Irish left-wing politicians who campaigned loudly for abortion have been criticised by their international colleagues for an excessive concentration on abortion to the detriment of other issues. The criticism echoes comments made by Nell McAfferty in the run up to last years referendum on repealing the Eighth amendment that the activists of today are all about “abortion, abortion, abortion” to the exclusion of a whole host of other issues such as housing, healthcare, childcare, and a proper work-life balance.

Members of Ireland’s socialist party, going by the name of the Anti-Austerity Alliance or Solidarity, and comprising TDs Paul Murphy, Ruth Coppinger and Mick Barry, were criticsed by the International Section (IS) of the Committee for a Workers International (CWI), the parent organisation of the Socialist Party.

In leaked documents reported on by the Irish Times, the IS said: “We think the comrades could be in danger of overstating the importance of the victory on abortion rights. In our view a tendency has also developed of some leading Irish comrades seeing all struggles through the prism of the women’s movement, rather than seeing how it interconnects with other struggles.”