Give me a chance, I’m only two years as the leader, says Howlin

LABOUR leader Brendan Howlin has denied he is a caretaker leader, insisting that he is working to ensure the party under his leadership can influence the next seven decades in Ireland – as he said it had done for the past seven decades.

He made his prediction of continued relevance until 2088 after it was put to him on RTÉ Radio 1 that he was just filling in time until the next leader ‘who is not Alan Kelly’ comes along.

A string of Labour councillors have called on Mr Howlin to step down, but he pointed out on the News at One yesterday that he had been only just over two years in the job.

‘We’ve had one vote of the people in that time (the abortion referendum) and the position of the Labour Party, which we’ve held for 35 years, was overwhelmingly endorsed,’ he said, rejecting suggestions that opinion poll findings of 6% support were a realistic portrayal of his party’s standing.

‘If opinion polls were always accurate, then the Greens, Social Democrats and Independents would not hold seats in the Dáil, yet they do.’ Asked if he was a caretaker leader only, he replied: ‘Absolutely not. I took on the leadership as a collective role.’ Away from the leadership, he said there were several serious problems in the labour market hidden behind new statistics.

‘The adjusted unemployment rate is 5.8%, but it does not represent full employment,’ Mr Howlin insisted.

‘There are still tens of thousands of people seeking work who cannot find work. For example opportunities for the nearly 19,000 people over the age of 45 who have been unemployed for over one year.

‘Real opportunities are also needed for the 8,000 young people who are unemployed for more than one year.’

Mr Howlin added there were also many areas outside Dublin that were not feeling the economic upturn parts of the capital had been experiencing.