Conference vox pop
Sinéad Ní Chulacháin: Dublin Central:
"Our policies are being set out now and we're not just reacting in opposition and that's the big difference. There is a great buzz in the party itself and there are so many new members." When Pat Rabbitte became leader it created an enthusiasm, she said.
"There's a whole new wave of people now and it started with him and has continued," Ms Ní Chulacháin said. The crises in health and education seemed to be the issues that people were most concerned about.
Carl Fox: Trinity College Dublin branch:
"There's a really positive mood all over the country and now it's not just the party being critical, we're bringing positive policies," he said."We here on the ground have been working and we are extremely optimistic about bringing the party into Government."
Bertie McSweeney: Cork North Central:
"I'm a long-time member of the party and there is a fresh momentum there now," he said. "The mood is quite good and there are a lot of new faces."
Mary Flynn: Ranelagh, Dublin:
"We're putting together our policies in a cohesive way and looking at how we will address the issues. We're pulling it all together," she said. One of the issues that had to be addressed was giving the community facilities and infrastructure and, for instance, not putting a new hospital miles away from the people who need it just because the Government decided on a piece of land.
John King: Meath East:
He thought the mood was "seriously upbeat". "I think it's due to an increasing awareness of the issues and people are tired of Fianna Fáil and the PDs. Pat Rabbitte has made a difference, too. Things have become consolidated and he pulled the whole act together in a way that's meaningful to ordinary people," he said.
Pat Gill: Tipperary North:
He said people now wanted change and were pretty fed up with the present Government. "I think there's going to be a good few combinations in the new government but we are going to be part of the next government," he said.
Jimmy Whelan: Amicus branch:
He said the conference would show which direction they would be taking. "It will allow the electorate to see what we're made of instead of always hearing what we're against. We're focusing on the election and we have a lot of newer candidates. There's an air of optimism." He added that things had not been going too well for the Government.