'Every election, it's boiled down to Tweedledum or Tweedledee - but there's now huge appetite for change,' says Mary Lou McDonald

"There is a huge appetite for change. There is a huge need for change, and by that we mean a new government," Ms McDonald said.

"In election after election, it has always boiled down really to either Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil, Tweedledum or Tweedledee. On this occasion, there now is a live option for a different government, a new government," Ms McDonald said.

"I think everybody in leadership positions has to work to acknowledge and respect every citizen. As a woman I think it very important that women input in public life and women across society are fully respected in every which way and I would expect the leader of the free world to rise to those standards," she added.

"Just remember, when he was president before, Irish corporate tax receipts, I think, rose by 60pc or something of that quantum. So, I don't think there is for us, economically speaking, anything that we can't manage and mitigate."

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