10/09/2011 Sinn Fein Party Conference


10/09/2011

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Transcript


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Good evening and welcome to the Waterfront Hall in the heart of

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Belfast. The Sinn Fein have chosen this as the venue for their annual

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Ard Fheis or conference. It has been ringing to accents from around

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the country. We will bring you Gerry Adams's keynote speech to a

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packed court shortly, but first Mark Devenport, who has been here

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since the event kicked off last night. Give us a sense of the

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themes of the day. The main theme is that they are having the

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conference in Belfast. That has been a novelty that has hit

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everybody because we have been used to travelling to conferences in

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Dublin and this is their first time North of the border. It has

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symbolised the journey that the party has come on from the days

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when they were more of a marginal force, the association with the IRA.

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They are very much in the mainstream now. This happens at a

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very confident time, when they are coming off election successes in

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the South and the North. There has not been any rancour or open

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division between different elements of the party, so it has been boring

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for the political commentators but a dream for the political leaders.

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They have a party that has been doing well and is looking towards a

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future election potentially in the Irish presidential election. They

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have been dropping heavier and heavier hints that they are poised

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to enter that race. The devolution of policing and justice is seen by

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many delegates as one of the peace process achievements of Sinn Fein.

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There were warnings today that those at the top of policing were

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trying to undermine their work so far. The Police Ombudsman has been

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accused of overstaying his welcome. And he also spoke about Matt

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Baggott and his record on investigations relating to the

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Troubles. They are engaged with local communities in an honest

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effort to promote safety and prevent crime. They need and

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deserve support but the PSNI cannot have it both ways. The PSNI is not

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responsible for the British legacy of pollution and oppression going

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back generations, however Chief Constable Matt Baggott cannot

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become complicit in covering up for that. When he attended the

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investigation into the massacre, he dealt a blow to the new beginning

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of policing. Not only was he wrong...

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Not only was he wrong in doing so, but we wonder why he defends the

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indefensible. It is 40 years after the event. There are still those

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are the old guard trying to return policing to the force within a 4th,

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period. Sinn Fein will not let that happen. -- with in a force. The

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PSNI to constable has a responsibility to prevent the wrong

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doings from the past to condemn a date the present. -- to contaminate

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the present. The PSNI must cease to be a line of defence for past

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wrongs. It is too late for our Hutchinson. Three, let me repeat

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that, three separate damning reports have condemned his

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leadership of the ombudsman's office. I believe in fully

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accountable policing. Therefore I want the credibility of the

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ombudsman's office to be restored. Mr Hutchinson is that the core of

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the problem, therefore he is not the person to fix it. He has lost

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the confidence of the community. If he is in any doubt, then let him

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hear ripped from this Ard Fheis. He must go, he should go now. My oast

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of the day was fairly relaxed, but as we heard from Jerry Kelly, it

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was not all sweetness and light. The main problem is what you do

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about the past. It has brought about this controversy in relation

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to Mr Hutchinson and some harsh words for the chief constable, Matt

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Baggott. Sinn Fein's big idea on this has always been an

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international truth Commission, along the South African lines, with

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UN involvement. He taught about that but admitted that their

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opponents have not bought into bad idea. They are looking around for

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something that might move this forward. They are talking about a

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one-off Countrywide day of hope and transformation. That is an idea but

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they know it will probably need more than that. There is a

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piecemeal approach that has done damage to the police ombudsman's

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office and that is not sustainable in the long term. How do you

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compare this conference to other years? They have not got the big

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decisions. Many past Sinn Fein conferences have been about do they

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support the police, do they go into the peace process? They have made

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most of their decisions and now they are trying to position

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themselves. In another they are the dominant party but they are trying

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to position themselves in the South as well. -- in the North they are

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dominant. Some speakers have been celebrating their success in the

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North with potential in the South. They have drawn their line, and

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saying they are the main opposition in the South. At the Waterfront

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Hall the Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams delivered his keynote speech

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a while ago. Let's hear what he said.

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I would like to welcome all of you here from all parts of our island

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to the city. I want to welcome people from Canada and the USA.

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This is an emotive time for people in New York, when we think of our

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friends that died there in the attacks on September 11th. There

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are want to welcome our guests from South Africa. From the Basque

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country and elsewhere. And all of those people watching at home. I

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also welcome all the rest of our veterans. I want to extend, if I

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may, in very special welcome, our guest representing the Palestinian

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Later this month, the Palestinian people will ask the United Nations

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to recognise the state of Palestine. I call on the Irish Government to

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support the Palestinian people and their demand to be a state and for

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independence. In August, 1971, a British Army

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regiment took 11 people in my home. Five months later, in January 1972,

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this same regiment killed 14 people in Derry, on Bloody Sunday. That

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July it in West Belfast, they killed five more people. Shortly

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after that they shot dead two people on the Shankill Road. And in

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1973 they killed five meant. -- men. It is claimed that they killed 42

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citizens in disputed circumstances in the 20 months after internment.

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Sinn Fein support the efforts of their loved ones, as we do all of

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those seeking truth and closure. I would like to welcome the families

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and relatives that are here with us This city of Belfast has a proud

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republican history. This is a city where United Irishmen and women

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committed themselves to ending the connection with Britain. This is a

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city of proud, Protestant Republicans. This is a city where

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working men and women were organised, and especially the women,

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against sweat stop conditions. -- He speaks Irish. So it is a big

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date for Belfast republicans that the Ard Fheis is here. I have not

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gone away, you know. It is a big day for me, too. It is a big day

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for me as a Belfast man, who was very humbled and proud to be

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elected by the people. In the mid- 1960s, when I joined Sinn Fein, it

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was a forbidden organisation. I was arrested for the first time in

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Belfast city centre when I was about 17 or 18 for selling the

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party newspaper. At that time, this was a one-party state, a police

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state. It was run by a union is delete that controlled all the

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institutions of Government. -- pianist en route. Discrimination

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against Catholics was rife. The Special Powers Act was the order of

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the day. Many of my generation spent their lives on trial on the

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prison ship in Belfast Lough and in the Belfast prisons. Others spent

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decades in other prisons. Some went to early graves, and Sam Querrey

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injuries to this day. -- some carry injuries the to this day. The state

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of the British Government ruled supreme. Comrades, those days are

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And Unionism, as it comes to terms with this new reality, will be

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liberated by it. The Orange state is no more. This Ard Fheis and your

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presence here is further proof of Under the old regime, the greatest

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price was paid by working-class communities. Every expression of

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Irish nurse was repressed. Unions were sold the pretence of privilege

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but it could not be sustained. Not in this city, not anywhere. This is

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also the city of many heroes and And they include Bobby Sands, Joe

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McDonnell and Kieran Doherty. 30 years ago, they, along with

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France's, Raymond, Patrick, Big Tom, They are the role models. They are

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with us tonight. Laverty years ago some of them were still on the

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Neil Green and last for not least, Mary Doyle.

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Equipment to National Southern Tree is what motivates Sinn Fein.

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Citizens have right, this includes the right to a home, job, access to

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education, the health service on the right to a safe and clean

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environment and civil liberties. This is what republicanism is about.

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It is what freedom and real democracy is about. And there

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wasn't a more important time for this for these core Republican

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values. The Republic of Ireland are facing an economic crisis of such

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magnitude it dominates all our lives. From the very old to the

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very young. And the North British Government governs -- policy and

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its fiscal control makes efforts to tackle the economic crisis more

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difficult. It is a major challenge to the Assembly. In the south, half

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a million people languish on the dole. College graduates joined the

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unemployed. Construction workers, architects and solicitors. 575

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workers lost their jobs this week in the announcement of the media to

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closure and the loss of another 130 jobs is another day of the stock --

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devastating blow. Thousands are leaving. Taking their skills,

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enthusiasm and they used to other countries. Families have been

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forced to choose between buying school books or paying mortgages.

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The Irish people don't even have the right to make their own

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decisions about how to handle this crisis. Irish economics of entry

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has been handed over to the EU and the International Monetary Fund.

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The job losses are mounting and still, Fine Gael and Labour plough

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ahead of recapitalising the banks and cutting public spending. What

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is the jobs plan? What kind of society will be left at the end of

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this crisis if there is no public outline, no public energy body, no

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post service, no forestry body? What kind of society will be left

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when they have sold off essential state assets and the natural

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resources for next to nothing to private interests. The Irish people

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deserve better. They know it. That is why there is such a great desire

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for a fundamental political change across this island. That is what is

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most obvious in the six counties is the support given to the Executive

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in the elections last May. People voted for change in the South also.

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They voted against the disastrous policies. He voted against the EU,

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IMF deal. They laugh that Fine Gael, and Labour -- elected Fine Gael

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that they would honour the election promises. But the coalition parties,

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once they were in, the Government's Building top election promises.

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People are dismayed because instead of implementing their own stated

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commitments, they get into implementing Fianna Fail policy.

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Labour defence improvisation of unfair taxes and one day, Labour

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tells us all there will be no cuts in social welfare and then on

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another day there will be cuts to social welfare in the December

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Budget. In fact, Fianna Fail and Labour are set to impose almost 4

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billion euros of these cuts. At the same time they are handing over 3

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billion euros to the Anglo Irish Bank. This year and every year for

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the next 10 years. He and Vinegar Hill expects people on a salary is,

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people with special needs and senior citizens and the unemployed

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to think this is fair. It is not, it is wrong.

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Sinn Fein wouldn't pay this 30 billion euros to Anglo-Irish. Then

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faction Fein wouldn't pay one sense to this bank. -- sense.

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Her a better island is possible, it must be based on the rights of

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citizens, on the needs of society on fairness and equality for stomp

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Sinn Fein's recovery plan would use the main reserve in the national

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pension reserve fund to introduce a multi-billion Euro jobs package.

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Our plan to invest in schools and hospital buildings, broadband roll-

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out and developing the agricultural food sector so we can grow our way

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Tens of thousands of families at this moment are in serious mortgage

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distress. This problem cannot be left to the banks. The Government

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has to act and the Government has to act now. The priority has to be

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protect family homes. An independent distress mortgage

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resolution body is needed with strong powers and a menu of options

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to help those in greatest need. Anything else is unacceptable. And

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Sinn Fein makes no bones about it. We will ask the wealthier citizens,

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who will also benefit from the recovery, to contribute more. A

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package of wealth taxes, taxes on profits and an end to tax

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exemptions will bring in the revenue necessary to meet funding

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needs. Sinn Fein will tackle public spending. But we will protect

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social welfare, education and public health budgets. Sinn Fein

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will go after hospital consultants who are among highest-paid in the

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world. Will we will go after politicians and top civil servants

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are wages under pension lump sums. We will protect state assets. And

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we will get a better deal on our natural resources. We will tell the

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private bondholders, they must take the pain of their losses and the

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Irish taxpayer will carry them no longer. And we also tell the EU,

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IMF that it's time for an New Deal. A deal that takes into account what

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the Irish people are able and Also, unlike the rest of them, Sinn

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Fein has always argued the Irish people cannot enjoy democracy for

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full independence as long as the majority are laws are made by

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people who do not a let. We do not and we want to work with Democrats,

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not with these big powers. We want to work with Democrats across the

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Continent to build a Europe with equals. Were all states regardless

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of their size, wealth or power respect one another sovereignty and

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co-operate together in tackling the common problems of Europe and the

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wider world. This party is opposed to further the use centralisation.

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To challenge those in the Irish political establishment, who,

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despite their battles are shamefully subservient to Brussels

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and Frankfurt. When the Euro was introduced, Sinn Fein warned

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against giving away the state's ability to make monetary policy.

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I'm sorry to say this, we have been vindicated by disastrous

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development since then. At the European common currency project,

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the Euro, is in deep crisis and citizens have the right to know

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what the Government is going to do. There is people also have the right

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to know if the Government has a contingency plan if the currency

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collapses. Fine Gael and Labour are not being honest. In the current

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crisis, Sinn Fein warns against any attempt to hand over for economic

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power to the European Union. The raising and extending of taxes...

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Goes to the very heart of our society is organised. It determines

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the funding and quality of public services, the distribution and

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redistribution of wealth. And these must be the Democratic prerogative

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of the Irish people through their representatives in the Loloahi

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Tapui and the Assembly. Isn't it ironic Sinn Fein campaigns for the

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transfer of fiscal powers from London to Belfast. In Dublin these

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same powers are given away to the EU by the Irish political

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establishment. I want to commend the work of the outgoing President

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and her husband. Next month, the people will enact the new President

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of Ireland. By once again citizens in the north won't have the right

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to vote. This must change. Citizens from all parts of Ireland must be

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able to vote in presidential elections. An Irish citizens living

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abroad Dr Ahmad Khaled Abdel Aziz - - Dr Ahmad Khaled Abdel Aziz as has

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the same with many other states should also have the right to vote.

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The presidency is not the trophy of Across this island, more and more

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people are looking to Sinn Fein for leadership. In my view, Sinn Fein

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should support the nomination of a candidate to be President of

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Ireland. A candidate who is capable of winning the support of progress

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of of opinion, who will reflect the broad, Republican spirits of the

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Irish people at this time and the incoming President will continue

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this matter. Last year saw electoral advances to Sinn Fein and

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the one to thank everybody who entrusted their vote to us. I want

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to ask everybody to support Paul Donnelly in the upcoming by-

:25:07.:25:17.
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election. I want to congratulate all the senators and their families.

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Me Sinn Fein is now the leading voice of opposition. We are

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standing up for Ireland, we help put forward an alternative than we

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will consistently and have consistently establish the bad

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decisions of the Government. TD's have rained -- raised issues of

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significance across the border, on every issue affecting everybody.

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Let me say also in terms of what we are going to do in the upcoming

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period. We will continue to fight on all of these issues. Unlike the

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others, we will do exactly what we I also want to congratulate all our

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MLAs, councillors and Paul Muskie, the MP for West Belfast.

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Sinn Fein has lots of work to do in the time ahead. And it is for

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certain we will continue to do all of that work. One of the things we

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are focusing on and continue to focus on, is working with our

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colleagues in the Executive to confront the sectarianism and

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rural poverty to transform education and all of these other

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matters which face down on people. But our vision of a new Ireland, of

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the New Republic for the 21st century is pluralist, it is

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inclusive and it is based on equality and citizens' rights. And

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that new republic must be built by Catholic, President. That means we

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have to reach out to the Unionists. We have to be patient, it means we

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have to find common ground on which we can celebrate our differences as

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diversity and as equals. And that's a personal priority for me and the

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political priority for Sinn Fein and for the leadership. Partition

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created two conservative states on this island led by two

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Conservatives only eats. -- Uniting Ireland, comrades, makes

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economic sense, it makes political sense, it makes common sense. We

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live in a wonderful country and our people of great people. Sinn Fein

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has great trust in the people of Ireland. Sinn Fein's vision for of

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the future is based on hope. -- all of the future. I believe that there

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are many people throughout this island who share our goals. There

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are many people that want rid of outsiders ruling us, whether they

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are from London, the IMF, all the EU. Many people want a real

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Republic, a new republic, and this will require the very active

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participation of citizens. So I am calling upon people to join Sinn

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Fein. The British Government, Sinn Fein comes from that democratic

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tradition that believes that the British Government has no right in

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Ireland, never had any right in Ireland, and never will have any

:30:05.:30:15.
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And the best thing that a British Government can do, and as we

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continue with our strategy democratically and peacefully, I am

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sure, the British Government will do this, and that is to leave.

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Leave us to manage our own affairs. So Sinn Fein is clear, clear about

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our strategy, our goals, the road map to the future, a better future.

:30:49.:30:53.

And we have the spirit and the confidence to work with others to

:30:53.:31:02.

achieve this. We go forward with confidence in

:31:02.:31:08.

the future. Comrades, let us make history. And in the words of the

:31:08.:31:18.
:31:18.:31:19.

blanket men. And when they said this, they were talking about the

:31:20.:31:27.

people of Ireland, all our people, Catholic, Protestant and dissenter,

:31:27.:31:37.
:31:37.:31:49.

when they said this. The HE SPEAKS That was Gerry Adams with his

:31:49.:31:54.

keynote speech to the conference. With us now is Gerry Kelly, and the

:31:55.:31:59.

education minister, John O'Dowd. Gerry Kelly, sum up the day and

:31:59.:32:04.

yesterday for us. That is hard to do. It was a great conference. You

:32:04.:32:09.

can see it there is a lot of conference. The momentum is going.

:32:09.:32:13.

You can see a lot of young people at our conference. We are bringing

:32:13.:32:18.

new people through. It is a vibrant party, a party going places. We

:32:18.:32:23.

have a vision, Gerry Adams described that vision. There is a

:32:23.:32:25.

great confidence in the whole party to move ahead and to bring it to

:32:26.:32:30.

Belfast was a great move. It is a great boost not just for people of

:32:30.:32:34.

Belfast but we are run All-Ireland party and it is great to bring

:32:34.:32:41.

people here. What happens now in the presidential election? He has

:32:41.:32:45.

triggered a debate throughout the party. They will have that debate

:32:45.:32:55.

and they will make a decision, I suppose. If I was to make a opinion,

:32:55.:33:00.

I am ambivalent, but you have to pick a big personality to do it. I

:33:00.:33:04.

suppose in certain ways it will be important for us. You may lose a

:33:04.:33:08.

personality from within the party if you do it from within the party

:33:08.:33:14.

that maybe is needed in the party. But it is a huge challenge. We have

:33:14.:33:18.

many other huge challenges. On balance, I think it is a very good

:33:18.:33:23.

idea and we should pursue it. We have not thought about who that

:33:23.:33:30.

could be. You have the education portfolio. You said in your speech

:33:30.:33:34.

that no school would be able to stand alone in the delivery of

:33:34.:33:38.

education. What did you mean by that? What I mean is that schools

:33:38.:33:43.

have to break down barriers. They have to start working, not only

:33:43.:33:46.

across schools in their neighbourhood, but across sectors.

:33:46.:33:50.

I accept that many schools are doing this already and many

:33:50.:33:54.

educationalists are leading the way in this field. But facing into the

:33:54.:34:02.

future with the Budget we are faced with, I think there is a need to

:34:02.:34:06.

create a new society, break down barriers and share power. Break

:34:06.:34:11.

down the barriers and share education together. I will assist

:34:11.:34:14.

you and support you in that journey as minister of education. That is

:34:14.:34:18.

the call I was making in my speeches yesterday evening and

:34:18.:34:22.

today. I accept that many are doing it but we need to step up the

:34:22.:34:26.

momentum and the pace of change. is the biggest opponent to that

:34:26.:34:34.

plan? -- who? I'm not going to lay out a list of obstacles. There are

:34:34.:34:38.

many examples where this is happening and others where it is

:34:38.:34:42.

not. I am not talking across religious barriers, but socio-

:34:42.:34:47.

economic grounds as well. Are you talking about grammar schools?

:34:47.:34:51.

many stand on their own. Many see themselves as part of the education

:34:51.:35:00.

system and the community. That's -- let's not point to people. We will

:35:00.:35:05.

play our part in a system to break down barriers and to start a new

:35:05.:35:10.

beginning in education. But it is a big driver behind this, but also to

:35:10.:35:16.

make change in society. -- budget is a big driver. Let's do it across

:35:16.:35:20.

society and in our education system was stop what are you talking about

:35:20.:35:26.

in practical terms? Sharing facilities? I will be making a

:35:26.:35:30.

keynote speech to the Assembly about the future of education and I

:35:30.:35:35.

will lay out my plans in more detail than. I am moving towards

:35:35.:35:39.

the idea that we can no longer look upon schools as individual

:35:39.:35:44.

institutions. They will have to play their part as a collective, as

:35:44.:35:50.

a collective role within areas. It is across the rich divide, the

:35:50.:35:54.

socio-economic divide. I want the schools and managing authorities to

:35:54.:35:58.

come back to me as Minister of Education to say this is what they

:35:58.:36:01.

believe they can do going into the future. This is not a paper

:36:01.:36:07.

exercise. It is a radical change in education. I am not disrespect

:36:07.:36:14.

thing, or looking to move away from face -- space-based or any other

:36:14.:36:20.

type of education. I am not closing anybody down, but sharing resources

:36:20.:36:24.

and working closely together. Surely some schools are going to

:36:24.:36:29.

have to close because of empty places? The most important thing to

:36:29.:36:33.

me is that we have a number of schools were young people leaving

:36:33.:36:36.

schools are not treating their academic achievements. We are

:36:36.:36:41.

failing many young people. Those schools will have to reach the

:36:41.:36:44.

standards or I think they should close down. That is one of the

:36:44.:36:48.

options available. What is also bearing down on us is finance. The

:36:48.:36:54.

education budget is very difficult. Year one is bad, years two de four

:36:54.:37:00.

are particularly difficult. We want to set out a plan to show to the

:37:00.:37:05.

sector, to put some surety into the sector, that we have a plan. But

:37:05.:37:09.

with everything, change will come. Some institutions that have been in

:37:09.:37:15.

place for many years will no longer be there, in my opinion. That is

:37:15.:37:19.

disappointing in many ways, but education is about educating young

:37:19.:37:23.

people and not keeping education institutions open. So long as we

:37:23.:37:26.

are improving our education system that then the hard decisions that

:37:26.:37:31.

we take will be the right decisions. It could be said that your speech

:37:31.:37:35.

was the only one that had some discord today with the comments

:37:35.:37:39.

about Matt Baggott. I don't think it was discord. As the spokesperson

:37:39.:37:43.

on policing my job is to tell the truth and I think that is what I

:37:43.:37:47.

did in a short speech, which was repeated by a number of other

:37:47.:37:51.

speakers later on. The fact is that the PSNI are not responsible for

:37:51.:37:59.

the legacy of oppression over generations. Therefore, they should

:37:59.:38:05.

not, and Matt Baggott as its head, should not defend the indefensible.

:38:05.:38:11.

And especially in terms of the massacre 40 years ago, when it was

:38:11.:38:14.

very clear that there was what I would call pollution during that

:38:14.:38:23.

period. Why would you contaminate a new beginning to policing by trying

:38:23.:38:32.

to defend something that you were only a child at the time, IOC Matt

:38:32.:38:41.

Baggott was just a child. We have fought very hard. I do believe in

:38:41.:38:44.

accountable policing, but it has to be accountable and we cannot have

:38:44.:38:51.

Matt Baggott in the situation of disagreeing with an investigation.

:38:51.:38:55.

He was not the one that did the investigation, it with the

:38:55.:39:00.

ombudsman. Reconciliation was a big theme of this conference, yesterday

:39:00.:39:07.

and today. Do some of the comments made about that sort of thing

:39:07.:39:12.

contradict trying to reconcile the differences between Unionists and

:39:12.:39:17.

nationalists? Absolutely not. I have my political views, and we

:39:18.:39:22.

have our views about a national united Ireland. We think that is

:39:22.:39:26.

the best resolution. Other people have different opinions.

:39:27.:39:30.

Reconciliation is not that people come to the same decision

:39:30.:39:33.

necessarily. It is the ability to deal with the opinions of other

:39:33.:39:38.

people. We have a future together, reconciliation is making that

:39:38.:39:42.

future together. And I think Reverend Latimer mentioned this

:39:42.:39:47.

last night. People have different views of the past. I have said that

:39:47.:39:52.

I have a view of what happened in the past and you may have a view of

:39:52.:39:56.

that, but I do not necessarily have to convince you that your view is

:39:56.:40:02.

wrong and mind is right but we have to both be able to articulate that.

:40:02.:40:05.

Your big idea has been the international truth Commission.

:40:05.:40:09.

Martin McGuinness acknowledged that Unionists have not bought into that.

:40:09.:40:14.

How will you broker some agreement on this? I think that is a question

:40:14.:40:21.

mostly for Unionists. If you talk about reconciliation and purpose in

:40:21.:40:31.
:40:31.:40:31.

terms of truth, then perhaps he lien is the answer. The one thing

:40:31.:40:35.

everybody agrees on is the issue of truth itself. People want to know

:40:35.:40:43.

the truth. They have said as -- we have said that as Republicans we

:40:43.:40:47.

will participate. But it has to be comprehensive and the state

:40:47.:40:52.

authorities have to be honest. I don't really understand what the

:40:52.:40:58.

resistance from the Unionist is. I was going to say that truth is

:40:58.:41:03.

simple but it can be very complex. But everybody can agree to truth, I

:41:03.:41:07.

think. We are putting that on the table. There are a number of

:41:07.:41:12.

examples, I don't know how many. People were talking about 26

:41:12.:41:15.

different truth processes throughout the world. It may have

:41:15.:41:20.

to be quite specific to hear but let's go and do it. Again and again

:41:20.:41:24.

this legacy has come up. One of the things that annoyed me about it

:41:24.:41:29.

recently at the ombudsman's office, was that it was used as an excuse.

:41:29.:41:33.

We cannot do such and such because we have not dealt with the legacy.

:41:33.:41:38.

Let's deal with the legacy. It cannot become an obstacle for

:41:38.:41:43.

moving things forward. Art Sinn Fein more comfortable in opposition

:41:43.:41:48.

in the South than they are in Government in the North? As a

:41:48.:41:51.

political party we cede power across all of Ireland and I think

:41:51.:42:01.

we are very effective. -- we seek power. Sinn Fail has led to the

:42:01.:42:05.

opposition in the Dail. It is not about one or the other. We see our

:42:05.:42:11.

roles as our mandate. In the North we have the mandate to be in

:42:11.:42:14.

Government and in the South our mandate puts us forward as an

:42:14.:42:19.

opposition party. They are two roles that I think complement each

:42:19.:42:23.

other in many ways. Our politics are the same. We inspire to be in

:42:23.:42:28.

power across the island of Ireland. That is what politics is about.

:42:28.:42:32.

the South you have the luxury of sniping from the sidelines. But you

:42:32.:42:35.

will have to implement cuts in education and jobs will go across

:42:35.:42:40.

the public sector in the North. There is a slight difference. In

:42:40.:42:44.

the South they have certain control over economic levers. They have now

:42:44.:42:49.

handed them over to the EU and the IMF. But here we do not have the

:42:49.:42:52.

economic levers to turn round and say how we will build a budget. We

:42:52.:42:59.

have to deal with the Budget we are given. As a political party, I

:42:59.:43:04.

believe that power is where we need to be. Thank you for joining us.

:43:04.:43:08.

That is it from all of us at the Waterfront Hall. If you want some

:43:08.:43:12.

more politics, join Mark Devenport on BBC Radio Ulster tomorrow at 9

:43:12.:43:16.

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