Oireachtas Committee gains from inspiring discussion with Senator George Mitchell

In a wide ranging address, Senator Mitchell touched on his current work in the Middle East. He said that as conflict is created and sustained by human beings, it followed that all conflicts could be ended by human beings.

Committee Chair Joanna Tuffy says: “The warm welcome extended to Senator Mitchell from each TD, Senator and MP from Northern Ireland present today is testament to his role as a defining figure in brokering a lasting peace. As Chairman of the talks, his patient, imaginative and practical diplomacy facilitated the brokering of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. In his insightful discussion with us today, he said that all peace processes required endless perseverance and a willingness to reach a principled compromise.    

“Senator Mitchell said that the role of mediator was to establish a context within which reasonable discussion can occur – often simply by listening to long held grievances. While he stressed that the lessons from Northern Ireland could not be easily transposed elsewhere, he emphasised the imperative for strong political leaders who are willing to take risks for peace.

“Touching on our Committee’s role in the implementation of the Agreement, Senator Mitchell outlined the challenges that remain once agreement has been reached. He said that implementation could be a fraught issue once global media attention is no longer focussed on the issue.  He said that few people recognise that full implementation of an agreement is often more difficult and more important that reaching an agreement in the first instance.  Reflecting on the enormous progress since 1998, he recalled his pride at listening to a debate during a recent trip to the Northern Ireland Assembly which underlined the normalisation of democratic debate in Northern Ireland.

“A key priority for the Committee in this phase of work is the issue of Commemoration. We take on board Senator Mitchell’s view that open recognition of proud, as well as painful, history was important and that it would be a profound mistake to suppress memory. We also shared with Senator Mitchell our trips to Northern Ireland and the border region, where we have viewed first-hand progress on reconciliation and community development, cementing the gains from peace in disadvantaged communities blighted during the Troubles.”

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Members of the Committee:
Deputies Seán Conlan,  Seán Crowe, Clare Daly, Regina Doherty, Alan Farrell, Frank Feighan, Martin Ferris, Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, Dominic Hannigan,  Michael P. Kitt, Joe McHugh, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, Joe O’Reilly, Brendan Smith and Joanna Tuffy.
Senators Jim D’Arcy, Maurice Cummins, Martin McAleese, Mary Moran, Mary White.
Chair: Joanna Tuffy, TD Vice-Chair: Joe O'Reilly, TD