Sinn Féin conference: DUP cannot stop change, says McDonald

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) cannot stop change in Northern Ireland, the Sinn Féin leader has said.

Mary Lou McDonald was speaking at the party's first Ard Fheis in two years.

"Those who hanker for the past, who disrupt the present and who threaten our future need to realise that there is no going back," said Ms McDonald.

She also told the Irish government it must start planning and preparation immediately for a referendum on Irish unification.

Earlier, deputy leader Michelle O'Neill said the balance of power in Northern Ireland had shifted irreversibly from unionism.

"The unionist electoral majority is gone," Ms McDonald told the party conference.

"The days of domination are over. This new generation is moving on, together."

The Sinn Féin leader accused the DUP of attempting to "block the change so many people from all communities demand".

Her party is the largest opposition party in the Republic of Ireland, while in Northern Ireland it is part of a five-party coalition government in which it holds the position of deputy first minister.

Ms McDonald said her party was preparing for the next Northern Ireland Assembly election, which is due in May.

"If Sinn Féin emerges as the largest party, we will nominate Michelle O'Neill as first minister," she said.

"The days of treating any citizen or group of citizens as 'less than' or second-class are gone.

"The challenge for the DUP and political unionism is to respect the democratic decision of the people."

During her keynote speech Ms McDonald also criticised the two leading parties in the Irish government.

"The writing is on the wall for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael," she told the conference.

"They are out of touch, out of ideas and out of time."

Ms McDonald, a TD for the Dublin Central constituency, also reiterated Sinn Féin's positions on healthcare, climate change, housing and Irish unity.

On climate change, Ms McDonald called for significant investment in public transport and protection for coastal communities.

"Climate action and social justice must go together to make people's lives better and more secure," she said,

She accused Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael of "cynical politics that seeks to normalise a housing crisis" and pledged that a Sinn Féin government would "fix housing and healthcare".

Describing the partition of Ireland as a catastrophe, Ms McDonald said her party would begin a "people's conversation" on Irish unity from January and called for a citizens' assembly on the topic to be set up.

Speaking earlier on Saturday, Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill dismissed unionist reluctance to indicate whether they would take up the post of deputy first minister after the election.

The deputy first minister told delegates it was the people who would decide.

"The DUP has declared that a Sinn Féin first minister after the next election would give unionism a real problem," she said.

"Well, let me be crystal clear. The days of 'nationalists need not apply' are gone.

"The days of denying abortion rights to women, to LGBT citizens, and Irish language speakers are gone.

"It is for the people to decide the next first minister, not the DUP."

Ms O'Neill said her priority was to work with the other Stormont parties to solve problems.

"People are relying on us to address the crisis in healthcare, in waiting lists and getting access to a GP," she added.

"To support them through the cost-of-living crisis which is hurting every family and household."

During the conference, party members voted overwhelmingly to end their long-standing opposition to all non-jury trials at the Republic of Ireland's Special Criminal Court.

Earlier, on her way into the venue, Ms McDonald had said that, as a TD who represented a constituency affected by gangland crime, she recognised there was a "need in exceptional circumstances" for non-jury trials.

The party said the number of attendees at this year's Ard Fheis would be "reduced substantially from previous years" due to Covid-19 regulations.

It has said strict Covid-19 regulations will be in place at the event.

Everyone attending the event will have to provide proof of vaccination for Covid-19, it added.

Sinn Féin delegates left their Ard Fheis at Dublin City University in buoyant mood, confident they will be in government north and south of the border in the not too distant future.

That would put them in a position to push for their cherished goal - a referendum on Irish unity.

It's a confidence supported by opinion polls in both jurisdictions that indicate the party is the most popular one in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The theme of the day was the need for change and the party leader Mary Lou McDonald mentioned the word 17 times in her 25 minute address.

Neither the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) nor the Ulster Unionist Party has said in the event of a Sinn Féin first minister in Northern Ireland that they would nominate a deputy first minister.

It will be the people, she said, who will decide and not the DUP.

She also pledged that a Sinn Féin government in the Republic would do all in its power to end what she called the "catastrophe" of partition.

While Sinn Féin leaders know they have the wind at their backs at the moment, winds can and do change direction.

So, Mary Lou McDonald ended her conference speech by calling on party members to work harder to bring about a more inclusive united Ireland based on principles of social justice and equality.