Sinn Féin will fix the housing crisis “once and for all,” the party has said ahead of its Ard Fheis.
This weekend, the main opposition party will meet in Athlone for two days of speeches, policy discussions and media interviews.
Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said it is a time of “real hope and opportunity” for the party.
“It’s about setting out to the public a choice in the next election, it is a clear choice of the continuation of this Government, which means a worsening housing crisis under Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, or a Sinn Féin-led Government that will fix this crisis once and for all,” he said.
“So, it’s a huge opportunity for Sinn Féin delegates to set out the trajectory for Sinn Féin over the next period.”
The party has proposed putting €6.5 billion into the construction industry to build 100,000 new homes and introduce a vacant homes tax.
Next election
In the last election, Sinn Féin won the most votes and won just one seat fewer than Fianna Fáil.
In the aftermath, it seemed like a Sinn Féin-led Government might just be possible - until Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael announced they were forming a coalition together.
“At that time [in 2020], people thought it was a protest vote but actually it was something very different,” Deputy Doherty said.
“People went into the ballot box hoping for change, not really convinced that Sinn Féin could lead the next Government, in my view.
“But things have changed because now they have seen that they didn’t do that alone, they did that when hundreds of thousands of other people were doing the same thing.
“So, now they know that change is possible.”
Sinn Féin’s 2023 Ard Fheis to take place in Athlone
“It is an Ard Fheis all about the future, about hope and opportunity” @PearseDoherty https://t.co/aHt4x6l8YV— Sinn Féin (@sinnfeinireland) November 9, 2023
Opinion polls suggest Sinn Féin has opened up a commanding lead over Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil and Deputy Doherty said the party will continue to emphasise a message of change.
“We know that we have to continue to win the hearts and minds of the Irish people,” he said.
“How do we do that? By showing that we have the leadership in Mary Lou McDonald that is capable of being the next Taoiseach that will provide the change that is required… and that we have the solutions that can bring about the change in terms of ending the housing crisis, dealing with the crisis in health and putting people and families first in terms of our economy.”
A General Election is due either next year or in early 2025 and Deputy Doherty said they are taking “nothing for granted”.
Main image: Pearse Doherty. Image: PA.
