Sinn Féin is a party of government and wants to be part of a “progressive” administration in Dublin after the next general election, party leader Mary Lou McDonald has said.
Those who want to keep the party out of office should “wake up and smell the coffee” and realise Sinn Féin is here to stay, Ms McDonald added.
The Dublin Central TD rallied delegates at the Sinn Féin ardfheis in the Waterfront Hall, Belfast: "To those who are on an agenda to exclude us, I invite them to wake up and smell the coffee . . . We are here, we are equal.
"Our democratic mandate – and more importantly the people who vote for Sinn Féin will be respected. It is not [for] Leo Varadkar or Micheál Martin to decide whether or not we are in government."
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Sinn Féin, she said, will talk to all parties and Independents after the next election. But its “political competitors vie with one another to come up with the best reason to keep us out of government. Let me set a few things straight. We are already a party of government. We are living through a time of great change. The old certainties are gone. The 2½ party system in the South has been consigned to history. Leadership is shifting to a new generation.”
And let me say this loud and clear – the North is next
In her keynote leader's speech, Ms McDonald also said the party's policy on abortion is now settled. Delegates earlier voted to effectively allow TDs and Senators support legislation to allow for unrestricted abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy when it comes before the Oireachtas.
The party is “united in our determination to see the necessary legislation passed without delay”, she said. “And let me say this loud and clear – the North is next.”
Ms McDonald was elected party president at a special ardfheis in February. But this event marks her first full ardfheis, including a live televised speech, since succeeding Gerry Adams.
In her half-hour address, she expanded on the theme of a “shared prosperity” first mentioned in her acceptance speech upon becoming party leader.
“Our agenda is a shared prosperity fuelled by ambition and driven by opportunity. Sinn Féin will deliver for those who struggle to make ends meet, despite getting up and working hard every day.
“For those who do everything possible to better their lives, and the lives of their families, yet the wolf remains all too close to the door.
“A visit to the doctor, the car breaking down, or back to school costs should not be a financial disaster. No parent should have to pay the equivalent of a second mortgage for childcare.
“Shared prosperity is also good for business, for enterprise, for innovation and for productivity.”
The areas of health, housing and rural broadband were also identified as key policy areas, as well as the building of a “new Ireland”.
"Our core objective is the reunification of Ireland, " added Ms McDonald.
On the suspended Stormont Executive, she said: "Let me be clear, a powersharing Executive and Assembly in the North is still the right thing. And we are up for that."
The DUP, she claimed, are in a “fixed, negative space” and are more interested in supporting the Conservative government in Westminster.
Unionism cannot and will not hold back the tide of change
She repeated that Sinn Féin wants same sex-marriage extended to Northern Ireland and an Irish language act introduced. Abortion reform was not mentioned in the same context, however.
She also said the British and Irish governments must convene the Intergovernmental Conference, provided for under the Belfast Agreement, to resolve the impasse. “Unionism cannot and will not hold back the tide of change and equality.”
On Brexit, she said the June European Council summit is "crunch time".
"If the British government don't have a credible acceptable proposal; if they cannot demonstrate how they will avoid a hard border, protect the Good Friday agreement and citizens' rights then the Irish Government can call them out.
“There can be no question of progressing to the next phase of negotiations in the absence of an answer to the Irish question. This is one test that our Government cannot flunk.”
She said there needs to be a “step change in how society views and treats women”.
“No half measures of concessions; I am talking about full equality. A new Ireland where women are safe, a new Ireland where women are trusted, a new Ireland where women are equally paid.
“Ireland is changing. A new and better Ireland is emerging. To those who are impatient for equality and progress, I say, this is your time. This is your home. This is your Ireland. Sinn Féin is your party.”