Pat Rabbitte: Labour-Social Democrats merger will happen

A former leader of the Labour party has said that a merger with the Social Democrats will ultimately happen.

Pat Rabbitte, who was leader of the Labour Party from 2002 until 2007, said that “personalities” were the obstacle to a merger, and there was no policy difference between them.

The former climate and communications minister also said the claim that the Social Democrats would act differently in government compared to Labour was “untested”.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik has said a merger with the Social Democrats is “possible”, as she claimed there were no ideological differences between the two parties.

Her predecessor Alan Kelly also said a merger was a possibility, while the party leader between 2016 and 2020, Brendan Howlin, said the combination should happen.

However, Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said she believes Labour’s approach to government is not “compatible” with her party.

After becoming leader in March last year, she said there would be no merger and she believed “trust has been broken between people and the Labour party”.

Ms Cairns told the PA news agency before Christmas that Labour in government supported the privatisation of Bord Gais and penalised lone-parent families.

“It’s all well and good to say: ‘Oh they think they have the same policies as us’,” she said.

“They don’t have the same practices. That’s the overall difference between us.”

The Social Democrats are on around 5% based on opinion polls while Labour is on around 3%.

Speaking on RTE’s Drivetime on Thursday, Mr Rabbitte said: “The social democratic space in Irish politics is already very small.

“Ultimately, of course, there will be a coming together but the question is when.

“Personalities and so on are the impediment rather than policy.

“There is no policy difference and the insinuation that some of the Social Democrat personalities would do better in government after the financial crash is something that hasn’t been tested.”

He added that the merger would not happen before the next general election but that it would happen “down the road”, based on his observations.

Mr Rabbitte was speaking after he was reappointed as the chairperson of Tusla, with his second term to conclude on December 30 2025.