“I want to lead as Taoiseach if you give us that chance,” Mary Lou McDonald says

Speaking at her party's Ard Fheis, she said "the writing is on the wall" for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

Mary Lou McDonald has given her presidential address to Sinn Féin's 2021 Ard Fheis, during which she said she wants to lead as Taoiseach. Speaking in Dublin, the Sinn Féin leader hit out Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, stating that "the writing is on the wall" for both parties. She also pledged that her party "can fix housing and healthcare" and "build a fair and resilient economy in which businesses and workers rocked by Covid can recover". "The pandemic exposed the broken system in a partitioned Ireland," McDonald said. "Politics for the few at the expense of the many that brought a housing crisis and rip-off rents, overcrowded hospitals and record waiting lists and a crushing cost of living. "The writing is on the wall for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. They have been in government for far too long. "Now, things were bad enough when these two parties pretended to oppose each other but by god, things have gone to the dogs since the boys clubbed together." She accused Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael of having "no answers to the big questions that affect your life," adding that they are "out of touch, out of ideas and out of time." https://twitter.com/sinnfeinireland/status/1454488589522329613 "Friends, we can unite our country. To make this happen we need a government that shows up for you," she said. "A government for the people and a Taoiseach that puts you and your family first, now and always. "So, to those who have told me, again and again, to be sure to run enough candidates in the next Dáil election, I hear you loud and clear because, friends, the time for change is now." She later added: "Sinn Féin will deliver that government for the people. We want to lead that government. "I want to lead as Taoiseach if you give us that chance." The party leader said that a Sinn Féin Government would "end the housing crisis, build an all-Ireland health service, tackle the cost of living crisis and guarantee your right to retire on a state pension at the age of 65". She also stated now is the time for Irish unity and that "planning and preparation must start now." "We are here to build a new and united Ireland in our time," she said. You can watch McDonald's address below. Clip via Sinn Féin