Sinn Féin delegates vote against entering government led by Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael
Friday 06 March 2015 22.51
Delegates at the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis have passed a motion saying the party will not go into a government led by Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael.
One of the sections in the programme for the Ard Fheis in Derry centred on the development of the party, the Constitution and rules.
Motion 52 within that section, which was passed unanimously, stated that the party would not enter into a coalition government led by either Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil.
A number of party members, including TD Pearse Doherty, spoke in favour of the motion.
Earlier, Northern Irelands Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness received a standing ovation from delegates after his keynote speech.
Mr McGuinness said political parties had responsibility to address the issue of fatal foetal abnormalities.
His comments come as Sinn Féin prepares to discuss a motion on abortion over the weekend
Looking to the party's political future, Mr McGuinness said the goal was to become biggest party both North and South in 2016.
His speech preceded motions under the heading of "A Republic for All", during which there was massive applause for those who spoke in favour of a motion stating that members of the British monarchy should not be invited to the 1916 commemorations.
That motion, along with the remaining motions in that section, was passed.
Mr McGuinness told the Ard Fheis how he met Sarah Ewart, who asked the Northern Ireland government to allow her have an abortion when she was carrying a baby with fatal foetal abnormalities.
Mr McGuinness said he could see her "heartache" in that meeting.
His address was largely devoted to politics in the North where it has had to swallow cuts and economies in the public sector.
He said that Sinn Féin has been successful and unemployment has been falling month-on-month in the North for two years while Foreign Direct Investment continues to rise.
He said: "Sinn Féin does not do austerity. Others do austerity."
Sinn Féin stands against homophobia, he said, and celebrates the cultural richness that diversity brings.
Party MEP Matt Carthy received a round of applause after stating that "under no circumstances would Sinn Féin want a British Monarch attending events marking 2016".
He said two health systems and taxation regimes on the island of Ireland did not make economic sense.
The party says it expects about 2,000 party supporters to attend the Ard Fheis.
Its Westminster hopeful Gearóid O'Hara claims the venue reflects the fact that Derry is now a Republican city.
Mr O'Hara opened the conference saying the future was about "reaching out to fellow citizens in the Unionist Community with unconditional acceptance of each other".
Delivering a fair society was the title of tonight's opening session encompassing the first 17 motions of the weekend.
Introducing the session, Pearse Doherty reiterated the party's promise to "scrap water charges and home tax".
Criticising Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour decisions while in government, he said Sinn Féin would remove the bank veto, reduce bankruptcy from three years to one and it would address the bank debt.
Aengus Ó Snodaigh targeted the Taoiseach and Tánaiste and accused them of promising tax cuts to the wealthy, while "half a million people have no money left at the end of the week".
He said it was at the same time as people were becoming homeless and waiting for operations on hospital trolleys and chairs.
There will also be sessions on the peace process building Irish unity and the all-island economy but much attention will focus on a motion backing abortion in the case of fatal foetal abnormality.
Last year the party's Ard Fheis rejected a motion calling for its representatives to be allowed to vote according to their consciences on abortion motions.
More recently Sinn Féin abstained on a Dáil motion from Clare Daly on the precise issue of fatal foetal abnormality.
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said later the party did not have a policy on the question and needed to remedy that.
Another motion takes the opposite line insisting that abortion should remain illegal in these cases.
The conference has ended for tonight and begins tomorrow morning with motions on transport investment.
The party is also due to discuss abortion, health, the housing crisis, and the Irish language.
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