‘Sinn Fein are election ready’ – insists Mary Lou McDonald at party Ard Fheis

Addressing the party's Ard Fheis in Athlone this evening, Ms McDonald promised reforms in housing, health, childcare and migration, as she put Sinn Féin on an election footing.

There were criticisms of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, as she promised a Sinn Féin led Government would prioritise workers and families.

Earlier in the day Ms McDonald promised the party was "election ready" and will run more candidates "than ever before".

Her Ard Fheis speech expressed solidarity with Palestine, appealed for ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon and called for sanctions against Israel.

There was a focus on Northern Ireland and reunification in the address.

"By end of this decade, people north and south must have their say," Ms McDonald said.

"The Dublin and London governments can't continue to tread water. It's time to plan and prepare."

She said this means preparing a green paper, or government policy proposal, on Irish unity, as well as establishing a Citizens Assembly on the matter.

A new minister responsible for reunification would be based at the Department of An Taoiseach in a Sinn Féin government, Ms McDonald added.

On the North, she called on the British government to fund critical services and infrastructure, and said "Casement Park must be delivered".

However, much of the speech was delivered with an upcoming general election in the south in mind.

"We will deliver the largest housing programme in the history of the state," she said.

Childcare reforms put forward included a pledge that parents would have to pay "€10 a day per child" as part of a plan Ms McDonald wants to deliver by next September.

Healthcare changes would focus on cutting waiting lists for children with scoliosis and spina bifida, and addressing overcrowding in emergency departments.

On this issue she promised a second accident and emergency department would be established in the Mid-West in the wake of huge criticisms and repeated overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick.

There was pledge to invest €1bn from the recent Apple windfall into communities and a promise to cut the universal social charge (USC) for workers by "abolishing it on the first €45,000 of your income".

"If you are through with bad government, waste of public money, failure to deliver, if you believe in an Ireland where workers, families and communities come first, we want you to know that when the election comes, Sinn Féin is ready," Ms McDonald said.

Speaking to reporters before her speech, Ms McDonald said there is a "real sense of positivity and optimism" among the party membership as selection conventions continue to be run before the election.

"We're election ready, we look forward to the campaign and we're in it to win it," she added.

She said the party would seek to elect a representative in every constituency, adding that it was hoping to win two seats in some electoral areas.