If you thought Ed Miliband was bad check out Labour in Ireland.

If you think that Ed Miliband has been pretty atrocious in leading UK Labour it nothing to his Iish counterpart.

Even before becoming leader Joan Labour TD Joan Burton on Vincent Browne Show, 24 January 2011 was a disaster(Thanks to Blog Menai)


But Labour still made her leader and she is currently Tanaiste (deputy leader) in the 
 Fine Gael/ Labour Party government.

She recently y criticised the actions of some demonstrators against increased Water Charges  who she accused of intimidating householders in estates across the country.

During extremely heated exchanges in the Dail, Ms Burton defended the role of gardai in controlling the protests in part of Dublin.

She was responding to concern raised by Dublin's Lord Mayor Christy Burke who said he fears gardai are using "excessive force" to deal with demonstrations.

"I think they have actually responded with complete professionalism," Ms Burton said of the role of the gardai.

The Labour Party leader was responding to claims by People Before Profit TD Joan Collins that groups are being inhibited in their attempts to demonstrate.

And she sparked criticism during 'Leaders' Questions' after she claimed that demonstrators are using "extremely expensive phones, tablets, video cameras"  torecord their activities.

"A core part of the campaign is to video every single second...there has been the most extensive filming," 

Ms Burton told TDs.

",Hollywood would be in the ha'penny place compared to whats going on here"

 she added.

Meanwhile, Ms Burton also clashed with Sinn Fein's Mary Lou McDonald on the issue of water charges.

Ms McDonald said the government had "threatened" householders with turning off their taps if they do not pay.

But Ms Burton said such a claim was a "Big Sinn Fein lie".

She added: 

"Nobody's water supply is going to be cut off because the law does not allow Irish Water (to do so). "The law in Ireland does no allow this.

One homeowner, Paul McGill, said:

“The use of phones and cameras to record this is not the issue. The use of our police force to protect private contractors is.”Ann Marie Cogan added: “They have forgotten their roots the Labour Party – the ordinary people, working class, ordinary people.“Now there’s us and the Labour ‘Tory’ party totally out of touch with who they supposedly represent.”

How very different from our own dear Labour party who are champions of Social Justice here .

It would be dreadful if people would share the view that like Ireland Tory’ party totally out of touch with who they supposedly represent.”