Cairde Fáil Speech by Úachtarain Fhianna Fáil Micheál Martin

Gabhaim buíochas ó chroí libh as a bheith anseo linn anocht agus gan amhras táim thar a bheith buíoch díbh as an tacaíocht dhílis leanúnach a thugann sibh don pháirtí.

 

Is pribhléid ar leith dom fâilte mhór a chur romhaibh agus sinn ag ceiliúradh arís eile, céad bliain ó bunaíodh Fianna Fáil - an Páirtí Poblachtánach.

 

Ón uair ar bunaíodh ár bpáirtí sa bhliain míle naoi gcéad fiche sé, ó na laethanta tosaigh sin ar aghaidh go dtí an lá atá inniu ann, bhí agus tá fós, an páirtí seo nua-aimseartha, fadradharcach, oscailte.

 

Páirtí a bhí tiomanta do cheannas an stáit in Éirinn.

 

Forbairt gheilleagrach na hÉireann a neartú, seirbhísí sóisialta a chur chun cinn.

 

Stádas guth agus áit láidir na hÉireann a bhaint amach agus a dhaingniú mar chuid den phobal de thíortha idirnáisiúnta.

 

Agus le gach aon rud atá déanta againn, gach aon rud iontach atá bainte amach againn ar son na tíre, bhí ár mbaill, sibhse, baill Fhanna Fail lárnach san obair ar fad.

 

A cháirde,

 

Tackling the issues facing our country today always comes first – but we also have a duty to remember and honour those who went before us.

 

When the great generation of men and women who founded our party came together one hundred years ago, they had a shared determination.

 

They were united in believing that Ireland could and must shape its own future.

 

They rejected the idea that the past must limit future action.

 

They were determined to chart a new way forward for Irish republicanism.

 

They, and those who followed them, built a party which continues to serve the Irish people. And this party is today the largest in both local and national government.

 

Few parties or governments in Europe have existed and remained democratic for the last one hundred years – and fewer still are in government.

 

This is no small achievement.

 

Eamon de Valera will never be surpassed for the number of times his leadership was endorsed by the Irish people. Our founding chairperson, Countess Markiewicz remains an inspiring figure.

 

Names like Lemass, Ryan, O’Kelly, Aiken and many others resonate down to today, because their commitment to a new type of politics remains as relevant as ever.

 

Their work provided the essential foundation for the building of a strong, independent and democratic state.

 

During this centenary year events have been held throughout the country.

 

I want to acknowledge the great work of Shane Moynihan and his special centenary group in making this year so special.

 

The success of these events and our centenary Árd Fheis is also a reminder of how lucky we are as a party to have such a dedicated, creative and hard-working staff.

 

In the many stories about growth and success of the party there is one theme which stands out – everything relied on our broad base of members and supporters.

 

People from all walks of life and in every community.

 

Giving their time and commitment to promote their shared ideals.

 

In those earliest days they faced enormous odds. The unified opposition of the state and media together with having few resources meant that Fianna Fáil was more reliant than any other party on its own members and their ability to talk with, listen and persuade people.

 

The heart of this party remains its thousands of members and supporters.

 

That is how we so regularly defy predictions and how we continue to renew and develop our programmes.

 

To be elected to serve as Úachtarán Fhianna Fáil is a great honour which I am conscious of everyday.

 

Together with colleagues who have the honour to represent you in government, we will always be thankful to you for your support and the tireless work you do on behalf of our party.

 

Last year a special Árd Fheis ratified a new programme for participation in Government. We’re still in the early stages of the government and next week we will introduce the second of five budgets.

 

We reassert our objectives in government and set a context for the hundreds of individual decisions government makes every week.

 

Seán Lemass said that government is about being able to deal with very different challenges: the mundane, the urgent and the long-term.

 

The architect of Irish economic progress even said that he probably spent more time preventing bad things from happening the public than on the major changes he is remembered for.

 

Today we are, as we were founded to be, a progressive democratic republican party.

 

We want good public services and an economy strong enough to pay for them.

 

We believe in a state which is responsive to the needs of the Irish people and not some rigid ideology.

 

And we believe in an Ireland which works actively with others to get through major challenges.

 

So, in government we are working to steadily implement permanent developments in critical social and economic areas.

 

We are responding to dramatic development, particularly those which impact on costs of living.

 

And we are acting on every possible front to protect Ireland’s interests and values.

 

Let me just mention a few of the areas where we are working to deliver radical, long-term developments.

 

Our commitment to education is as strong as ever. Every major expansion in education has come from Fianna Fáil.

 

The figures are undeniable. Since we returned to government there are over 9,000 more teachers and 10,000 more special needs assistants are working in our schools – delivering smaller classes and help for pupils with special needs.

 

And its having an impact - ensuring that Ireland is now ranked near the top internationally for critical reading and mathematics skills.

 

But what we are also doing is creating the first ever national system of childcare support. And this is no small matter. Today over 277,000 children are benefitting from state-supported childcare places.

 

That’s a deep and ongoing commitment to helping families and children at a key stage of their lives – and it will be followed-up next year by further action on childcare.

 

Building the homes our people need is a defining challenge of our time. To get to where we need to be demands relentless and sustained work. Action like reforming the law, training a skilled workforce, investing in utilities and directly supporting people in the diverse rental, social and private owner sectors.

 

It is amongst the most diverse and challenging issues and that’s exactly why we have taken it on.

 

We believe in tackling the toughest problems head-on and we are showing real progress.

 

Brick by brick we are putting in place a step-change in home construction.

 

The facts show the impact of our sustained determination to get homes built.

 

Ireland now has the fastest rate of homebuilding in Europe.

 

Within this, the number of new homes going to first-time buyers is up significantly and is continuing to increase because of a range of supports we have introduced.

 

This did not happen by accident.

We have also begun a new era in social housing – with over 10,000 social homes being completed this year alone.

 

Its impact is very real and very personal for families throughout the country.

 

Tonight, there are well over 350,000 people living in homes which didn’t exist when we took up the challenge of delivering on housing.

 

Things are moving, but they have much further to go. The relentless pace of reform and investment has to continue, and we are determined that it will.

 

We’re also delivering transformative work on building understanding and connection between all parts of our island.

 

The Shared Island Initiative is unique in our island’s history because it is a sustained investment in addressing connectivity across the island and shared interests.

 

It represents unprecedented investment in air, road, rail, environmental, research, business, education, culture and other links. It is building bridges between communities and between North and South. This is the real and hard work of creating a shared future.

 

It’s the work of breaking old cycles and creating a new way forward.

 

As we have seen in recent days, the work of peace and reconciliation cannot be taken for granted.

 

Absolutely nobody benefits from the reopening of the dispute over the parade on the Garvaghy Road.

 

Nobody’s tradition is being strengthened, and no long-term interest is being served.

 

Dialogue is the only way forward.

 

I don’t believe that we are being threatened with a return to the old days of conflict – but it does show how much more needs to be done to get beyond old divisions.

 

The Good Friday Agreement is one of the most important achievements of Fianna Fáil’s century of political life.

 

It reflected the determination, first set out 70 years ago in a paper by de Valera and Lemass to the Parliamentary Party, to find a new way forward for this island.

 

It was brought forward with vigour, determination and imagination by Charles Haughey, Albert Reynolds and Bertie Ahern.

 

The Agreement demands compromise and engagement. It rejects the idea that there can be any progress through just singing the old songs and expecting others to change.

 

It deals in depth with the critical three relationships within and between these islands which have to be managed irrespective of the constitutional situation.

 

Fianna Fáil believes in a unity which is inclusive, respects diversity and can both secure and sustain the prosperity of all.

 

Unfortunately, there are parties who seem to believe that unity can be achieved by demanding that others make it happen.

 

They expect old strategies to suddenly start working and ignore the need to build connections and understanding.

 

We are taking up the challenge of delivering permanent change – and understand that a much broader and credible approach is necessary.

 

In government, delivering long-term progress for Ireland is our priority.

 

Transformative investment is renewing our schools, building new hospitals, modernising basic services, developing long-neglected North/South connections and creating a new transport system.

 

And we also understand the need to address urgent concerns. The first of these is helping families and businesses to get through a period of rising costs.

 

Many of the reasons for the sustained pressure on key prices are international and getting those prices down requires international action. That is why it has been important for us to deliver extra supports.

 

We’ve ensured that the most vulnerable in society have seen their incomes protected. Pensions and social protection payments have been a priority for us and they continue to be.

We’ve delivered real term increases in these critical payments, and we will continue to do so.

 

We will also deliver tax changes which benefit all families as an important recognition of the need to maintain a progressive tax system which rewards work.

 

The impact of fuel and energy price rises linked to Russia’s war against Ukraine and the recent conflict in the Middle East has been felt by everyone. We have acted to protect jobs and incomes.

 

And we are also driving forward the only way of lessening the impact on Ireland of disruptions in oil and gas supplies – which is the transition to secure, renewable energy.

 

Yes, this is central to addressing dramatic environmental threats – but it is also essential for a secure, renewable and affordable energy supply on a permanent basis.

 

In next week’s Budget we will announce measures which will again help with critical costs and invest in both immediate and long-term solutions.

 

In doing this, we have to find a balance between meeting as many needs as possible while also protecting our economic and budgetary position.

 

As we saw this week when the opposition parties released their Budget proposals, their approach is to just keep shouting ‘more’ and ignoring all of the consequences.

 

They are yet again cynically pretending that there are no hard choices and that there are a mythical small group of people who can pay for everything and leave you untouched.

They have opted out of a serious debate.

 

We very much acknowledge that the Fiscal Advisory Council and serious commentaries have warned about economic and revenue vulnerabilities – particularly the risk of relying too heavily on uncertain Corporation Tax returns.

 

We take these warnings seriously, and we are working to find a balance which is still sustainable but allows the ability to respond to urgent issues.

 

We also value the work of public servants and the need to secure good incomes for people we all rely on.

 

In terms of the tens of thousands of new positions, we have created, and the pay deals we’ve reached, we have shown time and again that we reject the anti-public service approach which has often appeared in other countries.

 

The history of the growth of employment and living standards in Ireland’s public services is entirely linked to a commitment to deep and ongoing discussion and partnership.

 

An extended dispute in the public services will benefit no one. Negotiation is the best and only route forward.

 

Transforming areas like childcare supports, critical infrastructure and access to public services are at the core of our party’s work in government – as is our commitment to helping people with urgent challenges.

 

In this we are being true to the core ideals of our party.

 

And the same applies to our work to tackle international challenges through deep and active cooperation with others.

 

As they struggled to assert the political and economic sovereignty of Ireland Eamon de Valera and Seán Lemass put relations with other states as a priority.

 

They developed Fianna Fáil’s unique tradition of insisting that to be secure and prosper we must be active in international fora and debates.

 

As early as 1928 they circulated a memo to our Árd Comháirle about the issue of a European customs union.

 

De Valera’s insistence that respect for international law and institutions be at the heart of our constitution came at a time when the far right and far left threatened these very values.

 

And as the flames of the World War were ebbing, Lemass addressed the international community gathered in Paris and said:

 

“We cannot recover the prosperity we seek or win for our people the high and rising standard of living we wish them to have merely by the temporary patching up of our own national economies.”

This belief in building shared prosperity and overcoming crises in partnership with other democratic states has been a defining feature of Fianna Fáil and it will always be at the centre of our work.

 

That is why we are making sure that we deliver a European Presidency which is active, positive and focused on delivering long-term action for the citizens of Europe.

 

It is also why we will always stand resolutely with the people of Ukraine and their struggle to survive and have a democratic, European future.

 

We reject the call of some people to withdraw support from Ukraine.

 

We will not support consigning the people of Ukraine to the control of Putin’s murderous regime.

 

And we are proud to lead a government which is known throughout the world for the strength and consistency of its support for the Palestinian people.

 

We will always oppose the systematic denial of their right to self determination and the genocidal destruction they are faced with.

 

The great generation which founded our party had sacrificed much in its youth and had lost friends and family in the struggle for independence and an Irish republic.

 

One hundred years later the achievements which they enabled are beyond anything they could have imagined.

 

Actions which have helped to transform what was then the poorest country in Europe.

 

Two and a half million more people live here and there are one and a half million more jobs.

 

We can look at this with pride, but what matters most are the values and ideas which enabled this progress and which remain key to our future.

 

A belief in tackling the toughest challenges.

 

Addressing urgent needs.

 

Securing Ireland’s interests and promoting its values.

 

Always working to move Ireland forward.

 

Today and always, this is what lies at the heart of our work.