A large section of Sinn Fein supporters feel party leadership has “failed to have their backs”, Mary Lou McDonald has admitted.
Ms McDonald made the remarks following a “comprehensive and honest” review of Sinn Fein’s recent electoral performance by the party’s national leadership.
She said the party had “failed to reflect” most people’s views on immigration, while also acknowledging Sinn Fein “got it wrong” by backing the Irish Government’s referenda in March.
More recently, Sinn Fein celebrated successes in the UK general election last week when it became Northern Ireland’s largest party at Westminster level – in terms of both seats and vote share.
However, that came on the back of a disappointing outing in the European and local council elections in the Republic of Ireland in June, where the party performed well below expectations – despite modest gains.
The Sinn Fein leader said the party would take “decisive steps” to prepare for the next general election in the Republic of Ireland.
Speaking to the media after a party meeting in Dublin on Saturday, Ms McDonald said: “Sinn Fein had a disappointing outcome in the recent local and European elections.
“Despite making slight gains, we fell significantly short of our own expectations.”
She added: “We and I, as leader of this party, must acknowledge that for a sizable section of our supporters, there is a belief that we have failed to have their backs and that we didn’t listen to their concerns.
“It’s evident that in the local and European election campaigns, we lost trust and we lost support.
“So I have listened – and we are going to listen every single day – to what those who rely on Sinn Fein are telling us. That has always been our core strength.
“The most recent elections in the North illustrate what we can do when we are at our very best.
“In the local and European elections, we fell short of that standard. We must do better and we will.”
On immigration, Ms McDonald said the party “failed to reflect where most people are at”.
The Sinn Fein leader said the Government’s immigration policy did not make sense, was not transparent, and was unfair.
She said: “Sinn Fein stands firmly against racism. So, too, do the Irish people.
“We are a modern European economy and a strong one. We depend on migrant workers in so many areas of our society, not least our health service.
“Everyone must be treated with dignity with respect and in accordance with human rights standards. That is not in dispute.
“However, the State must also have an immigration policy that makes sense to people, that’s transparent, that’s fair – and that works.
“And at present, that is not the case. We need a system that ensures applications are processed with clear criteria for determining who can come, whether they can work and what support they may receive.”
Ms McDonald said the party must bring “clarity” to what it is offering voters.
She said: “That means offering a crystal clear choice at the next general election between more of the same Fine Gael and Fianna Fail or a new government led by Sinn Fein – and by listening to the concerns of those that we are so proud to represent.”
Ms McDonald said the party “got it wrong” by supporting ‘yes’ votes in the Government’s Family and Care referenda, adding: “We must be big enough to admit that.”
The proposed constitutional amendments that would have extended the meaning of family beyond those defined by marriage and changed an acknowledgement of women’s duties in the home to one about family carers, were overwhelmingly defeated.
She said: “We did what we should never do: We settled for second best. Many in our party and many of those who support our party rightly called us out on this.”
Ms McDonald said the party must be “an unwavering voice for fairness, for decency, and for what’s right”.
