'Sinn Féin is preparing for government, fit for government and ready to serve' – Mary Lou McDonald

MARY LOU McDONALD unequivocally told the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis in Derry that the party is preparing for government. And she forthrightly accused Labour Party leader Joan Burton of running away from a TV debate after publicly challenging Mary Lou to a head-to-head.

Mary Lou quickly took up the Tánaiste's challenge but the Labour leader has since backtracked after being asked by TV3's Vincent Browne and RTÉ when it would happen.

The Sinn Féin deputy leader told the Ard Fheis in an address televised live by RTÉ:

“Sinn Féin is preparing for government, fit for government and ready to serve.

“We will debate anybody, anywhere, any time.

“I will debate anybody, anywhere, any time.

“Joan Burton challenged me personally to a debate. Both Vincent Browne and RTÉ offered to facilitate the debate but Joan has now changed her mind. Well, Joan, you know where to find me.”

And Minister Alan Kelly has vowed to 'rip us apart', Mary Lou said, adding in a mocking aside: “We are quaking in our stilettos.”

She said Sinn Féin “will not be distracted by macho posturing or aggressive, negative noise from the Labour Party, from their Fine Gael bedfellows, or from anywhere else”.

“Let the debates commence. Let the republican alternative be scrutinised and understood by one and all.”

Attacking “years of cronyism, corruption and mé féin governments “ led by Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil that have alienated citizens “and left a bitter taste of disappointment”, the Sinn Feín deputy leader said:

“Our people have the talent and the tolerance to seize the opportunity now to transform Ireland.

”Public service is about defending the public good, standing up for citizens on the basis of equality, and facing down those that have a vested interest in division and disadvantage.

“That is what Sinn Féin is all about.

“Those that say that we are simply a party of protest don’t understand us and underestimate the people.

“Those that criticise us as a party of idealistic rhetoric miss our determination to achieve and to change our country for the better. 

Opponents that may sneer at us or discount our ambition for Ireland reveal only their own cynicism.

“Our alternative is anchored in equality.

“An equal chance to live and work at home in Ireland; equal access to education and health services, an equal start for all our children and all our families in their myriad of forms; The equal right to love, to be loved and to marry.

“Our alternative is based on shared prosperity.

“Creating wealth by investment in jobs, innovation and enterprise; sharing wealth through decent work; a living wage; and social supports for citizens.

“Our country can be the best little country in which to live and work, in which to invest and prosper.

“We are here to do the business, to roll up our sleeves and to shape that country.”

Mary Lou ended by saying:

“Today, we pledge to the people that we will not make false promises to grab political power. We are not the Labour Party.

“When we say that we will abolish water charges at the first opportunity – we mean it.

“We pledge today that we will not protect any privileged few at the expense of the many. We are not Fine Gael.

“When we say that we will not allow banks to veto settlements with families struggling with debt and at risk of losing their homes we mean it.

“Above all, we pledge that we will not shy away from any decisions, or any tough negotiations necessary to put Ireland and our people first.

“When we say that the bankers and speculators debt is not our debt, and when we challenge powerful EU institutions and the current government to lift the burden of that debt from the shoulders of the people – we mean it.

“We will work with everyone who shares our ambition to build a real Republic, to bring about the new beginning for our people.

“We are preparing for government.

“We are ready for the challenge.

“We are ready to deliver.”