Irishmen, Irishwomen, children and those who have made Ireland their home, Ireland calls us once again to steer her in the right direction.

For too long, we have stood by and watched her sway off course. Now is the time to stand up together and guide her to a brighter path.

Every year, Ireland receives friends of different nationalities. We hope that her children are accepting of everyone and open up their arms, hearts and minds to them. We hope that her children are not racist. Now is the time to put an end to racism and make everyone feel welcome and safe in our country.

We should never judge a book by its cover but instead respect people for who they are. We shouldn’t make decisions about others until we know them. People should be treated equally, regardless of their skin colour, nationality, religion, whether they are male or female, able-bodied or disabled, gay or straight, traveller or settled, rich or poor. God made us for who we are and loves us all the same.

For years in our society, too many of us have been sleeping on cold footpaths and in doorways with no meal in our stomachs. Communities and the government should come together to provide accommodation and food for those in need. Likewise, clean halting sites should be built around the country for Travellers. The government needs to create a health system where the sick aren’t waiting for treatment and beds they so urgently need. Now is the time to make this scenario our reality.

As well as looking after our people, we must look after our animals. Animals deserve to be treated with care and respect. Animals should not be used for testing medicines, make up or perfumes and should not be hunted for clothes or decoration.

We have not inherited the earth from our ancestors, but borrowed it from our children. No one person is responsible for looking after our environment, we all are. We need to take care of our landscape, our streets, our rivers and our coastline and avoid polluting them.

Ireland has succeeded in providing a great education for the young people of her nation. Our native language is rich and poetic and needs to be nurtured. After receiving their education, many have been forced to look for employment overseas. Now is the time to call them back and encourage them to use their knowledge and expertise to benefit our own recovering economy.

As well as looking after our society, we also need to care of ourselves. We would love to live in an Ireland where people no longer deal or take illegal drugs or harm their health by abusing alcohol or smoking. Gadgets and computers are lots of fun to use, but not all the time. Enjoy the outdoors instead or play board games with your family if it is raining. Take care of yourself by exercising, eating healthily, speaking out if you have a problem, not giving in to peer pressure, keeping clean and being careful on the roads.

We must teach and promote values to our young children that will allow them to once again steer Ireland in the right direction. Now is our time to shine. Keep smiling!