Ar dtús gabhaim míle buíochas leis na céadta míle duine a chaith vóta san olltoghchán ar son Shinn Féin, ar son athraithe agus ar son Rialtais nua. Déanaim comhghairdeas ó chroí le gach duine sa Teach inniu a toghadh mar Theachta Dála sa Cheathrú Dáil is Tríocha. Is onóir mhór é a bheith tofa ag toghdóirí mo Dháilcheantair agus tá sé i gceist agam mo lándícheall a dhéanamh ar son Bhaile Átha Cliath Láir agus ar son mhuintir na hÉireann. Congratulations also to you, madam Ceann Comhairle. Lá stairiúil atá ann duit féin agus dúinn go léir agus tú tofa mar an chéad bhean riamh le bheith mar Cheann Comhairle na Dála, a first for women again and a welcome one at that, although it was part of the manoeuvrings for the entry back into government of our friends across the way. I cannot welcome that but I wish you very well. And so the election is over and the dust is settling; the job of representation begins. There are 577 people on hospital trolleys today and almost one million people on treatment waiting lists. The stress and trauma of people not able to afford a home of their own persists. Parents of children with special needs and disabilities do daily battle with the system to access services and supports that they so badly need. As we face into Christmas, a time when spirits are high but so too are the costs, families continue to struggle with the cost-of-living crisis that is a source of increasing hardship. Too many children face a Christmas of homelessness and worry whether Santa will be able to find them. The election is over but the real damage, consequences and lost opportunities of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments remain - real and lived. In the election, we championed a new Government, a Government centred on policies and plans that can deliver real improvements in things that matter to ordinary people. The contours of that vision for a better future are shaped by a belief that everyone should have a home of their own, by the determination to make housing affordable, to bring home ownership back into the reach of working people and to restore the hope of a generation. It was shaped by the need to transform our health service, to ensure people get the healthcare and treatment they need, and shaped by the resolve to deliver affordable childcare for families, to meet the cost-of-living crisis head on, to ensure that those on average incomes never again pay USC, to ensure that our young people can build a life at home in Ireland instead of being forced out to seek opportunity abroad. It was shaped by the need to revolutionise services and supports for our citizens living with disabilities, for independent living and rights, and to give a clear unequivocal commitment to scrap the unfair means test for carer's allowance. The election is over but our determination to deliver remains and it is for that reason my party, Sinn Féin, nominated me as Taoiseach today. There is no question of wasting time. There is, in fact, no time to waste. Hundreds of thousands of people voted for real progress and a better future. They voted for Sinn Féin, but not just for us - for other parties, too, who join us in a belief that politics must change and that we need a new Government. Those votes count. Those votes matter. They are the votes of working class communities, of working people, of families and of so, so many young people. They voted for a Government that is on their side and has their backs and they are now disappointed. Some are angry that the same old two will hold on to power again. The Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael partnership is in the driving seat when it comes to Government formation. There is no doubt about that. I have consistently said that the worst possible outcome of the election would be Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael back in government together and I repeat that assertion today. In 2020, Micheál Martin said that Fine Gael back in government is not change.

Sentiment score: 0.04

It is rare, but the Tánaiste was actually right. Consistency did not matter, Micheál, although you have been consistent in this: of recent years you have been hell bent on putting Fine Gael back into Government. This time, you hope for another five years, to copper-fasten and lead to 19 years of Fine Gael in power. The Tánaiste is so committed to that particular goal that he will not even countenance talking to Sinn Féin, the second-largest party in this Dáil and, it must be remembered, the largest political party on the island of Ireland. In so doing, he refused to recognise the vote of every person who voted for Sinn Féin as equal to those who voted for Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael-----

Sentiment score: 0.12

-----or indeed for anyone else, that their voices are equal, that their views are equal, that their hopes for the future are equal and that there are no second-class mandates and certainly no second-class voters.

Sentiment score: 0.20

There is no reason to believe that, having caused a housing crisis and made it worse, having sustained a crisis in health, having failed to deliver for working people, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, its junior partner, are in any position to straighten matters out. The parties that created these problems are not going to solve them. It is as simple as that. I was alarmed this morning to hear, as I went innocently about my business in my kitchen, Members from Government benches on the airwaves congratulating themselves on their performance in housing and health over the past five years. Let us be very clear. No amount of back slapping or plámás can hide your failures because people live with them. Yours is a partnership designed to cling to power at all costs and to preserve the status quo for as long as you possibly can. The past five years demonstrated in the sharpest way that the parties that have led Government now for 100 years have run out of steam and have run out of ideas. They remain wedded to broken policies. They dress up their failures as success and then they offer the same worn-out excuses when challenged. All the while, the crises in housing and health and the cost of living have deepened. Spin, soundbites, broken promises and excuses are not the currency of good government. Government is rightly judged on action, delivery and results.

Sentiment score: -0.06

Be aware. Be very aware that you will be judged-----

Sentiment score: 0.00

-----on the big promises you made to get back into power at all costs. History tells us that campaigns are where Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael make their promises and in government is where they break them. It is a tale as old as time itself. We already have sight of what is in store should Micheál Martin and Simon Harris get this deal of theirs over the line with the manful help of Deputy Michael Lowry. What we will have is more of the same. They simply propose to pick up where they left off before the election. The discussions between the two parties, not surprisingly, have centred on the carve-up of power and position. The parties have argued publicly over the role of the rotating Taoiseach, over who gets which ministerial job and over who gets the big meeting rooms in Leinster House. There has been no talk, mind you, of double-digit rent increases or of the nearly 15,000 people who have been made homeless on the watch of those parties. More than 4,000 children are now in emergency accommodation. There has also been no talk of the Capuchin centre in Dublin that ran out of food parcels and vouchers for those in need so fast that its volunteers were left stunned. Those are the fruits of unchecked deprivation and an embedded cost-of-living crisis that leaves working households in real distress. More than that, it reflects the out-of-touch culture of entitlement that defines the centuries-old cosy club of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. There is hope. The political landscape of this State has been transformed irrevocably. All is changed, and changed utterly. The days of the same two parties controlling not just government but also opposition for generations are gone and not coming back. This election confirmed that 2020 was not a flash in the pan and was not simply a once-off election. Whether anyone likes it or not, our party, Sinn Féin, is now a significant and potent force in political life here. We are determined to work with others elected to this Dáil to build and strengthen the alternative to perpetual Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael government. Collectively, we were elected on a mandate of change and we have considerable strength. Our responsibility now is to collaborate and co-operate and to work together in common purpose to advance a platform of progress and force a change of direction from the policies that have wrought crisis, hardship and a denial of opportunity for far too many. We must also do better at convincing and inspiring more people, rallying more people to the vision of a better, fairer and more equal Ireland, and we will do that. I know there is disappointment among a significant portion of the population. It is likely that we will not have the new government and new approach that is so desperately needed. That is politics. That is elections.

Sentiment score: 0.08

That is democracy. I respect everyone who voted in this election. I respect the choices they made on their ballot papers. My message to those who feel downhearted today is simply that it is okay to feel disappointed but they cannot and must not feel defeated. The working people of Ireland are no strangers to adversity. They know better than most that night is darkest just before the dawn. It may a take a little longer for the sun to rise but it will eventually rise on a new day in Ireland. We have not lost hope, not one bit; far from it. Our belief and determination are even stronger because we know that progress is never achieved on a road that is straight and smooth. It is never achieved without facing challenge and adversity along the way. Progress is achieved when you stick to the task, give it your all and carry on when you are tested. So, my friends, we carry on. We carry on certain in the belief that it will not be Fianna Fáil agus Fine Gael forever. The faces and words of those I met on the campaign trail are not simply memories to think on years from now. For me, they are the inspiration that moves me forward today. I am inspired by TJ, an incredible young man with scoliosis who was left on a waiting list so long that his condition became inoperable. He still finds the courage to speak up for others. I am motivated by the young teacher brought to tears as she told me of her frustration at not being able to build the life she wants here in Ireland and seeing so many of her friends forced to leave. I am motivated by the determined anger of student nurses and midwives, and apprentices who know they are being short-changed and want better. I am driven by the humanity and love of the carers who I met everywhere, including the woman in Ballymun who works 24-7, day and night, looking after her son and who has been so badly let down by the State. I am both heartbroken and driven by the courage of Luke, a 22-year-old Dublin man. He has lived through years of homelessness but has worked his way and built his life through it. What an incredible young man. Above all, I am inspired by the kindness, generosity and unwavering optimism of the working people of Ireland. We meet one week from Christmas, a time when we reflect on the past and look to possibilities for the future. I want everyone who wants to see a new Government for working people to know that we are not giving up and we never will because there is too much at stake and too much to be achieved. We will keep going. We will make this journey. We will continue to fight and stand up for working people, and we will have their backs. We will defend and advance the rights of working people, families and communities to a life full of opportunity and hope, achievement and happiness, and prosperity too. That is a future worth believing in. It is worth working for and it is a future that we can achieve. Leanfaidh muid ag obair chun tacaíocht a mhealladh ar son rogha eile seachas rialtas faoi cheannas Fhianna Fáil agus Fhine Gael chun go mbainfidh muid lá amach faoi dheireadh le rialtas ar son na cosmhuintire oibre, ar son teaghlaigh agus ar son an phobail. I believe in the path to a new united Ireland. Our country remains partitioned. The road to a better future was never going to be walked easily. I also know that it can be walked, traversed and completed together. Change can run as fast as white waters or slowly, to the pace of a babbling brook, but the waters of history keep flowing, and they flow now. They flow in the direction of a new government for ordinary people and a new era when workers, families and communities truly come first. The change we talked about in the last election can be slowed and frustrated for a time but be very clear that in the end, it will not be stopped. As we meet today at the first gathering of the Thirty-fourth Dáil, we have never been more determined or confident that we, collectively, will get there.

Sentiment score: 0.19