Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)

I am proud and honoured to give my first speech in the Dáil Chamber as a Sinn Féin Deputy. I thank the people of Cork East for putting their faith in me to represent them and their interests. I also thank my family and all those who worked tirelessly to put forward the Sinn Féin alternative platform over the course of the election campaign.

I was elected to stand up for ordinary working people and families, for the unemployed, the sick and the vulnerable. In the course of my campaign I said that there was a better and a fairer way, that there is an alternative to the status quo and that Sinn Féin is that alternative. I believe in Sinn Féin's alternative vision and I will do my utmost to make that vision a reality.

It is my intention to use my time as a Deputy to put forward proposals that are credible, that work and, most of all, that are fair. I intend to stand up for what is right and to fight against what is wrong. As a woman with a family I am acutely aware of the fact that not only are women totally under-represented in politics but also that we have borne the brunt of cutbacks and austerity measures foisted upon us by the previous Government. Last week marked the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day and it is in that spirit that I make a commitment to use my time as a Deputy to stand up for women and to drive forward issues that are relevant to women in Ireland today.

The political system is totally out of date and removed from the ordinary person. We must put people-power back on the agenda. We must ensure that the Government works for the people and not for vested interests. The politics of cronyism is alive and well. Our political system is dominated by middle-aged, middle-class men in suits working for other middle-aged, middle-class men in suits. We need real and radical reform to bring politics back to what it is supposed to be - a system that works for the people and is run by the people.

People throughout the State are suffering. Unemployment is sky-rocketing. Upwards of 100,000 people will be forced to emigrate in the next two years in search of work. In my own constituency unemployment is growing rapidly. Towns such as Youghal, Cobh, Mallow and Mitchelstown are ghosts of what they once were. Whether it is Tytex in Youghal or the beet factory in Mallow, jobs are being haemorrhaged left, right and centre and urgent action must be taken. The new Government must make the creation and retention of jobs its number one priority. The programme for Government is vague in that regard and does not offer much hope for the hundreds of thousands who have found themselves out of work and struggling to cope with rising costs.

We in Sinn Féin have put forward our proposals for job creation. I ask Fine Gael and Labour in particular to take those proposals on board. Our fully costed proposals have the potential to create 160,000 jobs. We would do this through a variety of measures including investing in a jobs stimulus fund, unleashing the potential of growth sectors such as agrifood and constructing essential infrastructure. We have shown that there are solutions and there are ways to get Ireland working.

The people have put their faith in the new Government to get the economy back on track, to make a change. However, change will not be achieved through a change of faces. Real change can only be achieved through policies which work for the people. Fine Gael's flawed policies of cuts, privatisation and attacks on the public sector are reminiscent of the very worst of Fianna Fáil's disastrous tenure in government. The Labour Party, unfortunately, is now part of that coalition for cuts. We in Sinn Féin have pledged to use our position in opposition to hold the Government to account and we will do so as we have done in the past. We will provide a voice for those who have been let down by the political elite and we will continue to put forward our radical alternative and to stand up for the people.

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