Voters have given Government ‘notice to quit’ - Adams

The electorate have given the Government "notice to quit", Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said today in the wake of the local and European election results.

"The election result and the resignation of the Labour leader, I think, has intensified the crisis that this Government has been in for some time," Mr Adams said outside Leinster House today.

Asked whether he believed Eamon Gilmore’s resignation as Labour party leader yesterday would result in changes in Government Mr Adams said: “I don’t see it having any big change.”

Mr Adams said a a change of Government was required. “We need a change of policy not just a change of personalities.”

Asked how damaged the Coalition was following the elections, Mr Adams said: “the electorate gave the Government notice to quit, we think they should do that”.

He said the “honest and straightforward thing to do would be for the Taoiseach to allow the people to have a proper democratic revolution”.

Mr Adams said those in power are often very reluctant to relinquish it. “That is probably the case for this Government but if they were obeying the outcome of that election then they should end, certainly I think they’re living on borrowed time,” he said.

Referring to his own party’s strong performance in the local and European elections Mr Adams said the electorate had a whole range of other parties they could have voted for but chose to vote for Sinn Féin.

“They have voted for the fairer, decent way that we’re arguing. They have voted for the peace process to be strengthened, they have voted for a citizen-centred, rights-based society to be developed across this island and that of course reinforces and strengthens our team in the Oireachtas,” he said.

Asked if Sinn Féin would be prepared for a general election given that, over the weekend, he had said it didn’t have enough candidates in some local election areas, Mr Adams said his party had shown it had “credible candidates” and was still building.

Mr Adams said he would travel the United States tomorrow, where he will meet with Obama administration officials among others. He said he had written to “a range of people in the States a few months ago” about the failure of the British government and the unionist parties to signup to the Haass.

“Given the failure of the British government to sign up for Haass...and given my notion that the Irish Government acts as a junior partner as opposed to co-equal guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement, I thought that people of influence, from the White House, across the State Department, particularly our friends in Capitol Hill needed to be very, very focused to getting all of this back on track”,” he said.

Mr Adams said his recent arrest and questioning over the murder of Jean McConville in 1972 had received a lot of media attention in the US and had led to those who had become detached from issues in the North to refocus.

“My arrest has alerted some who may have been just a wee bit detached and they’re back and they want to help,” he said.