:00:18. > :00:22.continuing coverage of this year's Sinn Fein Ard Fheis. We are in
:00:22. > :00:27.Castlebar. The themes under discussion have included the Irish
:00:27. > :00:33.government's attempts to deal with austerity. Criticism of unionists
:00:33. > :00:37.alleged inward-looking attitude on the Stormont Executive and criticism
:00:37. > :00:41.of dissidents' attempts to wreck the process from the outside. Gerry
:00:41. > :00:51.Adams is marking his 30th year as Sinn Fein President. Last night, he
:00:51. > :00:51.
:00:51. > :01:36.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 44 seconds
:01:36. > :01:42.got, as ever, a rousing reception Sinn Fein, from the USA, from
:01:42. > :01:52.Canada, from Australia, to our comrades in the Basque country,
:01:52. > :02:03.
:02:03. > :02:06.Palestine, Cuba, Britain, and to all from this Ard Fheis to the
:02:06. > :02:16.Palestinian people and to the international community to take
:02:16. > :02:17.
:02:17. > :02:21.decisive action for peace in the Middle East. This week saw the 15th
:02:21. > :02:25.anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Sinn Fein is proud of the
:02:25. > :02:30.pivotal role we played with others in forging that agreement. There
:02:30. > :02:36.would be no peace process, no agreement without the commitment,
:02:36. > :02:46.the initiatives, the political risks taken by Irish republicans. Without
:02:46. > :02:48.
:02:48. > :02:56.the great work of individuals like Des Wilson, Harold Goode and,
:02:56. > :03:00.especially, Father Reid. It isn't a perfect agreement but Sinn Fein did
:03:00. > :03:03.secure the removal of the Government of Ireland Act under which the
:03:03. > :03:13.British Government claimed sovereignty over the North. The
:03:13. > :03:15.
:03:15. > :03:25.agreement provides for a border poll on Irish unity. Sinn Fein is very
:03:25. > :03:37.
:03:37. > :03:41.Nationalist Ireland says yes. It is time to let the people have their
:03:41. > :03:51.say on the future of Ireland. It is time for a referendum on Irish
:03:51. > :04:11.
:04:11. > :04:15.to IRA activists and Sinn Fein councillor Jacqui Clark, this county
:04:15. > :04:25.has a long distinguished Republican history. So it is particularly
:04:25. > :04:35.appropriate that we meet here and prove that the West is, indeed,
:04:35. > :04:59.
:04:59. > :05:03.solidarity and freedom. Sinn Fein has always stood by the people. This
:05:03. > :05:10.Government, like the one before it, has failed the people. Its core
:05:10. > :05:17.values are those of austerity. It has refused to negotiate, refused
:05:17. > :05:27.point plank to negotiate a write-down, it gave away our natural
:05:27. > :05:30.resources including here in Mayo, it tore up the Croke Park Agreement. It
:05:30. > :05:36.cut child benefit, careers' allowance, home help hours. It has
:05:36. > :05:46.no problem putting money, taxpayers' money into the pockets of bankers
:05:46. > :06:00.
:06:00. > :06:09.the banks. They have taken 28 billion out of the economy in taxes
:06:09. > :06:13.and cuts. The cuts, the hospitals, to schools, taxes on pensionings,
:06:13. > :06:18.savings and home -- pensions, savings and homes. In October, this
:06:18. > :06:23.Government will take another 3 billion. The next Year 2.5 billion
:06:23. > :06:29.more. They have little thought for the social consequences of their
:06:29. > :06:32.actions of the divided, unequalled society that they are creating. Of
:06:32. > :06:38.improve Irished communities and families hurting from the scourge of
:06:38. > :06:43.drug and alcohol abuse and suicide. What the bankers, the developers,
:06:43. > :06:49.the politicians who created the mess, they get off scot-free.
:06:49. > :06:55.Despite the election rhetoric from neighbour, this is the best small
:06:55. > :07:05.country in the world for big bankers, crooked developers and
:07:05. > :07:14.
:07:14. > :07:24.promises and commitments, we keep them. Sinn Fein will put manners on
:07:24. > :07:34.
:07:34. > :07:40.the elite and on the "fat cats". property tax. We are against plans
:07:40. > :07:50.to. We will fight this family tax, this tax on the family home
:07:50. > :07:52.
:07:52. > :08:02.tooth-and-nail. We have published legislation to scrap it and, in
:08:02. > :08:07.
:08:07. > :08:15.introduction of water charges. We didn't do it in the North and we
:08:15. > :08:20.will resist any legislation to introduce them here in the South.
:08:20. > :08:29.The only way to rebuild our economy and to rebuild society is to break
:08:29. > :08:32.with the self-serving politics of fin gale, Labour and Fianna Fail.
:08:32. > :08:36.They socialised the debt afterwards. They are taking from those who have
:08:36. > :08:43.least to benefit those who have most. Sinn Fein was right during the
:08:43. > :08:45.era of the Celtic Tiger when we said the wealth should be used to build
:08:45. > :08:49.public services, infrastructure and sustainable jobs. Sinn Fein is right
:08:49. > :08:54.when we say the economy needs growth and jobs. We were right in our
:08:54. > :08:58.demand to burn the bondholders. We are right in our call not to pay the
:08:58. > :09:08.promisery note and we are right to tackle the high pay of politicians
:09:08. > :09:25.
:09:25. > :09:31.tackled. But those with the broadest shoulders must bare the heaviest
:09:31. > :09:36.load. The week, the vulnerable, the least well-off will be protected. If
:09:36. > :09:41.this was a real Republic, working people would not be published for
:09:41. > :09:45.the greed of others. Families would not be punished. Women would not be
:09:45. > :09:49.punished. Children would not be punished. Citizens with disabilities
:09:49. > :09:59.would not be punished. People here in rural Ireland would not be
:09:59. > :10:12.
:10:12. > :10:19.punished. But the poor, especially real rub lick. For Sinn Fein -- real
:10:19. > :10:23.Republic. For Sinn Fein, it doesn't have to be like this. Change is
:10:23. > :10:27.needed now. Sinn Fein is offering a real alternative. We are committing
:10:27. > :10:32.to investing 13 billion euros in job creation and retention. We have
:10:32. > :10:37.presented realistic and costed alternative budget proposals to
:10:37. > :10:45.reduce the deficit, create growth and protect families under financial
:10:45. > :10:49.pressure. The mortgage crisis, a direct result of Fianna Fail policy
:10:49. > :10:53.and this Government's failure to help struggling families. We propose
:10:53. > :10:57.the establishment of an independent mortgage distress body to adjudicate
:10:57. > :11:05.and to enforce agreements on mortgages between banks and mortgage
:11:05. > :11:09.holders. The mark of a real rub lick has to be in the -- Republic has to
:11:09. > :11:13.be in the quality of its public services. These include the right to
:11:13. > :11:16.a home, the right to a job, the right to education, to a health
:11:16. > :11:24.service, from the cradle to the grave, the right to a safe and clean
:11:24. > :11:34.environment, to civil and religious and this is what real democracy
:11:34. > :11:39.
:11:40. > :11:44.public services delivered fairly and paid for by direct taxation. This
:11:44. > :11:48.should include decent childcare facilities at affordable prices, so
:11:48. > :11:58.no matter what Government ministers say no parent should be forced from
:11:58. > :12:06.
:12:06. > :12:09.their job because they earn less visited many rural communities,
:12:09. > :12:15.blighted by unemployment and poverty. In places where our young
:12:15. > :12:23.people should have an opportunity to build their lives. We saw first-hand
:12:23. > :12:27.how immigration is tearing the hearts out of rural families. We met
:12:27. > :12:32.families bereft by the scourge of suicide. Sinn Fein will publish a
:12:32. > :12:42.comprehensive report standing up for rural Ireland. In This report
:12:42. > :12:49.
:12:49. > :12:53.outlines the need to reverse Fianna Fail's need to cut Garda numbers.
:12:53. > :12:57.Creating jobs and investing in our fishing industry is key to ensuring
:12:57. > :13:02.a future for rural communities, especially here in the west of
:13:02. > :13:05.Ireland. But people who live in rural communities also need schools,
:13:05. > :13:11.accessible Health Services, decent infrastructure, public transport,
:13:11. > :13:21.and an end to isolation. We need active regeneration. Across this
:13:21. > :13:31.
:13:31. > :13:33.island, the Irish language needs to be promoted including in the North.
:13:33. > :13:38.Women are among those most shamefully denied their rights under
:13:39. > :13:45.the Conservative culture. Marylou McDonald spoke for everyone
:13:45. > :13:48.on the day the Magdalene Report was published. She said it was time for
:13:48. > :13:56.a full apology to these brave woman. That happened eventually but
:13:56. > :14:06.now they need justice. Victims need justice. This week people across
:14:06. > :14:13.Ireland have moved by the report from the inquest of the Indian lady
:14:13. > :14:23.and the grief and great dignity of her husband. I wish to stand -- I
:14:23. > :14:24.
:14:24. > :14:29.wish to extend my sympathies to the family and its friends. Her death
:14:29. > :14:34.rode into sharp and tragic focus the failure of successive governments to
:14:34. > :14:38.legislate in these situations. The people have spoken and firmly placed
:14:38. > :14:44.the responsibility on our representatives to legislate on this
:14:44. > :14:54.issue. It is time doctors had legal clarity and it is time pregnant
:14:54. > :14:58.
:14:58. > :15:05.women had protection in their lives are at risk. Sinn Fein opposes
:15:05. > :15:09.austerity across the silent. Despite �4 billion of cuts by the British
:15:09. > :15:12.government, the ministerial and Assembly team under Martin
:15:12. > :15:18.McGuinness has prioritised finding money to maintaining frontline
:15:18. > :15:22.services, to protect those on low incomes and assist disadvantaged
:15:22. > :15:26.communities. The so-called welfare reform bill is another example of
:15:26. > :15:36.the English Conservative agenda. Sinn Fein is the deposed to these
:15:36. > :15:41.
:15:41. > :15:45.cuts in exactly the same way. -- Sinn Fein is opposed. We are also
:15:45. > :15:51.working for the transfer of fiscal power to the Assembly and Executive
:15:51. > :15:54.and for the harmonisation of the corporation tax rate across Ireland.
:15:54. > :15:57.The Orange marching season has begun in the North of Ireland and this
:15:57. > :16:01.year sees the added Becks Asian about the flying the flags from
:16:01. > :16:07.public holdings. Playing party politics with these issues is
:16:07. > :16:11.dangerous and counter-productive stop there aren't many genuine
:16:11. > :16:14.loyalists and unionists, including former combatants, working in
:16:14. > :16:23.disadvantaged communities, who realise the risks and dangers
:16:23. > :16:27.involved. They also know that it is the citizens from these
:16:27. > :16:32.disadvantaged communities that but there are the brunt of what happens.
:16:32. > :16:37.We have more in common than they realise and dialogue between them
:16:37. > :16:41.and Sinn Fein is essential and imperative, challenging the witters,
:16:41. > :16:51.or us to build alliances on social and economic issues with
:16:51. > :16:52.
:16:52. > :16:57.working-class Unionist. -- challenging though it is. The
:16:57. > :17:07.Protestant unionist and loyalist people are not going away. And Sinn
:17:07. > :17:11.Fein does not want them to go away. They are part of what we are. We
:17:11. > :17:17.have to get to know each other, we have two get to know each other
:17:17. > :17:27.better and listen to each other and take heed of what is being said. I
:17:27. > :17:27.
:17:27. > :17:31.commit our party to be part of these discussions. We must find solutions
:17:31. > :17:35.to contentious issues and tackle economic disadvantage. That is the
:17:35. > :17:40.only way to build a fairer society and that is what the vast majority
:17:40. > :17:50.of people want. The tiny minorities who advocate violence have been
:17:50. > :18:05.
:18:05. > :18:08.rejected. But there is still work to be done. Work to ensure -- work to
:18:08. > :18:13.ensure that policing is nonpartisan and recent decisions by the Police
:18:13. > :18:23.Service of Northern Ireland has failed this test. There are elements
:18:23. > :18:30.
:18:30. > :18:31.within the Northern Ireland office who are uncomfortable with the new
:18:31. > :18:34.dispensation. A Bill of Rights is long overdue and the continuing
:18:34. > :18:39.imprisonment of Marian Price and Martin Corey is wrong. They should
:18:39. > :18:48.be released. Other work needs to be advanced, including the creation of
:18:48. > :18:50.a victim centre and truth and reconciliation process. Almost 100
:18:50. > :18:55.years ago, the Tan War against British forces was deadly and
:18:55. > :19:02.British, at the suburb or left bitterness and legacy still shapes
:19:02. > :19:05.policy on this island. 77 Republicans were executed during
:19:05. > :19:12.those terrible years. Among them there were six young men from the
:19:12. > :19:19.West. Members of the Free State army of the Garter and civilians died as
:19:19. > :19:26.well. There was never any process of truth and recovery reconciliation
:19:27. > :19:30.after these events. Chewing the recent conflict, Garda and other
:19:30. > :19:39.members of the state forces were killed by Republicans. Republicans
:19:39. > :19:43.were killed as well. During the era of the heavy gang, many citizens
:19:43. > :19:46.were brutally assaulted and innocents were imprisoned. There was
:19:46. > :19:56.collusion between elements of the Irish establishment and the protests
:19:56. > :19:57.
:19:57. > :20:04.system. Friends died and there were bombs in Dublin and Monaghan and
:20:04. > :20:08.Dundalk and elsewhere. All of this needs to be faced up to. Sinn Fein
:20:08. > :20:12.has argued for the establishment of an independent truth commission.
:20:12. > :20:18.Those in leadership across Ireland and Britain need to be part of the
:20:18. > :20:22.process, as do others. There can be no hierarchy of big ones and I and
:20:22. > :20:26.others in the Sinn Fein leadership have met that Dems and victims
:20:27. > :20:32.families. I am prepared to meet with big is families here if they believe
:20:33. > :20:36.it would be helpful and I intend to do this in the near future. Irish
:20:36. > :20:46.republicans will not shrink from our obligations to those who died from
:20:46. > :20:51.
:20:51. > :21:00.the conflict in our country. Ireland is a great country. We are mighty
:21:00. > :21:10.people. We are divided. We are partitioned. Imagine an end to these
:21:10. > :21:11.
:21:11. > :21:15.divisions. Imagine and you agreed Ireland. -- a new agreed Ireland.
:21:15. > :21:22.Imagine a democratically run society in the interests of citizens.
:21:22. > :21:32.Republicanism means equal rights citizens, including citizens in
:21:32. > :21:34.
:21:34. > :21:39.same-sex relationships. For ethnic minorities and for those of all
:21:39. > :21:46.creeds and those of no creed. Are history is complete with challenges
:21:46. > :21:51.of advocacy and great injustice and this is such a time. It is a time
:21:51. > :22:01.for real leadership. A real Labour Party but the principle for real
:22:01. > :22:01.
:22:02. > :22:11.leadership should not be in government with Fine Gael. -- with a
:22:12. > :22:13.
:22:13. > :22:23.principle. If Fine Gael is set on and lamenting the enough for policy,
:22:23. > :22:27.
:22:27. > :22:31.let them do that with the support of the enough ball. Whatever the case
:22:31. > :22:41.for entry into coalition after the last election, there is now only one
:22:41. > :22:46.
:22:46. > :22:56.principal position for Labour. -- the support of the fall. Stand by
:22:56. > :23:06.
:23:06. > :23:09.working people and leave this government and leave it now! We are
:23:09. > :23:17.internationalists and are in solidarity with people in struggle
:23:17. > :23:27.throughout the globe. From this are - I want to send a message to South
:23:27. > :23:36.
:23:36. > :23:42.Africa of love to Nelson Mandela. -- from this are -. Our people have
:23:42. > :23:46.come through a lot. Brave men and women have shown the way. In three
:23:46. > :23:52.years we celebrate the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising. This
:23:52. > :23:58.government is contemplating all dosing the area around were street
:23:58. > :24:00.into the ground in the interests of the private developer. I want to
:24:00. > :24:07.commemorate the families who have highlighted this hugely important
:24:07. > :24:17.issue. Every person with a sense of history or national pride will
:24:17. > :24:24.
:24:24. > :24:29.oppose such shameful act of vandalism. This area of history
:24:29. > :24:36.should be developed as a 1916 revolutionary quarter. What are they
:24:36. > :24:43.ashamed of? The 19 16 lockout showed the spirit of the Dublin working
:24:43. > :24:48.class. They chose to resist rather than submit. They showed the way. In
:24:48. > :24:52.Ireland today, parents defending children with disabilities, and line
:24:52. > :24:56.workers defending each other and vital public services, carers,
:24:56. > :25:01.community workers and health workers, citizens who are standing
:25:01. > :25:06.up for themselves and the elderly, the sick, particularly for young
:25:06. > :25:16.people, they are showing the way. Sinn Fein believes in the people of
:25:16. > :25:23.
:25:23. > :25:32.Ireland. Join us in building and new Republic! -- holding a new Republic.
:25:32. > :25:42.Let us go from here refreshed and renewed to do just that! No going
:25:42. > :25:52.
:25:52. > :25:58.backwards, only four were. -- only forwards.
:25:58. > :26:02.Gerry Adams being given a standing ovation either delegates. There is
:26:02. > :26:07.Martin McGuinness holding his hand and Mary Lou McDonald, the party
:26:07. > :26:11.vice president in the middle. He linked at the end of his speech the
:26:11. > :26:15.struggle of the Irish people a century ago to the struggles they
:26:15. > :26:18.are facing now. It was a wide-ranging speech in which he
:26:19. > :26:24.promised to build alliances with loyalists on social and economic
:26:24. > :26:31.issues, to talk to big ones about the past. He also called on the