Local poll will be judgment time, says Quinn

The local elections will "the first real opportunity for the Irish people to pass judgment on the behaviour of their Government over the last two years," the Labour Party leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, has said.

Introducing the party manifesto yesterday, Mr Quinn said he believed that judgment would be damning. He accused the Government of being "so distracted by its own problems - getting its story straight - that it has little or no time for national problems". He claimed the current Coalition had "contributed more that any of its predecessors to the bad odour that surrounds politics".

Mr Quinn identified the housing shortage and the need for improved infrastructural planning as key issues in Labour's local election campaign, calling the Government's housing policy "totally inadequate". Labour's housing commission had indicated 135,000 people needed improved accommodation, and this was a crisis that needed a co-ordinated response.

Labour's local government spokesman, Mr Eamon Gilmore, said recent political history showed Fianna Fail could not be trusted with planning matters. By contrast, he claimed, Labour's record was second to none, the party having spent the past 30 years fighting against bad planning decisions and irresponsible land rezonings.

He added: "Our councillors are not in anybody's pocket. In local government, Labour makes decisions which serve the public, protect the environment and ensure quality and fairness in the delivery of services."

He criticised the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Dempsey, for producing legislation on local government which imposed no limits on the amount a candidate could spend.

"This will lead to a totally anomalous situation where there will be strict limits on the amounts a candidate may spend in seeking election to the European Parliament, but none on a candidate seeking election to an urban district council.

"It will inevitably benefit those parties who can draw from the corporate sector and runs the risk of increasing the influence of business over local government."

Labour is competing in every county, fielding 297 candidates and contesting a total of 362 seats. Around 50 of those standing were members of Democratic Left before the merger with Labour. First-time candidates for the party include Mr Jim Connolly, the founder of the Rural Resettlement Movement, who is a candidate for Clare County Council.