Ivana Bacik TD: ‘We are a party of Connollyite republicans’
In the Labour Party’s first conference since the 2024 local, European, and Dáil elections as well as Seanad and presidential elections in 2025, leader Ivana Bacik TD called for government action on housing, cost-of-living, and preparations for Irish unity.
Bacik began her address to party members at its 74th national conference in the Radisson Blu in Limerick on 15 November 2025, by hailing what she describes as Labour’s recent election successes.
In truth however, the elections proved to be a mixed bag for Labour. While the party increased its number of TDs from six to 11, its vote share was the second worst in its history, only improving by 0.3 per cent from the 2020 election. The party also lost one and three seats in the local and Seanad elections, respectively.
Since becoming the Labour leader, Bacik has sought to emphasise the party’s leftist credentials, reintroducing the Starry Plough as its logo, playing up its association with James Connolly and describing the party as “Connollyite republicans”, and supporting Catherine Connolly’s presidential campaign as party of a ‘united left’ coalition. In her speech, Bacik told delegates: “With Catherine’s campaign, we have shown that an alternative politics, an alternative Ireland, is possible, when we unite together. An end to the politics of the past, represented by Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, and the ‘Lowry lackeys’.”
Bacik then turned her attention to what she describes as the “Government of failure” which she claimed has “no answers” for the housing and cost of living crises which have resulted in “thousands of hard-working families driven into enormous debt, another generation of young adults yet again facing emigration, and thousands of children homeless”.
Labour’s leader was particularly critical of the Government’s recent Housing Plan as well as October’s budget which she said contained “reckless tax cuts, massive giveaways to corporate chains, and nothing for working families”.
In addition to reforming the party’s left-wing image, the Labour leader has also sought to increase its republican credentials. In her speech and, breaking with the position set out by previous Labour leaders, Bacik called on the governments in Ireland and Britain to set out a timeline for a border poll. While Bacik said that there is no urgency for a vote on Irish unity, she called for “substantial work” to commence on the preparation: “We know better than to run a referendum in haste, without sufficient preparation or groundwork, but we do need a clear timeframe to allow for preparation of a Green and White paper, for citizens’ assemblies, and for respectful and considered debate to start that process of preparation towards a united Ireland,” adding: “That is why we need a dedicated government department to carry out the necessary work of reconciliation and unity planning.”
Among the other topics in Bacik’s speech were housing, racism, the cost-of-living, the ‘triple lock’, the genocide in Gaza, healthcare, and climate.
Bacik also called on the Government to ensure passage of the Occupied Territories Bill.
