We owe it to our young people to make progress happen

Restarting the Assembly Executive and getting on to the business of running the Six Counties in the interests of all its citizens was the key theme of Sinn Féin Vice President Michelle O’Neill’s speech to the Ard Fheis. Here, we carry the full text of her Saturday address where she encouraged the Sinn Féin delegates to “not falter in our commitment to build a society that is defined by compassion, hope, opportunity, and prosperity for all”.

• — • — • — • — • — •

Guests, colleagues, a chairde, historic change is happening across this island. Agus tá Sinn Féin chun tosaigh san athrú sin. In the North, I stand ready to lead an Assembly and Executive as a First Minister for All.

An Assembly that will roll up its sleeves and get down to the hard work of delivering real improvements in people’s lives. An Assembly that will tackle the crisis in healthcare, create new jobs and unleash the potential of a generation. 

An Executive that will grasp the huge economic and investment opportunities with our unique market access. We owe it to our young people to make progress happen. To build opportunities for everyone. To build a future that we can all be proud of.

A future shaped by progress and prosperity. For you, for your children and your grandchildren. A better future, together. I am deeply committed to charting that path of progress and prosperity.

As the first nationalist in the history of the North who would be the First Minister in a new Executive, I appreciate the profound responsibility that would carry. I say to all parties, together, let us embrace the power of change and the promise of a new politics that works for all.

In order to do that, the DUP must end its boycott of the Assembly and Executive. The British government need to call time on their endless two-way negotiation with the DUP. Public patience has run out. We must move forward. It is now decision time. The Northern State of today is not that of yesterday.

The days of one-party rule are gone, where conflict, division, and loss, left our communities blinded and hardened. Yesterday, I attended a Remembrance Service with all parties at Parliament Buildings to remember and to pay my respects to all those, from every part of our island, who lost their lives in World War I and II.

This is an important day of reflection for many people on the island. We all know the cost of conflict, and the value of peace. We look on at the horrific onslaught in the Middle East and the daily bombardment of Gaza.

We see the pain and the suffering being inflicted on the civilian population there. We know from our own experience in Ireland, that only through ceasefires, dialogue, negotiation, and peaceful political accommodation will this nightmare end. 

• Michelle O'Neill, Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid and Mary Lou McDonald

We stand with the people of Palestine. We stand for an end to occupation, illegal settlements, and apartheid. We stand for a Palestinian state!

Political conditions here have changed immeasurably, and we do not take any of it for granted. This year we mark 25 years of peace and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. We are grateful for the leadership of all those who took risks and made sacrifices for peace. Tá muid ar turas le chéile. We have faced many challenges, including the British Government forcing the North out of the EU.

The fallout has cast a shadow over power-sharing and has been a huge setback for our people and for political stability. However, today we are presented with new possibilities and new opportunities. Which commands us to move forward together.

After a quarter century, the Good Friday Agreement has shaped our society for the better, fostering the seeds of peace and reconciliation. I will continue to demonstrate through my words and deeds, my absolute commitment to this crucial work, as we embark on the next chapter of our journey.

Regardless of who you are, or where you come from, I see it as my duty as First Minister Elect to work in cooperation with others, and across party lines, to fully and fairly represent you, your family, and community. And to ensure that the quality of your life and the opportunities, dreams and ambitions of your children and grandchildren can be realised.

We need a united effort for the common good. Because there is no escaping the fact that after over a decade of Tory austerity our key public services and our public sector workers have been failed. Decisions taken in London have devastated and diminished local services in the North. The local parties must confront this head on. 

Together, we must unite and fight the corner of every citizen, to ensure public services are financed with a needs-based funding model. We must ensure that our nurses, health and social care workers, and other public sector workers get the fair pay and safe working conditions they are entitled to.

A new Executive must tackle the crippling health waiting lists that have left people without hope, and in pain. Young people with special educational needs and their families must have access to properly funded, first-class support services.

Too many young people and their families are being failed by the current system. We need an Executive back in place that listens to the voices of young people, families, and workers. They must be at the heart of everything that we do.

We must confront the challenges with empathy and determination, prioritising the well-being and future of every citizen. We can build a society that provides fair access to quality care and education through targeted investment in the health service and our schools and colleges, leaving no one behind.

As a mother and grandmother, I fully understand the vital importance of accessible and affordable childcare. We will prioritise and work with others to further develop our proposals for a new child care scheme, that will reduce costs for parents, support child care providers, and ensure better pay for staff.

• Michelle O'Neill at TUS in Athlone

I call upon all political leaders to unite and embrace the spirit of cooperation and common cause in order to help households and businesses, workers and families, at a time when the cost-of-living crisis is biting hard.

People need to know that we have their backs. This week the public inquiry completed its work on the A5. Too many lives have been lost. Tá barraíocht daoine gortaithe. There can be no more delays. Now is the time to get the A5 built!

Recently, we had the good news that Euro 28 has been confirmed. With Casement Park being one of the host stadiums. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, for Ulster Gaels and beyond. Now, it’s time to get Casement Park built. The legacy of Euro 2028 presents us all with a powerful opportunity to unite communities through sport, bringing people together from across these two islands. 

We have much work to do. 

We must deliver a strategy to end violence against women and girls.

We must invest in Lough Neagh, creating an action plan, which protects the lough and realises its full potential.

Friends, as we embark on the next stage of our journey, let us not falter in our commitment to build a society that is defined by compassion, hope, opportunity, and prosperity for all. Together, we must decide the type of society that we are building for today and tomorrow. As First Minister Elect, the single biggest challenge I have is to keep our society moving forward together and to overcome our differences. That means working for the whole community. 

It means strengthening our health service, giving our children a world-class education, building affordable homes, making our communities safer, protecting our rural way of life, and creating good jobs so the next generation has a future here.

Our priority is to make politics work, and to show that real change is possible in making people’s everyday lives better. Let’s build the future together. A future that we can all be proud of. This demands hard work from today’s leaders. 

So, I say to those who continue to boycott the Assembly and Executive. Let’s get back in! Let’s join together! Let’s get down to business. Ar aghaidh linn le chéile. Go raibh míle maith agaibh.