LAST UPDATE | 24 Apr

AN EMERGENCY MINI-BUDGET is needed now to deal with the cost-of-living crisis, according to Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty.

In his speech to the party conference in Belfast this evening, Doherty said Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael need to “stop talking down to people, stop ignoring them and start acting”. 

He said people “cannot wait” for the next budget and the measures already announced represented a “failure of leadership”.

“Over the past number of weeks, we have seen that reality spill onto the streets,” he said.

“Workers. Families. Farmers. Small businesses. Not because they want to protest but because they are not being heard and instead of listening – what did Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael do? They talked down to people, they belittled them and then they threatened them,” Doherty added. 

He said Fianna Fail and Fine Gael must introduce a mini-budget immediately.

“Not in October, but now, because this crisis is happening right now. An emergency budget that cuts the cost of electricity by delivering energy credits to families, that reduces the tax on fuel, bringing it to affordable levels.

“A social welfare package that supports people who are struggling – carers, older people and disabled people, and a tax cut that will put money back into workers’ pockets.”

The party’s Ard Fheis kicked off today with a Kneecap lyrics workshop, a discussion on standing up for rural Ireland and a debate for and against a united Ireland.

The 2026 Sinn Féin Ard Fheis is taking place in the International Convention and Exhibition Centre (ICC) in Belfast over the next two days. 

Sinn Féin are still the most popular party in Ireland according to the Ipsos B&A polls published by The Irish Times two weeks ago, which puts the party at 26% support.

In the same poll, Fine Gael fell to at a record low, slumping by three points to 16% with Fianna Fáil sitting at 22%.

While the poll results are something Sinn Féin will welcome, the plateauing in the poll results will leave some concerned within the party.

At a time when the government is under enormous pressure, particularly following the fuel protests two weeks ago, questions as to why Sinn Féin can’t move the dial further are likely to be asked this weekend.

Sinn Féin, prior to the general election in 2022, were often described as a government in waiting, with poll results coming in at over 35%, but that momentum appears to not only stalled, but dissipated. 

The party is leaning into the old reliables, such as calls for a border poll, with the party’s vice president and First Minister for Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill stating this week that it is “very conceivable” that a referendum on Irish unity could take place by 2030.

Sinn Féin has “not given up” on the poll taking place by the end of the decade, she said.  With an increasing enthusiasm growing towards learning the Irish language, a interactive workshop will also be held using Kneecap lyrics to facilitate people learning Irish. 

The conference this weekend will also focus on the cost-of-living crisis, something the leading opposition has been hammering the government on for the last number of months. 

While the party voted against the fuel package support put forward by the government in the aftermath of the protests, the party will no doubt be highlighting the rising costs the public are facing, and it is expected to be a key talking point in party leader Mary Lou McDonald’s live televised speech on Saturday. 

The Journal will be bringing you all the latest from the ard fheis in Belfast over the next two days.