The debate that has emanated from an article I wrote for The Irish Times (August 25th) on why Labour should eschew coalition is interesting, to say the least.

The near-hysterical response from some Fine Gael TDs and their media supporters is perhaps not surprising, but it does prove the desperation of that party in trying to use Labour and its support as a means for Fine Gael returning to government.

Their response has only convinced me, and many other Labour supporters who contacted me subsequently, that the central tenement of my original argument is correct: Labour must give a clear commitment to the electorate that it will not enter any conservative-dominated government after the next election.

I make no apologies for the fact that I want to see a strengthened Labour Party which adequately represents and campaigns for the rights and interests of working people. Eighty years of hopping in and out of coalition governments has done nothing for the Labour Party, except keep it in its place as the third political party. If the Labour Party leadership, like many supporters, wants the party to develop, we must say no to conservative government and instead build up an alliance with other left-wing parties and progressive independents.

Instead of asking our supporters to transfer to the likes of Fine Gael, Labour supporters should be asked to consider transferring their votes to those with whom we have more in common. The basic kernel of the Fine Gael argument is that if Labour enters some pre-election pact with Fine Gael, it will stop Fianna Fail returning to government.

I have no desire to advise Fine Gael on its electoral strategies, but it surely displays an amazing lack of confidence and conviction in its own policies and leadership if at this stage it openly admits its only way of convincing the electorate to return it to government is on the coat-tails of Lab our and, for good measure, it throws in the Greens as well.

There is an arrogant presumption on behalf of Fine Gael that Labour or the Greens or whoever else it decides must support Fine Gael, not based on any policies or prospective programme for government, but simply because it is not Fianna Fail.

Perhaps this is why Fine Gael attracts such a low level of national support for a party of its size and business connections.

Whether it likes it or not, it is the electorate which decides who it wants to be in government. For more than 20 years, Fine Gael has barely managed to get more than 25 per cent of the first preference vote. Perhaps if its policies were different it might do better, but that is a matter for that party. To whinge that if only Labour had entered a pre-election pact with Fine Gael 30 years ago it could have prevented a Fianna Fail government, only illustrates the paucity of its ideas.

For Jim Mitchell to attack Ruairi Quinn as "illogical" for refusing to negotiate a pre-election pact and showing a "lack of clarity in thinking" shows what the Fine Gael leadership really thinks of Labour. It is clear that it needs Labour votes to get into government.

If the electorate has consistently refused to give Fine Gael that mandate, why should Labour?

Instead of acting as a mudguard for Fine Gael, I believe Labour should set out to replace it as the main opposition party to Fianna Fail. The only way we can do this is to refuse to support or transfer to Fine Gael at the next election.

If Fine Gael deserves to be in government, the electorate will put it there - that's Fine Gael's business and good luck to it. But let it do it if it can on its own merits.

Many in Labour are tired of being used as some form of sweeper for Fine Gael at elections. It is high time we concentrated on developing our own party. For Lab our to grow we must replace Fine Gael, not give it a leg-up at election time.

Clearly, Fine Gael needs Lab our more than Labour needs Fine Gael; now is the time for the Labour movement to cut off its oxygen supply of Labour votes.

Like many of my colleagues, I would like to see Labour as the main party in government in the near future. I realise it will not happen at the next election, but if we genuinely believe in ourselves, our policies and our people, we can begin to build a stronger Lab our Party which provides a real alternative to the Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum which have dominated politics here since the foundation of the State.

By building a real alternative to Fianna Fail based on policy, I am confident that Labour will grow and be in a position to enter government from a position of strength and not at the whim of Fine Gael.

Mick O'Reilly is general secretary of the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union