JUNIOR MINISTER AODHÁN Ó Ríordáin believes that a Fine Gael-only government would have been “not just dangerous, but disastrous” for the country over the last four years.

In an interview with TheJournal.ie ahead of the Labour conference this weekend, the Equality Minister explained why he believed his party had soften some of the more right-wing elements of Fine Gael policy.

• Here’s the latest from the Labour party conference >

He also discussed his views on that infamous ‘Every Little Hurts’ leaflet which Fianna Fáil has been reminding Labour about this evening:

The upcoming same-sex marriage referendum and abortion are expected to feature on the agenda at this weekend’s conference in Kerry.

With that in mind we asked the minister if there has been complacency on the Yes side…

… and we also discussed what replaces the 8th Amendment if it’s repealed as Labour prepares to vote on its own abortion policy this weekend…

Note: This story was originally published on 27 February 2015

Listen: Alan Kelly explains why this is one of the best governments ever

Analysis: Why Joan Burton has a year to save Labour from an election bloodbath