Adams insists SF 'still relevant'

Sinn Féin reaction:There will be no fundamental reassessment of Sinn Féin's position in the Republic because their message is "still relevant", but the party "will regroup", Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said yesterday.

Arriving at the Dublin count centre in the RDS, Mr Adams said Sinn Féin had been "squeezed" between the two big parties, and the party's vice-president, Pat Doherty, said they had been affected in Dublin in particular.

Sinn Féin's outgoing Dublin South West TD, Seán Crowe, lost his seat and the party's best hope for a seat, MEP Mary Lou McDonald, looked unlikely to recoup the loss. The party lost out in the surge for Fianna Fáil, Mr Adams said.

He rejected a suggestion that the party had fundamentally misinterpreted the electorate and needed to take a different approach. "I think the electorate went for the taoiseach they wanted to see in power and that was Bertie Ahern and that's what the entire election became based on, particularly in the last week."

He added, however, that "we need the economy to serve the people. There's no point in us all being wealthy if we can't get a hospital bed, if we can't get our kids into school, get creche facilities. So that message is still there.

"And then in terms of Irish unity, it is still a necessary objective for Irish political life and one that Sinn Féin will continue to serve."

Congratulating Fianna Fáil, he said: "Fair play to them, they did very well." Asked how much of a setback their showing was in the Republic, the Sinn Féin leader said: "Progress in this jurisdiction so far has been incremental. There was an expectation that we would do better, so people may be disappointed, but they'll dust themselves down and we'll continue to build incrementally."

One of the areas in Dublin targeted for a seat was Dublin North East, and candidate Larry O'Toole said his personal vote had actually gone up about 3 per cent, allowing for the constituency changes.

"The electorate took a bit of a fright and didn't like the idea of the alternative coalition," he said.

Sinn Féin "got trampled" in the rush to Fianna Fáil and it was "not about our politics, our grasp, or lack of grasp on anything".

He said there would be "no knee-jerk reaction" in Sinn Féin and they would be back to work on Monday. He added that "we're not the only party that going's to be squashed". He said "Labour will not come out smelling of roses" and the Greens had also been affected.