Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

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 an chosmhuintir 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.

See this speech in context