes the recent merger between the Irish Labour Party and the Democratic Left which Labour Leader Ruari Quinn describes as uniting the two dominant traditions of the Irish left: Labour and radical republicanism; recognises the historic contribution that the Democratic Left, under Prionsias de Rossa TD, made as an independent party to left-wing politics in Ireland and more widely; further recognises that the party's refreshing , honest and progressive rethinking of the Northern Ireland question has been what the Irish writer Eoghan Harris describes as good authority, a moral obligation to deal with the fanatics of one's own side, and has informed the Irish State's attitude in recent years towards the search for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland; and wishes the new party well in the future.

Signatures by party: Labour 6.