'Plan for Change' manifesto launched by Sinn Féin for Dáil general election

“A PLAN FOR CHANGE – a plan for a sustainable and fair recovery,” is how Gerry Adams described the 2016 Dáil election manifesto launched by Sinn Féin in Dublin on Tuesday.

Mary Lou McDonald said it is a detailed proposal “easing the burden on working families, investing €10billion in public services and addressing the housing and health crisis”.

Gerry Adams noted that Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has said he wants Ireland to be the best place in the world to do business in.

“We are more ambitious for our people,” the Sinn Féin leader said. “We want Ireland to be the best place to grow up in, to grow old in, to enjoy life in.”

He continued:

“For the first time since the foundation of this state, there is an opportunity to elect a progressive, Sinn Féin-led Government which place the rights of citizens at the centre of Government decision making.

“Tá sé in am vótáil do Shinn Féin.”

Launching For A Fair Recovery/Níos Fearr Le Sinn Féin, Gerry Adams was joined by deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald who focused on Public Services, Pearse Doherty who spoke on Finance, and Mayo candidate Rose Conway Walsh on Rural Ireland.

Perhaps addressing those reporters (including at RTÉ) who claim that Sinn Féin has no experience in Government, Gerry Adams reminded the media:

“Sinn Féin is in Government in the North where our Executive team led by Martin McGuinness has introduced progressive politics onto the agenda at Stormont.

“In Government with our unionist partners, Sinn Féin has promoted partnership, reconciliation, equality and inclusion.

“We are defending the rights of citizens, protecting the vulnerable and building prosperity and jobs.

“Sinn Féin wants to be in Government in this state too.”

Introducing the detailed document, running to more than 50 pages, Gerry Adams told reporters that Sinn Féin stands by the the vision of the men and women who staged the Easter Rising not just to free Ireland from the shackles of the British Empire but to build a Republic – a new Ireland where people were citizens, not subjects.

“100 years on, Sinn Féin stands by those objectives,” he said.

He continued:

“We believe that citizens have fundamental rights which the Government has a responsibility to deliver.

“Support for these republican values is growing.

“People are hungry for change.

“They want a genuine democratic revolution.”

The Sinn Féin leader said that, instead of bringing about their promised “democratic revolution”, Fine Gael and Labour have brought chaos into people's lives.

“The conservative parties have no plan for a sustainable, fair recovery,” he said.

“Now Enda Kenny is committed to the reckless boom and bust policies of Fianna Fáil.

“He doesn't believe in a citizen-centred, rights-based society.

“Tá fís iomlán éagsúil ag Sinn Féin.

“So in this election citizens have a real choice. They will decide whether a new Government invests in building a just and fair society or whether it rewards high-earners and the elites.

“We have a plan for a fair recovery that grows the economy and brings stability to the lives of individuals and working families.”

Key points in Sinn Féin's plan include:-

• A move from the two-tier, public-private system to a universal health service, free at the point of delivery to all citizens as a right;

• Building 100,000 social and affordable homes and guaranteeing rent certainty;

• Delivering 250,000 jobs over the next five years, including 188,000 from projected economic growth identified by the Department of Finance.

The party would also seek to deliver a referendum on a united Ireland, introduce Northern representation to the Dáil, and extend Presidential voting rights to citizens in the North and the Diaspora. Sinn Féin will introduce a Green Paper on Irish unity.

Accusing the Fine Gael/Labour Government of doing “immense damage” to the Irish language, Sinn Féin would appoint a senior Cabinet minister with responsibility for Gaeltacht Affairs and An Gaeilge and a permanent Joint Oireachtas Committee for Gaeltacht Affairs and the Irish Language.

And, Gerry Adams, declared:

“A Sinn Féin Government will formally recognise the State of Palestine.”