Election preparations: The Labour Party is committed to working with Fine Gael to deliver a new and better government and will put Fianna Fáil and the PDs out of office, according to the party's deputy leader Liz McManus.
Closing a session at the conference on new candidates, Ms McManus said Labour's mission was to make a real difference in the lives of hard-working families all over Ireland.
That mission would only be delivered when they took the two coalition parties out of government - not just one of them, both of them.
"Labour is committed to working with our partners in Fine Gael to deliver a new and better government," Ms McManus said. "We do this because we believe that this change is vital to make the lives of people in Ireland better."
The Government had run out of steam, it was tired and arrogant and had nothing to offer hard-working families except disappointment and fear. it did not have a vision for today or tomorrow and it had lost touch with the Ireland of today.
"Well, our message is clear. The Labour Party doesn't intend to put them back into office. Our intention is to send them packing," Ms McManus told delegates.
The candidates who had spoken at the conference exemplified the spirit of the party as they approached the election, she said.They were the people who would be calling at the doors. There were new candidates, new ideas, people with energy and commitment who could make a real difference.
The Labour Party needed to continue to put forward its great vision for the future. The election was just around the corner and as they got nearer to it, the party and alternative government was going to continue to develop and put out more ideas and policies like those the candidates had put forward at the conference.
"We have the leader, we have the ideas, we have the candidates. We are ready to go to the Irish people and make our case. We are preparing for government, for a different, better government, and we are preparing to win," Ms McManus said.
Eamon Gilmore TD, chairman of the policy committee, who opened the session, said he was pleased the new candidates were demonstrating some of the new thinking that was going on within the party about meeting the challenges that faced families all over Ireland.
Labour would ensure that the priorities of hard-working families were the party's priorities and that in government it would be ready to take the hard choices necessary to govern effectively, he said.
"We can deliver change, we can deliver hope and we can deliver opportunity to the people who we want to represent - to people who work hard and get on with raising their families in difficult circumstances."
The problems in health, crime and anti-social behaviour, the cost of living and the public services, were problems which could be solved, Mr Gilmore said.