LABOUR LEADER Eamon Gilmore has asked Irish voters to reject what he called the ‘conservatism’ of the past and to “shape our own destiny”.

Launching his party’s election manifesto at the Aviva Stadium this morning, Gilmore said the election in two weeks posed the question of “where do we want to take our country”, and said that question could only be answered by a unity of Irish people.

“Ireland is a great country, and I believe, in every fibre of my being, that our best days are still to come,” Gilmore said, adding that bringing about real change would require a Labour-led government and “not the change of one conservative party for another”.

The choice ahead of Irish voters was one between the conservatism of the past and the opportunity of moving forward, he added.

Gilmore said the manifesto – entitled ‘One Ireland’ – set out a detailed plan for job creation, and a comprehensive programme of political reform, and said it also wedded his party to the concept of fairness.

That principle would be manifested in moves to stop people losing their homes if they make honest efforts to repay their mortgages, or stopping minimum wage earners from having their income cut further.

The Labour manifesto also commits the party to holding a constitutional referendum on same-sex marriage, and for a broader review of the constitution as a whole.

The current constitution, Gilmore said, reflected “the Ireland of a time so long ago when you could write into the constitution the idea that a woman’s place was in the home.”

The full manifesto can be downloaded at the Labour website.

“We do have tough decisions to make in the years ahead,” Gilmore said, “but we have to make the right tough decisions.”