Statement from the Leader of the opposition

Good evening,

Friends, ladies and gentlemen, Conservatives, my fellow Irish men and women. Tonight we mark the official end of an adventure we took together for the past few years in government, two consecutive governments which implemented the Conservative values we were elected to uphold and spread.

And before I thank everyone who deserves all the credit for our extraordinary progress that we’ve made in the past few months, let me just thank the constituency and the good people of Carlow-Kilkenny for offering me the honour of representing them for the third term in a row.

Now friends, while the result of this election was one which we did not intend for, we must be clear that the democratic will of the Irish people can never be wrong and must be followed. And friends, at the end of the day, we still live in a nation which we have built and changed forever, a nation which is stronger, more independent and a nation which stands for our traditional values as Ireland. So, while today might be a sad day for some, in reality it is something which is in many ways bittersweet. We have, finally, some sense of closure and we can be proud of our legacy.

However in this adventure that we took together, one long and rife with struggle, we finally have an outcome which can provide a sense of clarity to the people of Ireland, a coalition government with Aon Éireann at the top. For that, I extend my congratulations to the next Taoiseach of Ireland, ILikePai. He is no doubt over the moon as this is the first time Aon Éireann has ever been in government.

And to that, I pledge on behalf of the Conservative Party to ensure that this transition of government is as seamless and as smooth as possible, and we will work with this new government to ensure that we can work further on topics which we both agree on.

And to those parties who did not do as well as they had hoped, they have nonetheless contributed to this extraordinary exercise of democracy. All Irishmen and women can be proud of the election which took place, and to that we have no regrets. At the end of the day, we can be proud of our record and we can be proud of the Ireland which we have left and that’s all a government can ask for. In our best days, we make the best decisions possible for Ireland and get along with the job, and that’s what we must ask Aon Éireann to do and the coalition as we move into official opposition with the just as important task of offering Irish voters an alternative government.

And this alternative government will be everything this party has stood for in government and in opposition beforehand. Making our economy stronger, making our country safer, standing for our values and beyond all else making sure Ireland remains what it is in its values, the greatest nation in the world. That is our legacy, and friends we will be back. Thank you, may god bless you and may god bless Ireland.

Go raibh maith agat.

UnionistCatholic