"It's neither fair nor responsible for the Taoiseach of a ramshackle, broken, jaded and divided Government to cling desperately onto power. The people of this country demand change," according to Labour Leader Eamon Gilmore.

"The old mantras that only the market knows best have failed. For Ireland to meet the challenge that confronts us, we need a new mindset in Government. We will not succeed with the mindset of the past thirteen years, that said the economy could be left to the market. The digital and low carbon economy will not happen by accident. They will need an active Government.

"The fact is that if we are to meet our significant economic and social challenges, then we need political change. Not just a change of faces. We need a change of thinking. And a change of attitude.

"Ireland is a small country, on the western edge of Europe, beset by an appalling economic crisis. What we aspire to be, and what we can be, is a thriving, prosperous, trading economy, playing a strong role in the European Union.

"There is a huge gap between where we are, and where we want to be - where we know we can be. Between our present and our future. And that gap is political. We will not bridge that gap with a Government that is obsessed with covering up for its past mistakes.

"Instead, we need a new, and different type of politics and a new and different kind of Government. We need a Government that chases opportunity. That is active and energetic in the pursuit of jobs. We need a Government that is urgent about the tasks of today, because it has a vision of the Ireland of tomorrow.

"We need a politics that sees inequality as a wasted opportunity that none of us can afford. That believes that birth is not destiny. That opportunity in Ireland is for everyone, not just the few.

"We need a politics that unites the country, and moves us forward as One Ireland."