Labour in Government would restore the Combat Poverty Agency, the party’s spokesman on European affairs and human rights Joe Costello has said.
Condemning the abolition of the agency, he also criticised the Government’s move against the “two statutory agencies dealing with equality – the Irish Human Rights Commission and the Equality Authority, by slashing their budgets by 24 per cent and 43 per cent respectively”.
The Labour Party would “ensure that these statutory bodies are sufficiently resourced to enable them to work properly and to function effectively for the future”.
He told the party’s annual conference that “we must reverse the disgraceful decision by Fianna Fáil and the Green Party last year to abolish the Combat Poverty Agency”.
He said that “in the current crisis, more than ever, we need a strong independent voice for those who are less well off”.
He said: “Labour in Government will re-establish the Combat Poverty Agency on an independent, statutory basis, and this commitment will be included in any future Programme for Government.”