The following is an edited version of the speech by the president of Sinn Féin, Mr Gerry Adams, to the party rally in the Gresham Hotel:
A lot has happened in the last decade. Ten years ago there was a sustained effort to marginalise Irish republicanism.
Our members, their families and elected representatives were the target of loyalist death squads, acting in many cases at the behest of British government intelligence agencies.
Ten years ago corruption was rife among sections of the political elite in this State. But in the midst of all of this ordinary people remained sound.
Communities opened their community centres to us. They were heavily criticised back then. Many were bullied, all were vilified, some were threatened with the loss of funding.
But 10 years later who was right?
Those political leaders who obstructed the development of the peace process, who actively thwarted the efforts for peace, or the ordinary people?
Many of those same politicians are still pushing the old agenda, still telling people not to vote for Sinn Féin.
Some, to their shame, are even falling back on allegations and accusations first dreamed up by British intelligence and subsequently used to excuse the killing of republicans and our families.
But they are not telling people why to vote for them. They are running a negative campaign against Sinn Féin. Why? Because they don't want to talk about the real issues.
Because they are afraid of the radical alternatives republicans are presenting. They are not afraid of us. It is the people they fear.
Some of those who are saying we can't be trusted are the same ones commending us for our stewardship of the peace process.
Empowering People
The election issues are clear cut - health, childcare, housing, rural redevelopment, the peace process, the island's future, the Nice Treaty and a fairer and more equitable distribution of the wealth created by the Celtic Tiger economy.
Persuading unionists
The challenge to unionists should not be underestimated by republicans. But neither should unionists ignore the fact that they represent 20 per cent of the island's population.
The Good Friday agreement is a compromise between conflicting positions. Bedding it down, implementing it fully, and stabilising the peace process is the immediate short- to mid-term priority for us.
But our goal for an Irish unity that is inclusive, that unionists will feel welcome in, that they are part of, remains as a legitimate and achieveable objective.
Consolidating the Peace Process
If we have done anything in our time it has been to make republicanism increasingly relevant. There is a lot of criticism of our party from all the usual suspects. But if the peace process is to be properly pinned down then the strategy which we have developed and employed needs to be validated.
Creating change
Transforming society also means bringing about real social and economic change. The last 10 years have seen unprecedented economic growth.
We welcome the fact that there is greater prosperity, that more people are working, the end to generations of forced emigration. It is also a good thing that people from other countries can live here.
But the unprecedented growth has slowed down. It remains to be seen if this slowdown can be halted and reversed.
One thing is certain. For those on average or below-average incomes the slowdown is already a reality.
And that is the real legacy of this Government and its predecessor, the rainbow coalition. They have actually widened the gap between rich and poor and between men and women in every single budget.
The interests they represent, even though there are decent people involved in all of these parties, are the interests of the well off.
So, the wealth of the boom years, a wealth that has been created in the main by PAYE workers, has not been utilised for the public good. It has not been put into public services.
The state we are in
Despite accelerating economic growth since 1997:
• a quarter of children and a fifth of adults are in households with less than half average incomes.
• a United Nations report found that we have the most unequal distribution of wealth of any industrialised state outside the US.
• one in four women raising children on their own experience poverty.
• while there are now many more women at work than ever before, women are over-represented among those on the minimum wage, and in the area of part-time work.
Already, we hear voices calling for belt-tightening and fiscal rectitude, the chorus that in the past meant cuts for the low paid and those on social welfare.
Those on lower incomes have seen neither the substantial direct gain in wages nor the improved services which they need at a time of economic uncertainty.
The quality of this Government is reflected in the ineffectiveness and blandness of the Opposition. And this is not down only to the ability or lack of it on the Opposition benches: it is because of the sameness of the common ideological position of all of them.
Building an Ireland of equals
We want an economy where those who work do so in the knowledge that they can afford housing, afford to be ill and be assured about their children's education.
Sinn Féin retains the commitment to public service and idealism which others have lost. We are not concerned with the trappings of office.
Sinn Féin's priorities are:
A full review of the income-tax system, to be completed and implemented within the lifetime of the next government.
Our focus is to create an equitable tax system. Pending this, existing tax bands should be retained, with the exception of those on a minimum wage.
We propose the complete removal of all those earning the minimum wage from the tax net in the first year of the next Dáil.
We will seek to close tax loopholes that have allowed the very rich to avoid paying even 20 per cent tax.
A review of spending and a refocus on health, education and infrastructure.
Affordable, accessible quality childcare, using tax credits and the availability of community-based after-school care.
Indigenous industries should receive the same aid as foreign companies.
It is a disgrace that local business people cannot get help on the same level as fly-by-night speculators who have no real stake in this country and who follow the cheapest labour market.
Scrapping the two-tier health service: it is a scandal that we have first-class and second-class hospital patients.
Private healthcare is subsidised while those on public waiting lists get second-class treatment. Consultants are being paid from the public purse for treating public patients while at the same time they profit from the thriving private health business.
This system is neither fair or efficient. This Government's current Health Strategy, despite the positive elements in it, continues that approach.
If that means taking on the vested interests of the most powerful minority, the consultants, then this must be done.
Sinn Féin is for free healthcare, including GP care, hospital care, medication funded from general taxation.
We propose ending the public subsidising of private hospitals and the establishment of a single waiting list based on need and not ability to pay.
Medical card eligibility should be extended to all those on or below the minimum wage and to all under-18s.
An effective housing strategy
We have been in the depths of a housing crisis since this Government came into office, caused by a lack of social housing.
Since 1996 the number on local authority waiting lists has risen by 43 per cent.
In addition, private house prices increased by 15 per cent in 2000, and people in private rented accommodation increasingly face poor living conditions, high rents and no proper security of tenure.
We propose setting targets for the elimination of local authority waiting lists. Specially this would mean providing 70 per cent of applicants with suitable accommodation within two years.
We support a statutory ceiling on the price of land zoned for housing and statutory control of rents in the private rented sector.
A programme for rural regeneration: across Ireland rural communities are disappearing.
To tackle rural decline Sinn Féin favours a co-ordinated strategic approach.
Sinn Féin also supports a return to a sustainable practice of local quality produce for local markets.
This should be combined with support mechanisms to keep people on the land, create ancillary employment and prevent rural depopulation.
A funding initiative to promote organic farming. An all-Ireland strategy to promote animal health and consumer confidence in Irish products.
Access to long-term finance at reduced interest rates to address the serious shortfall in the number of young farmers.
EU and the Nice Treaty
The electorate rejected Nice, but the government has failed to respect their democratically expressed will.
The Government is now stating that it will produce a declaration on Irish neutrality from EU leaders in advance of a new referendum.
However, this would have no standing in law. People would still be expected to ratify exactly the same document.
Irish neutrality should be enshrined in Irish law.
Sinn Féin wants to see the EU becoming a partnership of equal states.
We welcome EU enlargement to include new member-states if that is the wish of their peoples. We want to be able to relate to the rest of the world on our own terms and not as part of a giant EU state.
Coalition
There has been a lot of debate recently regarding the formation of the next government and the attitude of the various conservative parties to Sinn Féin's position in any future administration.
We have also seen a small number of gardaí in Kerry engage in a vicious campaign of harassment against our candidate in North Kerry, Martin Ferris.
All of this is clearly part of a negative campaign against Sinn Féin aimed at adversely effecting our potential in the general election.
Specifically, in an election where Sinn Féin will win or lose seats on handfuls of votes, mainly transfers, it is a deliberate attempt to persuade sections of the electorate not to transfer to Sinn Féin candidates.
Let me be very clear. I am very proud of Martin Ferris. I am proud to have him standing for Sinn Féin in North Kerry.
I am proud of the record of this party in standing shoulder to shoulder with communities threatened by the scourge of drugs.
We have no apologies to make. To label this work as vigilantism is a gross misrepresentation of the community's right to stand up for itself and our vulnerable members, particularly our young people.
It is also a misrepresentation to suggest that we are doing the work of the Garda.
Sinn Féin has no ambition to be a police service. We have enough to do. That is not our job.
Our job is to work with the Garda Síochána and others to ensure that criminality can be effectively tackled.
In Kerry that means a task force approach, similar to the approach in Dublin, which saw the Garda, statutory and voluntary and community groups come together to tackle the drugs problem.
It means more resources made available to these agencies and groups, including the Garda.
It also means introducing reforms to policing that make the Garda more accountable, for example, the appointment of an ombudsman.
We have as much right as any other party to enter into coalition. The question for Sinn Féin is whether there are any potential partners who support building a more equitable and just society.
If the electorate places Sinn Féin in a position of strength then this should be respected.
For our part Sinn Féin will hold a special conference following the election to decide.