Michael Higgins was inaugurated on Sunday for a second term as president of Ireland, and he vowed to be a "president for all of the Irish people".

Higgins, speaking at the ceremony in Dublin Castle Sunday night, warned that "inequalities are deepening".

"I will, I have emphasized, be a president for all of the Irish people, wherever they may be and in whatever circumstances, those who supported me and those who were not among that number," he said.

"We cannot afford to be complacent as to how we are living our lives and planning our future at local, national, European or global level," said the president.

"Inequalities are deepening and many of our people do not have the necessary securities of adequate housing, shelter, health, education, such securities and supports which would allow them to realize their rights and participate with equality," he said.

Also present at the ceremony were former presidents Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese.

President Higgins was re-elected on Oct. 26 with 56 percent of the vote.

Higgins is the ninth Irish president and also the second president in Ireland, who has been re-elected.

Under the Irish law, the president can not serve more than two terms and each term lasts for seven years.

The 77-year-old Higgins is a famous poet and politician in Ireland. He had served as the president of Labor Party and a government minister in charge of arts and culture in his decades-long political life.

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