THE BRITISH government must stop "dithering" over the devolution crisis and map out a route to resolving the protocol impasse and restoring the executive, Mary Lou McDonald has said.
The Sinn Féin leader was speaking on Saturday as her party gathered for its ard fheis at Dublin's RDS.
Up to 2,000 activists and elected representatives attended the conference, which came 24 hours after Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris rowed back on his commitment to call an election in the continued absence of power-sharing.
Ms McDonald said the British government needed to "immediately bring clarity, a timetable for concluding negotiations with the European Union and the restoration of the executive".
She stressed that whatever next steps the secretary of state decides on, direct rule from London is "not an option".
Elaborating on the ard fheis's theme of 'Time for Change', the the Sinn Féin president noted how a century ago "Ireland was traumatised by partition, divided by bitter civil war".
"A century on, we strive for a nation that honours and learns from its past but is not held back by it," she said.
"This spirit for change was so powerfully expressed in May’s assembly election – Sinn Féin emerged as the largest party."
She said that for the first time a "republican, a nationalist, a woman from Tyrone" was entitled to be first minister in a "state designed to ensure that this could never happen".
"There is no turning back – there is now no job in the land off limits to anyone; the days of second-class citizenship are over," she said.
Ms McDonald said the Tory administration had brought Britain to the "brink of financial ruin" and that they had "no right to tell the people of Ireland how to run ours".
"They attack the Good Friday Agreement – an Agreement that has delivered 25 years of peace, a peace won and defended by our partners Europe, in the United States of America and beyond," she said.
"They disgracefully seek amnesty for their troops and deny victims of the conflict justice.
"They attack the protocol, an agreement that protects livelihoods and our economy
"They care so very little about Ireland."
She said Ireland had "three big opportunities this decade" – reunification, energy independence and the "power of our young people".
The Dublin TD said it was the "end days of partition" and that Ireland was "on the cusp of an historic opportunity".
"Some are apprehensive about Irish unity – I want you to know that in a new Ireland you will be cherished, included, respected as equal citizens," she said.
"This is your place; this is your home; be part of shaping its future."
She urged the current Dublin government to immediately establish a citizens assembly on unity.
"If this government refuses to hear tomorrow coming, if it does not establish a citizens assembly, Sinn Féin in government will," she said.
The Sinn Féin leader said change across the island would mean a "secure, affordable roof over your head".
"It means access to a doctor, to hospital and to care when you need it," she said.
"It means real opportunity, good jobs, decent pay, and the right to retire at sixty-five on a fair pension."
Ms McDonald said the DUP was refusing to "accept the result of an election" and preventing the formation of an executive.
"The people of the north deserve, need, demand a government that works for them – this stalemate cannot continue," she said.
She also took aim at coalition partners Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, who she said were "joined at the hip".
Alluding to next month's scheduled transfer of the taoiseach's role from Micheál Martin to Leo Varadkar, the Sinn Féin leader described it was "political hokey pokey".
"That’s the cosy club that has run this state for a century," she said.
"Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have had their time, had their chance – it’s time for a new government."
Ms McDonald voiced solidarity with the people of Palestine and Ukraine, and acknowledged the "profound grief" caused by last month's tragedy in Creeslough Co Donegal, which claimed the lives of ten people.
"We can only imagine the enormity of your loss... know that you are not alone," she said.
"The nation wraps its arms around you."
