Aontú members from across Ireland are gathering today in Portlaoise for the party’s annual Ard Fheis.
The one-day event taking place in the Midlands Park Hotel will see delegates debate over 100 motions and hear party founder and leader Peadar Tóibín make his leader’s address.
Ahead of the event, Mr Tóibín said the Ard Fheis will address fixing the social contract.
He said: “When we were young, in school, our teachers used to say to us, work hard and when you get older you will get a good job.
If you get a good job you will be able to buy a home, provide for your family and have a good life.
“This simple promise has been the basic social contract of society for generations. For hundreds of thousands of families it’s well and truly broken.”
Mr Toibín said hard working families cannot buy houses, 17,000 people are homeless, 300,000 people are in energy arrears, the Government is putting up carbon taxes and also “binning” the Triple Lock.
“The Government is breeching the social contract left, right and centre. On Saturday, Aontú will show why and how the social contract can be fixed,” he said.
Aontú was founded in 2019 by Mr Tóibín after he left Sinn Féin.
In last year’s local elections it increased its councillor from three to eight, and have since had two more join the party.
In the 2024 General Election, the party stood candidates in all 43 constituencies.
That resulted in an increased national first preference vote, but only in two Dáil seats, that of Mr Toibín for Meath West and Paul Lawless for Mayo.
The party also has one senator, Sarah O’ Reilly from Co Cavan, a former poll topping councillor who was elected to the Seanad on the Agricultural Panel.
The Aontú leader’s speech at 6.30pm will be carried live on RTÉ One television and on the RTÉ news channel.