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Sinn F\u00e9in leader Mary Lou McDonald has criticized the leaders of Fine Gael and Fianna F\u00e1il for refusing to meet them for government formation talks.<\/p>\nSinn F\u00e9in leader Mary Lou McDonald has criticized the leaders of Fine Gael and Fianna F\u00e1il for refusing to meet them for government formation talks.<\/p>\n
She was addressing a crowd of up to 500 people gathered at Dublin\u2019s Liberty Hall for the party\u2019s second public meeting aimed at drumming up support for the party to be in Government.<\/p>\n
Ms McDonald received a standing ovation before addressing the crowd.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cSinn F\u00e9in wants real change and I know all of you here want real change.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the first time ever, Fianna F\u00e1il and Fine Gael did not win a majority of votes \u2026 that represents a seismic change.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are trying everything to keep Sinn F\u00e9in and everyone who voted for them out of power. That is a very deliberate tactic.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that she had a message for Leo Varadkar and Miche\u00e1l Martin.<\/p>\n
She said: “I say this: we respect your mandate and now it is time that you respect ours.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it is very clear that we will talk to everybody because that is what adults do. I say to them, listen to the voices of the electorate and understand this \u2013 the vote for change was a vote to get Fianna F\u00e1il and Fine Gael out of government and not to put them back in.<\/p>\n
“This is not a one-off event \u2013 the conversation will continue. I hope Leo Varadkar and the lads get over their fear of public meetings. I read somewhere that it was said that Sinn F\u00e9in are the barbarians at the gate. Well newsflash, the barbarians are through the gate.”<\/p>\n
Ms McDonald has said the party will not be taking part in demonstrations or protests against Fianna F\u00e1il and Fine Gael.<\/p>\n
People Before Profit is holding a demonstration on Saturday March 7 calling for a change to Ireland\u2019s government.<\/p>\n
When asked by a member of People Before Profit in the audience if she would take part in the demonstration, Ms McDonald said: \u201cYou don\u2019t need our permission to go and organize and protest. I would say this to you \u2013 the focus of our work is on negotiations with other parties and, of course, talking to all of you and engaging with you.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to have conversations with all of you but also detailed conversations with other parties, and then it comes down to numbers because this is a numbers game, it is about policy but it is also about political will.\u201d<\/p>\n