As it happened: Sinn Féin leader's Ard Fheis speech

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) cannot stop change in Northern Ireland, the Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said.

Speaking at her party's first ard fheis in two years, she said the "days of [unionist] domination are over - this new generation is moving on together".

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She added: "Those who hanker for the past, who disrupt the present and who threaten our future need to realise that there is no going back."

She also told the Irish government it must immediately start preparing for Irish unification.

Read more: DUP cannot stop change, says Sinn Féin leader McDonald

Sinn Féin's leader Mary Lou McDonald closes her speech on a pledge for unity "in our time".

"The cynics and critics say it can’t be done - they’re wrong," she tells party members.

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Ms McDonald says those who dismiss the idea of a united Ireland are "stuck at yesterday" and "we strive for tomorrow".

"This is the time - our time. Let’s change Ireland, together and for each other."

The onus is on the Irish government to prepare for a referendum on a united Ireland, says Mary Lou McDonald.

She says Northern Ireland's centenary "is the time to end partition, not to celebrate it".

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Turning to the UK government's proposal to ban all Troubles-related prosecutions, she says it has "no support" in Ireland or internationally.

She says Sinn Féin will start a "people's conversation" about a united Ireland in January 2022.

"It is time for Irish unity. Planning and preparation must start now."

The Irish government must take on "large corporate polluters" in order to combat climate change, says Mary Lou McDonald.

There needs to be more than "individual action" and people must be incentivised to reduce their emissions," adds the Sinn Féin leader.

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She also calls for investment in public transport and support for farming families.

"Climate action and social justice must go together to make people’s lives better and more secure."

Childcare costs will be cut by two-thirds within two years under a Sinn Féin government, says Mary Lou McDonald.

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She also pledges to improve pay and conditions for childcare workers.

"Childcare costs for many families are equivalent of a second mortgage," says the party leader, adding: "These costs must come down substantially and quickly."

Mary Lou McDonald promises that with Sinn Féin in government there would be cuts to housing rental costs and a three-year ban on rent increases.

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She says her party would build social and affordable housing "on a massive scale", strengthen tenants' rights and end "sweetheart tax deals".

"We will put manners on the vultures, the investors and the cuckoo funds."

A Sinn Féin government in the Republic of Ireland would build an all-Ireland health service and guarantee the right to right on a state pension at 65, says Mary Lou McDonald.

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The party leader promises a "government that starts at the start" to get the "basics right".

It would focus on health, social and affordable housing and the cost of living.

"I want to lead as taoiseach if you give us that chance," says Ms McDonald.

Michelle O'Neill will be put forward for first minister if Sinn Féin becomes the largest party in the next Stormont assembly election, says Mary Lou McDonald.

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The Sinn Féin president says the party is preparing for that poll next May and "the days of 'Fenians need not apply' are over".

She says the DUP must "respect the democratic decision of the people".

Turning to politics in Northern Ireland, Mary Lou McDonald says unionists have lost the electoral majority, meaning the "days of domination are over".

"Those who hanker for the past, who disrupt the present and who threaten our future need to realise that there is no going back," says the Sinn Féin leader.

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She refers to the Democratic Unionist Party's (DUP) boycott of North South Ministerial Council meetings and attempts to "scupper" the Northern Ireland Protocol, put in place as a result of the Brexit deal.

She says Irish language laws and abortion services in Northern Ireland are long overdue.

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Mary Lou McDonald says she has heard those who urged her "again and again" to run more candidates in the next general election in the Republic of Ireland.

"I hear you loud and clear because, friends, the time for change is now," says the Sinn Féin president.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been in government in the Republic of Ireland "for far too long", says Mary Lou McDonald.

"Things were bad enough when these parties pretended to oppose each other," she tells Sinn Féin members (below).

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"But by God things have gone to the dogs since the boys clubbed together."

She says the two parties have "no answers to the big questions", and adds: "Let's call time on their century-old stranglehold on power."

Mary Lou McDonald pledges that a Sinn Féin government "will show up".

She promises "decent" wages and working conditions and "services and supports for every citizen".

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"Mental health and disability provision aren't luxuries - they are the basics," says the party president.

She states that Sinn Féin "will never surrender" Dublin to "property developers and profiteers".

She also calls on the government to give 100% redress to families in the Republic of Ireland whose homes are crumbling because they were made from mica and pyrite.

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald opens her speech at Dublin City University by telling party members it's "great to be with you all again in my hometown".

"I missed you - Covid separated us."

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She thanks key workers who kept people safe throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

She praises "heroic" healthcare staff and carers, shop workers, cleaners, teachers and bus and lorry drivers who worked "tirelessly to get us through".

"We’ll never forget those who show up for us when it counts," she says.

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Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald is introduced by North Belfast MP John Finucane and she takes her place at the lectern as party members applaud.

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Sinn Féin members at the ard fheis have voted overwhelmingly to end their long-standing opposition to all non-jury trials at the Republic of Ireland's Special Criminal Court.

Ms McDonald has said that as a politician who represented a constituency affected by gangland crime she recognised there was a "need in exceptional circumstances" for such trials.

Sinn Féin members attending this ard fheis are in a confident mood with the party riding high in the polls in both jurisdictions on the island of Ireland.

But members will also be aware that ahead of the next Northern Ireland Assembly election there are a number of unresolved issues that threaten the future of devolution.

Those include the negotiations between the UK and the EU over the Brexit-related Northern Ireland Protocol, which creates a trade border in the Irish Sea.

Unionists believe the protocol diminishes their sense of Britishness.

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Sinn Féin, like other parties in Northern Ireland, has expressed its opposition to the UK government's proposals on dealing with legacy of the Troubles, in effect allowing an amnesty on crimes related to that era.

The party is also waiting to see whether the UK government proceeds with legislation in Westminster that will strengthen the position of the Irish language.

South of the border in the Republic of Ireland the party is consistently topping opinion polls, with the three-party coalition government of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens being seen by many as not doing enough on issues such as housing and health.

Sinn Féin's deputy leader Michelle O'Neill has said the balance of power in Northern Ireland has shifted irreversibly from unionism.

Speaking this morning at the ard fheis, she dismissed unionist leaders' reluctance to indicate whether they would take up the post of deputy first minister after next May's Stormont assembly election.

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Ms O'Neill (above), the deputy first minister at Stormont, told delegates it was the people who would decide.

"The DUP has declared that a Sinn Féin first minister after the next election would give unionism a real problem," she said.

"Let me be crystal clear - the days of 'nationalists need not apply' are gone."

Read more: Balance of power in NI has shifted irreversibly, says O'Neill

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald's speech to her party's first ard fheis (conference) since November 2019.

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Party members have gathered at Dublin City University and they have already heard from their vice-president Michelle O'Neill, the Northern Ireland deputy first minister.

Ms McDonald (above) is due to deliver her address to delegates at 17:00 local time.

You can watch the speech live and we'll also provide a text commentary throughout.