vision

Today, we are all facing great tests, as we have in the past and will again in the future. We have come far in the last few years, further than most ever dreamed we could but now the risk of losing it all looms large.

The challenge that we face is to build a country based on transparency and accountability, equality, growth and prosperity, peace and freedom, for our future and the future that we hand to our children.

We seek to join and surpass our fellow European nations in modernity and celebration of our unique culture and theirs, and resolve the problems of the past by understanding their causes, laying the foundations for a nation with its eyes on a future of abundance, distinguished with pride by the sacrifice and hard work of the citizens of today, making use of the resources we have available to us.

Greatest among these resources are the Irish people, of infamous spirit and unending endurance. We don't plan to work hand in hand with the Irish people to rise to the trials ahead, we are the Irish people, and share their fortunes equally.

All too often, our best and brightest have left our shores for far off lands, separated from their families and homes. Our aim is to work with those who have left and those who are here to prevent more of this sorrowful loss, as president John F Kennedy said to the Dáíl in 1963 "If this nation had achieved its present political and economic stature a century or so ago, my great grandfather might never have left New Ross, and I might, if fortunate, be sitting down there with you."

These words resonate with us today, as we face our greatest challenge in the times ahead, and we must be mindful of past mistakes.

We must therefore ensure that those most deserving of their roles are allowed to succeed, the best are given the space they need to do what they must, and that nobody will by merit of mere birth deny the greater wellbeing of the nation for their own personal gain, making the name of Ireland synonymous with cronyism and corruption which goes ahead of us wherever we travel. By transparency in all things and accountability for decisions made, Ireland can at last realise its great potential.

Together we can make a difference.