Labour and DL formally merge at the Rotunda

The Labour leader sharply attacked Fianna Fail and Fine Gael at the formal merger of his party and Democratic Left in Dublin yesterday.

Mr Ruairi Quinn will name his new front bench today and will lead Labour's enlarged parliamentary party into the Dail on Wednesday.

The ceremony to mark the merger was held in the Pillar Room of the Rotunda Hospital. The actress, Ms Nuala Hayes, read the programme of the first Dail, and the poet, Mr Theo Dorgan, read a poem. The party's deputy leader, Mr Brendan Howlin, unveiled the party's new logo, based on the traditional red rose.

Mr Quinn said that both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael were pretending not to be interested in the merger.

"We represent no threat to them, they say. Funny that both the leaders of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have made recent speeches about the merits, or otherwise, of left-right and what they call ideological politics. And we thought they didn't care!"

The party's president, Mr Proinsias De Rossa, who was leader of Democratic Left, noted that the ceremony was taking place in a building which echoed with historical resonances. It was in the Rotunda, on November 25th, 1913, that the inaugural meeting of the Irish Volunteers was held, a body which was to suffer the fate of so many other Irish organisations when it split less than a year later, he added.

"Today, we are committing ourselves to the creation of a new Irish liberation movement, which will seek to free people from the tyranny of poverty in all its forms. We are seeking the engagement of all sections of society in this endeavour but particularly the disadvantaged, to create a society which liberates human creativity, celebrates diversity and enables every person to have a full and satisfying life."