Mary Lou McDonald said she does not assume Sinn Féin will “just ride” into the next government – despite it emerging as the most popular political party in recent times.
The Sinn Féin leader said she does not believe the party is “entitled” to step into the role of leading the Government.
Sinn Féin has been riding high in the opinion polls over the last two years, feeding a belief it will be in government after the next general election.
Ms McDonald admits it will take hard work to maintain its boosted support, but said that when the next election comes around, she will make a plea to the Irish public to “give us a chance”.
If the polling data is borne out in the next election, which has to be held before April 2025, then Sinn Féin will be the largest party in the next Dáil.
To sustain and build on the level of support after its historic win in 2020’s election polls would be a “very considerable achievement”, the TD for Dublin Central said.
“That happens because of hard work. That doesn’t happen miraculously. That has happened because the Sinn Féin team have proven their mettle because I lead a very talented group of people, very committed group of people,” Ms McDonald told the PA news agency.
“We work really, really hard. So the job going into 2023 is to keep up that work rate and to keep that connection with people. I take nothing for granted.
“You sometimes see people writing about Sinn Féin and assuming that we will just ride into the next government.
“I make no such assumption. I don’t think that we are entitled just to step into that role.
“I know that we have to work very, very hard to make that happen and when the next election comes, we will say to people as we present our team, present our political platform and programme, we will say to the Irish people, ‘Give us the chance to show to you, to demonstrate to you what good government looks like’.
“There’s a way to go yet.
“I’m very clear three years on from the last election that we’re not going to get the change that we need until we have a change of government and in the area of housing in particular, which was the litmus test for this government.
“We’ve heard the Taoiseach say time and again this is the biggest social challenge – but they won’t call it an emergency.”
The Sinn Féin leader has repeatedly called for a general election to be held before 2025 and has accused the coalition government of trying to delay “real change”.
She has accused the three-party government of failing.
“By every metric, they have failed – record house prices, record rents, record homelessness,” she added.
“That’s what drives us is the knowledge that meanwhile, Nero fiddles and Rome burns, and these are these big social and economic questions that need to be answered.
“That’s why change matters, but it’s because change is necessary to actually start bringing solutions and to start moving things on.”
Ms McDonald said she is also concerned the country’s best and brightest are seeking to build their lives outside of Ireland and feels a “real responsibility” to fix that.
“Every young person should have a fair chance and a fair opportunity to build a good life here in Ireland,” she said.
“If anything animates me personally, that is something that I passionately believe in.
“We need to get this right. We cannot have another generation of forced emigration and yet that’s what’s happening.
“We work hard. Our people are smart, well-educated once given the right opportunities.
“We’re a small island, so we can be agile, and we can be innovative. But currently we’re not playing to all of those trends. I’m really concerned that we are now losing the most precious, the most valuable resource that we have, which is our young people.”
Ms McDonald also said it is time for the country to have its first female taoiseach.
“It’s been a long time coming. I’m the first woman to lead the opposition. But apart from that, it’s not just one single individual, this is to make the kind of change that we envisage, it really is a team effort.”
Reflecting on 2022, the 53-year-old said the highlight of her year was seeing Michelle O’Neill emerge as Northern Ireland First Minister designate after the party’s historic win in May’s elections.
“I just thought that was a phenomenal achievement,” she said.
“I think it was just tremendous that for the first time a republican, a nationalist, a woman from Tyrone becomes First Minister designate.
“It was good for the party and all of that, but I think it was a moment for wider society because it said there is no job, there is no position that you cannot aspire to and everybody has a chance.”
