Northern Ireland: Statements

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (Deputy Simon Coveney)

I am very pleased to open these statements on Northern Ireland on behalf of the Government and I look forward to the debate. I know the intention is to have regular quarterly statements on Northern Ireland in the House, a development I very much welcome and support.

The peace process is at a critical phase on a number of fronts. It is important that we regularly consider the issues in this House, and the discussions here will continue to inform the Government’s engagement on Northern Ireland. There has already been a lot of discussion regarding Brexit in the past two weeks. However, the Article 50 negotiations impact very directly on Northern Ireland so I would like to begin with some views on that before turning to the devolved institutions of the Good Friday Agreement and some of the other critical issues relating to the peace process.

The Government has worked intensively and with absolute determination over the past 18 months to build understanding with our EU partners of the unique challenges Brexit presents for the island of Ireland and for the peace process. We are now working through the Article 50 negotiations to ensure that the Good Friday Agreement, in all its parts, and the gains and benefits of the peace process are protected. The Government is very pleased with the unity and solidarity that all of our EU partners have shown with Ireland in the Article 50 negotiations. I again express the Government’s appreciation for the commitment and professionalism of Michel Barnier and his team in working with Ireland to secure an EU objective of protecting our peace process. This is a shared objective with the United Kingdom, which is important.

The joint report achieves the goals we set out to achieve in phase 1. These include the maintenance of the common travel area, the protection of the Good Friday Agreement, in all its parts - including North-South co-operation - and a guarantee from the UK on avoiding a hard border on the island. Crucially, this guarantee is now accompanied, for the first time, by a spelling-out on the part of the UK of how a hard border can be avoided.

The Government believes, as does the European Commission, that these commitments together with those made on the citizens’ rights and financial settlement issues, now constitute sufficient progress in phase 1 of the negotiations. I hope and expect that on Friday, the European Council will agree with that assessment and will allow negotiations to move on to the second phase on the future EU-UK relationship and transitional arrangements. The Irish-specific issues will continue to be worked on in a distinct stream of work in phase 2, in the same way we have seen in phase 1, which will help to ensure that all the commitments set out in the joint report are implemented satisfactorily.

The Government’s approach to dealing with the challenges of Brexit for the peace process has been and will remain guided solely by our responsibility as a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement. We are duty bound and determined to protect the peace that was hard won and the gains of peace and reconciliation that have been built up over the past two decades. As the Taoiseach and I have made clear in recent days, the Irish Government has no hidden agenda and we recognise fully the concerns expressed by the unionist community of Northern Ireland. The Taoiseach confirmed on Friday that there is no question of us exploiting Brexit for any constitutional reasons. On the contrary, the principle of consent is at the heart of our thinking and approach. We also do not want to see a border in the Irish Sea any more than we want to see a border on the island of Ireland. The Government wants to build bridges not borders, as the Taoiseach has repeatedly said. We want reconciliation and respect to grow. Our commitment to that and to upholding and protecting the Good Friday Agreement can be relied on by everyone on this island, nationalist, unionist or neither. The Government is listening carefully to views and concerns across civil society North and South, including through the all-island civic dialogue on Brexit. As part of my engagement in Northern Ireland, I will also continue to meet nationalist and unionist communities and all civil society interests, to hear their perspectives on Brexit. It is a question on which there are real differences of view in Northern Ireland but we cannot allow Brexit to undo any of the progress that has been made in healing the wounds of the Troubles or to hold back the journey to full reconciliation that still has some way to go. The peace process must be bigger than Brexit and all sides need to work together to make that so. The Government will always work to that end and to protect our shared interests, North and South and indeed east and west. The Government is clear that the devolved institutions of the Good Friday Agreement urgently need to operate again. Only the power-sharing Executive and Assembly can adequately represent the interests of Northern Ireland, not only on Brexit but on many other areas also. Only the Executive and the Assembly can effectively address the continuing divisions between communities in Northern Ireland and it is only the Executive and the Assembly that can ensure the delivery of effective and accountable public services for people in Northern Ireland. The Government, as a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, working with the British Government, has spared no effort in facilitating talks to support the formation of a new Executive since the Assembly election last March. However, devolved power-sharing government can only operate on the basis of an agreement reached between the two largest parties. The other parties represented in the Assembly also have a critical role to play and have, indeed, shown great patience to date.

While it is frustrating that there has not, as yet, been an agreement to form a new Executive, it is important to note that significant progress has been made through the several phases of talks this year. The issues under discussion go to the heart of divisions in society in Northern Ireland and agreement on them was always going to be challenging. However, it remains my firm belief that the parties can reach an agreed outcome, which sees the implementation of previous agreements and reflects the core principles of the Good Friday Agreement and power-sharing itself, namely, partnership, equality and mutual respect. There is a moment now when, with a degree of trust, good faith and political leadership by the parties, the opportunity of, and the right to, devolved government in Northern Ireland can be secured again. The North-South Ministerial Council must also resume its work to oversee and develop North-South co-operation, including to deal with the challenges raised on an all-island basis by Brexit. The Government has heard clearly the concerns expressed by both communities at the continuing absence of evident progress on key issues that needs to be urgently addressed. The Taoiseach and I have noted very carefully the concerns expressed by members of the nationalist community in their letter this week. The Government has consistently affirmed its unwavering commitment to the Good Friday Agreement and its determination to secure the effective operation of all of its institutions. The Taoiseach and I will continue to engage with the British Government and the parties in Northern Ireland to give full effect to that commitment.

I remain in regular contact with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and spoke with him at length again this afternoon. We agreed that all concerned must resume and redouble their efforts to get an agreement on a new Executive. There is a must-take opportunity for the parties to get devolved government back on track and delivering for people in Northern Ireland. That will need to happen very early in the new year.

I also reaffirm to Members the Government’s commitment to fully implement the Stormont House Agreement framework to address the legacy issues of the Troubles. This is one of the fundamental next steps for the peace process. It is particularly important for victims and survivors, for wider society in Northern Ireland and for pursuing a deeper reconciliation. At present, the system in Northern Ireland is simply not equipped to deal with the legacy of the past. The needs and the rights of victims and survivors are not being met. In recent months, I have met some of those directly affected by this, including the Kingsmill families and the Ballymurphy families, who still have to struggle and campaign after more than four decades to secure truth and justice for their lost loved ones. I know that there are many such families in Northern Ireland, as well as in the South, who are still waiting for answers and are left in the same unacceptable position.

I am always conscious of the families of those killed in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and other atrocities in this jurisdiction. The Government will continue to pursue the request to the British Government on their behalf, consistent with the unanimous motions adopted by this House. The Stormont House Agreement provides for a comprehensive framework of institutions and services to deal with the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. This framework, including adequately resourced, Article 2-compliant legacy inquests, must now be implemented fully and faithfully.

There was important progress in the talks at Stormont Castle earlier this year. The next step will be a public consultation by the British Government on the draft UK legislation and I hope that can proceed very soon. There should then be a move forward to legislative phases in both jurisdictions, as needed to get the Stormont House Agreement legacy framework established and working in full. The Government is advancing the preparation of the necessary legislation in this jurisdiction. Last month, the Government approved a general scheme for an international crime co-operation Bill 2017, which importantly will, among other things, facilitate the taking of evidence from members of An Garda Síochána by legacy inquests in Northern Ireland. This is a very important development for the Kingsmill families in particular and the Minister for Justice and Equality is advancing further drafting as a priority. This draft legislation demonstrates the Government’s commitment to supporting establishment of the Stormont House Agreement legacy framework. The Government also intends to bring forward legislative proposals to establish in law an independent commission for information retrieval, which is provided for under that agreement and in the 2015 international treaty between Ireland and the United Kingdom.

The Government will continue to engage with the British Government and all the political parties to seek an urgent move forward with legacy issues, by establishing the Stormont House Agreement framework, in order that the legitimate needs of all victims and survivors can be met and in order that we can pursue and deepen the necessary reconciliation process. In concluding, I wish to state that while there are of course challenges at present for Northern Ireland and the peace process, I believe that with leadership and resolve these can be dealt with and overcome in the time ahead.

The Government’s responsibility is to do everything it can to get the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement operating effectively, to make sure that we protect the interests of the island of Ireland through the Article 50 negotiations and to see that the next steps for the peace process are achieved, with the continuing confidence of both communities in Northern Ireland.

The Government will never be found wanting in working to do that and I believe that we can achieve successes in the coming months for the benefit of all of the people of Northern Ireland and across this island. I thank other parties in the context of the Brexit negotiations and what was achieved last week. Not only was the solidarity of other countries and Ministers, as well as the two institutions in the European Union, essential to getting that wording agreed but the solidarity among parties in this House was extremely helpful in doing that. I hope we can have their continued support as we move into phase 2 of this process.

Likewise, I look forward to working with parties in this House in efforts to get the devolved institutions up and running again as soon as we possibly can because the absence of those devolved institutions effectively means the Good Friday Agreement cannot function as it was designed to function and we will be forced to consider triggering other structures on an east-west basis with the British Government which will not provide the kind of governance, decision-making or bridge-building that is needed in Northern Ireland in the future. Parties know exactly what I am talking about. I look forward to hearing what they have to say.

Deputy Micheál Martin

By any objective measure we are at a major crisis point in respect of Northern Ireland. If we are to overcome this, our first challenge is to be honest in recognising the scale and origin of the problem. In statements earlier today and last week I dealt with the Brexit issue in greater depth than is possible in this session. I would like to concentrate instead on the fundamental ongoing issues we face.

Nearly 20 years after the people of this island voted in three referendums for an agreed set of constitutional principles, institutions and a path to reconciliation we are at a moment of deadlock and disillusionment. Where once there was rising hope that different sides could work together, today we find a rising detachment and cynicism. The agreed institutions are suspended. The two increasingly dominant parties in Northern Ireland continue to focus on their own rather than shared interests. Public faith in politics is at a new low where civil servants and Ministers from English constituencies impose cuts across already strained public services. The anti-Brexit majority has been left voiceless as this destructive policy moves forward. Most damaging of all, the central engine behind past progress, which was the close and active collaboration of the Governments in Dublin and London, has effectively broken down. When even senior Ministers in the two Administrations are trading jibes in the media something is deeply wrong.

This is not a situation which developed overnight. It is the inevitable outcome of years of complacency and drift. It has been a slow motion car crash lasting years. Fianna Fáil takes no comfort in the fact that it has been warning since late 2011 that a crisis was likely. The Governments had moved to an explicit policy of leaving the Democratic Unionist Party, DUP, and Sinn Féin to sort matters out between themselves. Initially their focus was on squeezing parties they saw as communal rivals and asserting their dominance. In area after area their priority was to maximise their party control rather than to deliver good government. That is why there were so many scandals about funding channelled to front groups and about sectarian appointments by Ministers. Many key elements of the 1998 settlement were allowed to be marginalised and the dynamism of various initiatives was undermined. Too often the emphasis was on holding meetings rather than ensuring that they achieved anything. For example, it is six years since we were first told that proposals for developing North-South institutions were on the way yet nothing has appeared. The British-Irish Council meets regularly but the British Prime Minister no longer sees it as important enough to merit attendance.

In this House over the past six years we have paid nowhere near enough attention to Northern Ireland. On those occasions when we did hold debates there was a consistent pattern. First, the Government would state how well everything was going, then we would challenge this, warn against potential breakdown and point to clear evidence of inaction on key issues. This in turn was followed by Sinn Féin agreeing with the Government that everything was going fine in Stormont and aggressively dismissing the idea that it had any case to answer on any issue. The record is full of examples of Deputy Adams brushing off the significance of events and statements which deepened divisions. Separately, there were regular statements from the First Minister and deputy First Minister about how well they were working together. On one occasion Peter Robinson and the late Martin McGuinness attended a dinner in Dublin at which they said relations had never been better and problems were simply the imagination of people who should know better. This complacency was followed last year by a new dynamic where the two parties became more aggressive. This culminated in the decision of Sinn Féin's leadership to instruct its Executive members to withdraw and cause the second election in a year.

The deadlock we have seen since that election is causing sustained damage, not least to public faith in politics. No one can be complacent about the future in Northern Ireland. It is impossible to miss the fact that the foundations for conflict and division, albeit at a much lower level than in the past, remain in place. Sectarianism remains entrenched in important parts of the community. Deputy Adams can, as he did, laugh off saying about unionists that he would "break these bastards" as a shared basis of democratic respect is not fully established.

Deep poverty and disillusionment remain in marginalised communities which have in the past been exploited by violent groups. The ideology of violence is still promoted, even by groups which have been persuaded to join democratic politics. The Provisional movement continues to glorify an illegitimate struggle rejected by the majority of nationalists in all parts of this island. At the recent Sinn Féin Ard-Fheis, the loudest cheers were for people who murdered and maimed in the face of the overwhelming and constantly renewed opposition of the Irish people. Equally, in some loyalist areas paramilitarism continues to be admired and honoured. Simply because the open violence has largely gone does not mean by any stretch of the imagination that we have fulfilled the potential of what Seamus Mallon, a genuine Irish republican hero, who faced down the sinister extremes terrorising his community, described as not a finality but a new dispensation to work for the interests of all.

It is worth comparing the very different experience of devolved government in Scotland with that in Northern Ireland. Both achieved devolution within a year of each other and with a similar level of support in referendums. Comparable polling in 2001 and 2002 showed similar levels of trust in the devolved administrations' commitment to work in the best interests of the people. However, in recent years there has been a stark divergence. In Northern Ireland less than one third trust that the people they elect are working in their interests. In contrast, nearly two thirds in Scotland show this trust. We do not just need to find a way of getting through this crisis, we need a determined effort to address the recurring problems which have undermined the working of the institutions established by the Good Friday Agreement and the delivery of the good government which the people of Northern Ireland so desperately seek.

One of our most important challenges is to understand how the governments have moved away from basic principles and actions which were central to every piece of progress achieved in the past. One of the most disturbing elements of last week's events was the repeated insistence, not just by the DUP but by the British Government, that Northern Ireland cannot be treated as a separate case from other parts of the United Kingdom. This is the reversal of 43 years of policy. In Sunningdale, the Anglo-Irish Agreement and, most importantly, in the Good Friday Agreement the British Government explicitly accepted that Northern Ireland is distinct from the rest of the United Kingdom. For 43 years it has conceded the principle that the Irish Government should be consulted on matters concerning Northern Ireland. In the various agreements structures requiring such consultation were created. It is this recognition of Northern Ireland's distinct position that has been the very core of overcoming historic problems. Each of the four elements of the United Kingdom has a distinct constitutional status. Each has separate rules on various matters including important taxation matters. For example, Northern Ireland has the right to vary corporation tax. The idea that for the United Kingdom's economy to function all parts must be equal in all things is a radical departure from 20 years of devolution and stated policy in respect of Scotland and Northern Ireland in particular.

In fact, the new policy is more extreme than that of Margaret Thatcher who abandoned the phrase "as British as Finchley" in government and signed an agreement which gave Irish officials a formal role in Northern Ireland. Equally, she developed failed devolution initiatives.

I am glad the Taoiseach has backed away from the wrong and self-serving statement that he is somehow departing from the practice of previous Governments by refusing to ignore the position of people in Northern Ireland. He should now return to the policy of many of his predecessors and seek to build active and meaningful co-operation with politicians in Northern Ireland and Britain. No matter what other crisis was at hand, taoisigh like Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen ensured they had a strong and productive set of relationships in Belfast and London. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have spoken about how their strongest bilateral relationships were with Dublin. The relationship between Albert Reynolds and John Major showed that breakthroughs could be achieved with London even while a weak Tory government was in office. The absence of this type of dynamic and of permanent, informal and formal engagement across the community in Northern Ireland has led to a situation where the Governments are speaking at each other through the media and our Government is engaged in public sniping with a major party. It has also led to a situation where statements from Dublin can easily be misrepresented, including the manifestly absurd idea that Sinn Féin, our most anti-European Union party, is somehow driving Brexit policy.

An inclusive government for Northern Ireland remains its best hope of permanently overcoming entrenched problems. It is the only way to develop and implement policies to address the unique problems faced by communities in all parts of Northern Ireland. Of the actions we need, the first and most important is an end to the blockade on the Assembly and Executive to allow the Brexit emergency to be addressed. The majority of people in Northern Ireland today have no voice in the running of their affairs or in addressing the overwhelming danger posed by Brexit. Quite rightly, Deputy Adams described Brexit as the greatest challenge of this generation. Nevertheless, he insists that nothing will be done on Brexit in the North until other matters are dealt with first. Those other matters are very important even though they were largely ignored as a reason for collapsing the institutions in the first place. They must be addressed and the time for that cannot be limitless. Nothing, however, is as pressing and potentially irreversible as the likely damage of the Brexit mess.

It is a sad reality that the only Northern Irish voice working to block the worst parts of Tory policy is the independent unionist MP from North Down, Sylvia Hermon. Her efforts to have respect for the Good Friday Agreement recognised in Brexit legislation demonstrate that she is a fearless fighter and have earned her far more respect than for those who are blocking the pro-remain majority in the Assembly from being able to assemble and speak. It is only when the institutions are working that the complex arrangements required for Northern Ireland post Brexit can realistically be addressed. In fact, it is only then that an impact study can be carried out. We also need a renewed commitment by the Irish and British Governments to the leadership required to restore the institutions and make them work. The hands-off approach has failed disastrously and we must return to a situation where, to borrow a phrase, the Irish Government refuses to leave Northern Ireland behind in its list of daily priorities. In developing a Brexit response, we must work to ensure that a plan is put in place that prevents the erection of economic and social barriers on this island, whatever happens on the overall UK-EU deal.

We also need a new long-term agenda to tackle poverty and disadvantage in Northern Ireland and in the Border region as a whole. Currently, there is no credible development model for Northern Ireland. There is only a constant effort to mitigate the worst impact of the withdrawal of funding from London. Growth and prosperity and the only ways to remove the foundations of division and conflict. It is long past time we had a major effort to find a new economic approach in Northern Ireland. Part of that involves something akin to a Marshall plan to end disadvantage in key communities in Northern Ireland. That did not happen under recent Executives but it needs to happen and both Governments should come together to ensure that it does. After two decades of undoubted progress in Northern Ireland, this moment of crisis cannot be dismissed as a passing problem. It is the result of failures over a number of years and of a strategy which is, at best, complacent.

I noted the Minister's remarks tonight on the legacy dimension of the current talks and the Stormont House Agreement. Here, again, is an issue which has dragged on and on. In fact, I have always been cynical about the commitment of some of the parties to sign up genuinely to the legacy agenda and to get answers for many families and communities on the horrible violence and atrocities meted out to them. Every party and person of goodwill must acknowledge the crisis and act. They must act to restore the institutions, develop a plan to address the damage of Brexit, renew the effort to overcome sectarianism and demand our Governments return to close and active co-operation.

Deputy Gerry Adams

Before I turn to the topic of tonight's debate, I commend the committee on the eighth amendment, which has voted to repeal Article 40.3.3° of the Constitution. I pay tribute to the Chairman of the committee, Senator Noone, and all who participated in the discussions and gave evidence. I commend in particular the Sinn Féin team, namely, Deputies O'Reilly and Jonathan O'Brien and Senator Gavan, for the manner in which they represented the party. This is a very historic day, especially for Irish women.

I welcome tonight's debate. It is important that there are regular opportunities in the Dáil and Seanad to discuss matters in the North. The objective of these debates should be to inform, not to misinform, mislead or waste the time of the Dáil, as the leader of Fianna Fáil has just done. The objective should be to ensure that Members of the Oireachtas are abreast of current developments and possible opportunities. There is a requirement for constructive dialogue and a positive engagement to encourage progress. We do not need a return to the politics of the past, which saw nationalists in the North abandoned by successive Irish Governments. It is also important to remember that for many decades, nationalists in the North were the victims of institutionalised discrimination in housing, jobs, elections, the law and the institutions of the state.

Partition saw the British retain the North within their jurisdiction at a time when it was the most advanced industrial part of the island. They were able to hold onto the North and influence the entire country when they coerced the pro-Treaty forces into accepting partition and the sectarian statelet which put a unionist elite in control. Anything that was nationalist or Irish was banned or derided and after decades of institutionalised violence and conflict, the peace process and the work of many good people, including former taoisigh, created a new political dispensation through the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements. Equality, parity of esteem and the human rights ethos of the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights are now central to building a new society. Sadly, there are still those among the leadership of political unionism who have yet to come to terms with these new realities. They continue to fight the old battles, defend the old sectarian attitudes and reject equality for all citizens. That is the current stance of the DUP which refuses to embrace the need for a rights-based society. They believe their position has been enhanced by the deal the party recently concluded with the Tories. As any student of Anglo-Irish politics will tell them, it will end in tears, as have all unionism's dalliances with the British. Edward Carson, the leader of unionism at the time of partition, reflected later on what had occurred and said "What a fool I was. I was only a puppet, and so was Ulster, and so was Ireland, in the political game that was to get the Conservative Party into power".

While some progress has been made in Sinn Féin's talks with the DUP, there is no real evidence at this time of a willingness by its leadership to embrace the political institutions in the way required if they are to serve every single citizen. The Minister knows that. He was there and he knows what the problem is.

Diplomacy might prevent him from saying that and I certainly will not say anything that will upset the apple cart, but the Minister knows where the problem lies.

Michelle O'Neill has been working hard to have the political institutions restored on the basis of genuine power sharing. There is a special responsibility on political leadership. Deputy McDonald was at an engagement last Monday morning, and at another bigger engagement the week before that, with people from civic society who are not republicans. We believe we must bridge the divide between the people the various parties represent and establish a new dispensation which delivers for all. If the DUP wishes to be part of this and wishes to return to the Executive and the Assembly, it knows precisely what it must do. I have spent hours upon hours in recent months talking to the DUP leadership, along with others from the Sinn Féin leadership. It means agreeing a process for the implementation of past agreements. It means building respect, tolerance and equality. It also means the two Governments stepping up to the mark as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement.

Following last week's publication of the phase one communication on Brexit, there has been much discussion about the differing interpretations of it by the British Government. Nobody in the House should be surprised by that. For example, there is a commitment to a bill of rights in the Good Friday Agreement, but 20 years later there is no bill of rights. The British Government refuses to countenance it. There is a commitment to establishing a civic forum, but there is no civic forum. In the St. Andrews Agreement, there is a commitment to an Irish language Act, but there is no such Act. In the Stormont House and Fresh Start Agreements between all the parties and the two governments, measures were agreed to deal with legacy issues. The British Government is blocking those. Teachta Micheál Martin knows the British Government is trying to insert what it calls a special security or national interest clause, and that has blocked the process ever since.

The Taoiseach and the Minister know, because I spoke to them about it, that in recent weeks the British tried to insert a statute of limitations covering all Troubles-related incidents for British crown forces in a new section - perhaps Teachta Micheál Martin does not know this - of the Stormont House Agreement. Our party was not told about this. To the best of my knowledge the Irish Government only knew about it when we brought it to its attention. This was an act of bad faith and it is unacceptable. I, Michelle O'Neill and Deputy McDonald told the British Prime Minister as much to her face. The British want everybody else to deal with the past, but they will not. The attitude we hear from Deputy Micheál Martin, which is untruthful and dishonest, does not put the focus where it belongs.

Deputy Micheál Martin

Kingsmill?

Deputy Gerry Adams

Last Friday, the Taoiseach said that Northern nationalists would never again be left behind by an Irish Government. Teachta Micheál Martin's phony outrage at this would be amusing if it was not such a serious issue. The reality is that nationalists in the North were abandoned for generations by successive Irish Governments, but today, like a broken record, Teachta Micheál Martin repeats the sham argument about the two problem parties and accuses Sinn Féin of contriving to pull down the institutions or preventing them being reinstated. He chooses to ignore, as he did when he was in office, the serious allegations of corruption, in his case in his own party but in this case made by a former DUP Minister and his colleagues about the First Minister and the enormous financial cost, estimated at £700 million, it will inflict on the public purse.

Teachta Micheál Martin turns a blind eye to the abundant evidence of DUP disrespect for, and rejection of, the rights of nationalist citizens in the North. I notice there is only one other Fianna Fáil Member on the Fianna Fáil benches this evening. They are probably as sick of listening to his drivel as everybody else.

Deputy Pearse Doherty

Embarrassed.

Deputy Gerry Adams

In his obsession, and it has become an obsession, he wants people in the North, who are living in a state that never wanted them, to meekly tolerate being treated as second-class citizens. That might be the Fianna Fáil leader's way. He has brought being a hurler on the ditch into disrepute. He misleads the Dáil regularly with untruthful statements and puts words in my mouth that I never said. He refuses to accept the Sinn Féin mandate in the North while refusing to contest elections in the North.

I have a message for Teachta Micheál Martin about nationalists in the North. He has missed this, but I do not believe the Government has missed the sea change in the attitude of nationalists in the past year. We will never again accept any British Government, unionist leader or any Dublin politician deciding what is or is not acceptable for us. Martin McGuinness made a stand, and that stand was endorsed in two elections by the overwhelming majority of the nationalist electorate in the Six Counties. It was vindicated just a few days ago in the voices of 200 nationalists from civic society. These are not necessarily Sinn Féin supporters. They might be, but I do not know. They wrote to the Taoiseach and appealed to him to reassure them of his commitment to stand for equality and a human rights based society and of his determination to secure and protect the rights of all citizens in the North of Ireland. We want the Fianna Fáil leader and the Government to stand up for, and vindicate, the rights of everyone in the North. These were lawyers, academics, sports people, writers and citizens from all walks of life seeking reassurance on the Taoiseach's commitment. Human rights lawyer, Niall Murphy, put it well when he asked why someone should have a right in Donegal but not have the same right in Derry. Why can somebody who can marry in this State and in Britain not do so in the North? Why can citizens in the North not have any of these rights?

The DUP and the British Government are responsible for the political crisis in the North and for the lack of progress in the delivery of rights and in implementing past agreements. The Taoiseach, Tánaiste and the Government have an onerous responsibility to act decisively, as does Sinn Féin. However, we will not run away from our responsibilities. I again appeal to the Government to take the lead. It is not the best option but it should take the lead by convening the intergovernmental conference early in the new year.

Deputy Seán Crowe

Last night, I watched the documentary, "No Stone Unturned", along with many other political representatives. It is about the Loughinisland massacre. I thank and give credit to the families of the victims and survivors who attended the screening and spoke to us afterwards in moving terms. The relatives in the Relatives for Justice campaign have shown incredible courage and resolve since that horrific night on 18 June 1994. On that fateful night a group of Irish football fans had gathered in the Heights Bar in Loughinisland to watch the match between Ireland and Italy, as many of us did, in Giants Stadium.

The joy of that night and of Ray Houghton's goal was lost when an Ulster Volunteer Force, UVF, gang burst into the pub and opened fire. The sectarian attack left six men dead and five seriously injured. A 2016 report on the massacre by the Police Ombudsman, Dr. Michael Maguire, is unambiguous. It details systemic collusion between British agents, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, RUC, and the UVF death squad that carried out the attack. The depth of collusion outlined in the report goes beyond the Loughinisland massacre. The report makes a direct link with the Glenanne gang which was involved in the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings. I urge all Members to find an opportunity to watch "No Stone Unturned", if they have not done so already. I also urge them to meet the survivors and the families of the victims.

As we know, it was a horrible and bloody conflict. When watching the documentary, I was conscious that people were hurt throughout the conflict. I am conscious of the hurt inflicted on so many families by Irish republicans during the conflict. I welcome the Taoiseach's statement that no Irish Government will again leave Northern nationalists and Northern Ireland behind. However, it also carries responsibilities.

It was the lack of that involvement that piqued my interest and got me started on that journey many years ago. I remember talking to people in Northern Ireland who felt abandoned at that time and talking to families and relatives after Bloody Sunday. That is history. The important thing is that we look to the future. Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. All of us, particularly the Irish Government, have a responsibility to ensure that the British Government abides by the letter and spirit of the Good Friday Agreement, the Stormont House Agreement and all the other agreements.

Deputy Adams spoke about the statute of limitations for British crown forces. Again, this idea of bringing forward an amnesty goes directly against the British Government's international obligations to victims and its commitments made at Stormont House. There is an onus on all of us to collectively ramp up our ambition when it comes to the North. We cannot undo the past but we can create the conditions that will lead us all to a better future for everyone on this island.

Deputy Joan Burton

Today's vote in respect of women's rights and the decision of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution to vote for the repeal of the eighth amendment to put to the people shows what the methodical working of political institutions can do to deliver change and the potential of progress. I hope we will see not before too long a referendum being put to the people to repeal the eighth amendment on the lines suggested and proposed by the committee. I congratulate all the parliamentarians who took part in the committee - both those in favour of repeal and those opposed to repeal. In particular, I thank my colleague, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, for her leadership in respect of the work of the committee. In the context of the rather sad and defeatist debate we are having here, it is an example of what politics can deliver in respect of an issue of which people were really afraid. Going back to when the referendum was originally held, people had a fear that the move for it and the level of subservience in Ireland would be so strong that it would be impossible to defeat it in the first place, which proved to be true, or prevent it and second, to repeal it and consequently, today is a very good day for Irish democracy. Ultimately, it obviously will be for the people to decide.

It is in that context that I must say that to any reasonable person, the Northern Ireland Assembly is dead. What a waste. What a pity. In what may well be Northern Ireland's greatest hour of need, the institutions are defunct. Many people in this Chamber, including Deputy Adams, devoted a considerable part of their lives to arguing in favour of the creation of a framework structure and an agreement and institutions which, while not perfect - we all recognised they were far from perfect in terms of the different wishes of the different groups - had the capacity to change the narrative in Northern Ireland, to look forward, to create economic prosperity and progress and basically to create a new day on the island of Ireland. It is that spirit of the Good Friday Agreement and of those who negotiated it, including John Hume, the former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and the former Labour Party leader, Dick Spring, which should inspire us to say that dark as it is at present, it ought to be possible to move to address the bigger threat that faces everybody on the island of Ireland, namely, Brexit and that we ought to look for things that can unite us rather than issues that can divide us.

I was struck by something that my friend Claire Hanna, MLA said recently. She pointed to how the Scottish Government continues to demonstrate the power and potential of devolution as it sets about addressing key issues in Scotland, many of which are name checked all the time in the context of Northern Ireland by both parties. These issues range from education to health and to public investment in infrastructure, that is, all the issues we talk about and in which we invest so much time in this Parliament. Claire Hanna contrasted what is happening in the devolved assembly in Scotland with what is not happening in Northern Ireland, which has been left without a government and without a locally determined budget for a year. She said:

It’s been clear for about a decade now that the Scottish Government is a powerhouse that understands the difference between being in government and being in power. As they plan to deliver a new budget ... with a focus on public services and the economy, it’s a stark reminder that power and government have been drained from Northern Ireland.

The stalemate in Northern Ireland is leaving a tide of inequality rising again in both communities, while both parties concentrate on a blame game.

Last week, the Sinn Féin MP for Foyle stated quite strongly in an article in the English Independent, "as a Sinn Féin MP, I won't have Ireland become collateral damage in the Tory-DUP Brexit shambles." That is a comment with which I would agree but to be honest, I do not think we heard that addressed in the last contribution because it is obviously a difficult issue to address. Let us be honest about it. It is a difficult issue to address because it means focusing on the future, inevitably, in the interests of everybody rather than just in a very narrow sectarian way. Defending the economic security and future of Ireland is everyone's responsibility - everybody here and everybody with political responsibilities in Northern Ireland regardless of which side they come from. It is not just the Taoiseach's responsibility. It is everybody's responsibility and that includes Sinn Féin - a party at pains to tell us all about its mandate and its negotiating skills, for which there is a great deal of evidence. I have to ask the people from Sinn Féin - I cannot ask the DUP because it is not here for historical reasons we all understand - what is going to happen in Westminster-----

(Interruptions).

Deputy Joan Burton

Sorry, I did not hear Deputy Adams. He needs to be clearer when he is trying to interject.

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Deputy Adams can give Deputy Burton a lift to Belfast if she wishes.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputy Burton, without interruption. You can have a bilateral afterwards.

Deputy Joan Burton

I thank the Deputy. I can tell Deputy Adams that I have been going up and down to Belfast since I was a small child and I am extremely fond of Belfast. What is going to happen in Westminster in respect of the absentee Sinn Féin MPs or will Sinn Féin decide that it should utilise this resource to defend the interests of Ireland North and South?

Deputy Bríd Smith

I am speaking as a member of People Before Profit and solely on behalf of People Before Profit. Apart from Sinn Féin, we are the only other party that has elected Members both North and South of the Border. We are a party that wants and seeks a united Ireland, not an Ireland as envisaged by some here of unity based on low corporation tax, which is a safe tax haven for the elite of the world and which denies women, North and South, bodily autonomy. We want a truly equal Ireland.

I will not be joining the chorus of demands for a deal for the sake of a deal between the parties in the North to get Stormont back up and running. A deal for the sake of a deal represents a demand for the resumption of a Government that was mired in corruption with the cash-for-ash scandal and which was determined not to allow women have the right to choose. The largest party within it, the DUP, has utterly reactionary politics, contempt for the campaign for LGBT rights, a vitriolic hatred of the idea of a woman’s right to choose and opposition to and contempt for marriage equality. This is not just about its attitude to social issues. It is not just right-wing on economic questions. Beneath the façade of supporting Protestant workers' interests, the real agenda of the DUP is to support the elite, which we saw in the NAMA and Project Eagle and cash-for-ash scandals. Internationally, we saw it with the selling of the North as a tax haven and a low corporate tax jurisdiction with few workers' rights and low wages and conditions. The DUP offers ordinary Protestants in the North absolutely nothing. It has supported a wage freeze in the public sector and has helped the Tories to hound people off social welfare benefits.

We agree we want to see an Ireland, North and South, based on equality but we go further than Sinn Féin on this. Our vision of equality in the North will include the rights of Irish language speakers and the recognition that this right means the right to funding and educational opportunities to speak and learn the language. The silence here from the main parties of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael on the reactionary attitude of the DUP speaks volumes about their phoney republicanism and phoney commitment to equality of both sides of the island.

Our vision goes much further. It extends to wanting equality for women, North and South, who have to travel to England to avail of abortion. It extends to wanting to see the ending of the criminalisation of those woman, North and South. In the South, women face a 14-year sentence and in the North, they face a sentence of life imprisonment.

Those who claim to be committed to equality and yet want an administration that supports the status quo on women's rights and on LGBT rights are showing contempt for the suffering and the hurt that these Victorian laws and attitudes do to real men and women.

We believe winning the equality agenda also means winning economic equality. That is why, for example, we were disappointed that the Sinn Féin Ard-Fheis recently rejected a motion from the Clonard cumann in west Belfast calling for corporation tax not to be reduced in the North, as Sinn Féin and the DUP plan on doing. We cannot build an Ireland of equals by giving the corporations handouts. We cannot build an Ireland of equals by supporting access to abortion in the South, as we did today - albeit limited in the case of Sinn Féin - and ignoring that right for women in the North.

On Brexit, again we see double standards and the phoney concerns of many parties here. Let us be clear: the Brexit negotiations have been a competition between two rotten blocs. On the one hand are the Tories, who clearly do not have a clue about this country and faced with the reality of the hard border, they know it will not be accepted here. Nor will the vision of a Tory Brexit that attacks EU migrants be accepted. On the other hand, we have used the Brexit negotiations to sleepwalk this country into supporting PESCO, which will end Irish neutrality and incorporate us into an EU imperial army. What is the use of calling for an end to the British Empire where the sun never set and the blood never dried only to dissolve our sovereignty into an empire of the European Union? It should be clear to anyone who is paying attention that neither the Tories nor the EU have any interest in protecting the people of this island.

We oppose a hard border, not because it is an inconvenience to trade but because a hard border will strengthen partition. We oppose partition because, as James Connolly said, that partition will lead to a carnival of reaction North and South. That is what the Magdalen laundries represented, what the Tuam babies represented and what the opposition to gay rights and women's rights in the North currently represents.

We intend to put our money where our mouth is and oppose a hard border in deeds not just words. We will campaign to make sure this State does not co-operate with any form of a hard border, from customs officers to police and to any form of state support for a physical border. We will mobilise to ensure any physical presence is removed.

We will also ensure the Government follows up on its own rhetoric. The Government needs to use Ireland's veto in Europe to stop any deal that would result in a hard border. We will insist that any deal should be put to a vote North and South. In opposing this, we will not side with the bureaucrats in Brussels who do not give a damn about us. They forced austerity on us. We should remember the economic bullies who imposed the biggest bank bailout in the history of the world on the people of this country. We will not be part of their EU army. We want a social Europe, a democratic Europe, a people's Europe and not the Europe beloved by some commentators that is about the needs of big business, that locks out refugees who drown in the Mediterranean fleeing persecution and war and are currently trapped in torture camps and slave camps in Libya.

We have a Europe that wants to move us into a military union as well as a market union. That is what PESCO is about. That is why the Government is happy to raise defence spending to more than €3.5 billion, while refusing to commit anything near that in increasing spending in any other sphere that might benefit ordinary people.

The only consistent position for progressives in this country is the position of People Before Profit. We serve neither London nor Brussels but fight for real democracy and a decent future for all on this island based on the needs of workers and ordinary people across Europe and not the needs of big corporations, which are bleeding dry the people not just of this island but across Europe.

Deputy Mick Barry

I will be speaking in this debate for Solidarity and for Solidarity alone. Today Northern Ireland is in crisis. Everyone here almost certainly agrees with this statement, but there are very different views as to why there is a crisis and as to the way forward.

The Executive collapsed nearly a year ago and there is no sign of the necessary level of agreement to bring it back. The short-term cause of the collapse is that the working arrangement between the two main parties fell apart in January. However, there is a more fundamental problem. The institutions established under the Good Friday Agreement are based on an unstable agreement to differ between diametrically opposed forces. There is no real agreement and there never will be until the third tradition, the trade union and labour tradition, asserts itself politically and in clear opposition to both nationalism and unionism.

For now, parties based on sectarian division are in the ascendancy. The two largest parties, Sinn Féin and the DUP, have eclipsed their rivals not by their ability to compromise but by their ability to exploit and magnify every disagreement. When parties are based on sectarian division it is inevitable that they will use all issues to deepen sectarian division. The end result is sectarian paralysis and sharp disagreements on issue after issue.

Brexit is one of these divisive issues. Both the DUP and Sinn Féin are exploiting the fears of ordinary people around Brexit to bolster their positions. The result is increasing political polarisation. The words and actions of green Tories in this State, including the Taoiseach and Tánaiste, are contributing to this polarisation.

Solidarity is clear on the key Brexit issues. We are opposed to any hardening of the border between North and South. A hard border would have a negative impact on the lives of working people. We are also opposed to any hardening of the border between Ireland and Britain and for exactly the same reason. We are not in favour of a Brexit which favours the bosses of the EU or the bosses of the UK. The current negotiations are a battle between rival capitalists and are not designed in any way to look after the interests of working people, North or South. Solidarity will call out every step which works against the interests of working people, North and South.

Of course Sinn Féin and the DUP do not disagree on everything. Sinn Féin is loud in its support for equal rights for all but apparently this does not extend to a woman's right to choose. It is as one with the DUP in refusing to extend abortion rights to Northern Ireland.

The DUP claims that its deal with the Tories has brought an extra £1 billion and protected Northern Ireland from the worst of the cuts, but it votes through every aspect of the Conservative Party programme. Sinn Féin claims that it stands firm against Tory austerity but hands power to implement benefit cuts back to Westminster in order to avoid any flak for these savage cuts. Both parties are absolutely complicit in implementing austerity.

Ordinary people in the North are left to cope with falling real wages and continuing attacks on health, education and welfare. For example, on Monday of this week a major review on social care in Northern Ireland was published. Currently domiciliary care - personal care delivered to people in their own homes - is provided free by the National Health Service. This is not the case with nursing home care, which is charged for after a means test. The report recommends addressing this unfairness, but not by making all care free. Instead it recommends that care packages delivered in the home should also be charged for. This is a clear case of levelling down, not levelling up. Who commissioned this report? It was Sinn Féin's Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill when she was Minister of Health.

Yesterday it was revealed that the education system in Northern Ireland will have a £350 million funding gap by 2019-2020. Almost 400 schools will be in budget deficit this year, which is the highest number ever. The education budget has fallen by 10% in real terms since 2010. Which party held the education portfolio at Stormont before the collapse of the Executive? It was the DUP.

The large majority of those who vote do so for four parties, namely, the DUP, Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the UUP. There is nothing inevitable about this. When most voters go to the ballot box they can see no credible alternative on offer and vote for their side against the other side, often reluctantly. At present, there is no large cross-community party which opposes sectarianism, opposes austerity and supports the right to choose. The creation of such a party is vital. When one existed in the 1960s, it drew 100,000 votes and there is no reason this level of support could not be built again.

There are good reasons to hope for a better future. In the 1980s and 1990s, tens of thousands of working people joined trade union-organised rallies against sectarian massacres. Those rallies demonstrated that there was an overwhelming mood for peace, for the unity of working people and for a better future free from poverty and unemployment.

These hopes of the early years of the peace process have been dashed. We live in more peaceful times but it is a relative peace and low-level violence continues. Sectarian division has hardened in many ways. The hope for a peace dividend has not materialised. Despite all of this, the vast majority of people are opposed to any return to conflict. The divisions that dominate the news are one side of the picture only. Every day, genuine labour, trade union and socialist activists stand together on an anti-sectarian basis, whatever their background. Health campaigners are currently linking up across the North to bring local campaigns together. The unity of working people, when they stand up to protect their services, is organic. It is this unity which points the way to the future.

Trade unions organise more than 220,000 workers in Northern Ireland, both Catholic and Protestant. Those trade unionists are linked with trade unionists in the South through the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. They stand in solidarity with their fellow trade unionists in England, Scotland and Wales as currently seen with the dispute at the Royal Mail. It is only the trade unions, genuine left and socialist activists who can defend working people in the difficult period ahead.

Solidarity supports those who are endeavouring to build working class unity in Northern Ireland. Solidarity will offer whatever assistance it can to campaigners who seek to defend the NHS and education. We stand together with those who are fighting for a woman's right to choose, and Solidarity supports trade union and other activists who are endeavouring to build a new mass cross-community, anti-sectarian left party which can provide a real alternative at the ballot box.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Eugene Murphy)

Independents 4 Change have given their time to Fianna Fáil. I call Deputy Breathnach. Is the Deputy sharing time with Deputy Brendan Smith?

Deputy Declan Breathnach

I am sharing time with Deputy Brendan Smith. I came into politics as a republican nationalist but many in this House might be perplexed to hear me describe myself as a unionist also, but not in the form people in Sinn Féin seem to oppose. I was reared to believe that unity is about unity of purpose and in economic approach and that with that comes respect for others' view of the world. Through trust and engagement, it is my firm belief that the unity of the island will come if we give our children and our children's children a future built on respect and prosperity.

Theresa May’s dependence on the DUP, together with the failure to form a government in Northern Ireland for some 330 days now, is clearly having a negative impact and will have repercussions for our citizens not just in Northern Ireland but in the Border communities and beyond. The short-sighted abstentionism of Sinn Féin leaves Westminster with no nationalist voice to represent them, nor the majority of the 55% who voted to reject Brexit.

It is unbelievable that many democratically elected Northern Ireland representatives cannot put aside or park those contentious issues to enable them deal with the greatest threat facing these islands in Brexit.

It is my strong belief that the Irish Government, representing all of this island, in the absence of a devolved government in Northern Ireland, must also not be duped by the DUP posturing or by what has been described as the David Davis-proofing, DDP, of phase 1 of the negotiations. The Minister said there should be no backsliding. I would go further and say there should be no hunker-sliding, which is how I would describe what has been happening in terms of the British Government in recent days.

It is my further belief that written signed agreements and guarantees are needed in advance of phase 2. We have already heard David Davis describe the deal as much more a "statement of intent than it was a legally enforceable thing". Many on both sides of these islands will be very aware how Britain can change its tack to suit its methods. I said last week that there is many a slip between cup and lip. It might have been more appropriate to say that there is many a slip between dinner and dessert, as Theresa May found to her detriment.

There is a dichotomy in the statements that the UK as a whole will leave both the customs union and the Single Market while also stating that Northern Ireland will not be treated any differently. These statements do not sit comfortably with me or with anyone and they contradict each another. The British Government needs to be reminded also that this agreement, and the Good Friday Agreement, are sovereign and not just a gentleman’s agreement as looked upon by David Davis in terms of phase 1.

It is important to point out that in a recent survey of 2,000 voters in Northern Ireland, 57.8% believe that special status should be accorded to Northern Ireland, something that has been advocated by my party since Brexit; 52.4% are concerned about a reduction in human rights; and 75.8% believe that in Northern Ireland the standards of food and products produced on these islands should have no divergence at any time or in future.

A report this week outlined the gap in fortunes between the economies of Northern Ireland and Ireland, which will increase in the next two years as Brexit looms. This EY study added that Ireland’s GDP is expected to grow by 4.9% this year compared with 1.4% for Northern Ireland. The report goes on to say that the state of the economy of Northern Ireland is not helped by the absence of a devolved government. It also states that the economy in Northern Ireland remains challenged owing to inflation, reducing consumer spending and the absence of a government disrupting the many state spending programmes.

Without the return of the Northern Ireland Assembly, all of the Departments are losing out on funding. For example, the education system in Northern Ireland is facing a funding gap of £350 million by 2019 or 2020 if it does not get more money, according to the Education Authority’s chief executive, Gavin Boyd. He has also said that almost 400 schools will be in budget deficit this year - Northern Ireland's highest ever number and a 27% rise from last year. We need to get the devolved government up and running to encourage the future generations I spoke about earlier.

I attended a conference in Newry on 10 November on the impact of Brexit on children. It was called "It's Our Brexit Too". We were warned by young teenagers of the potential impact of Brexit on children and young people from both sides of the Border. The conference highlighted the fragility of the peace process in Northern Ireland and called for decisions about Brexit to be formally assessed to ensure there is no regression of children's rights in Northern Ireland or the Republic. For example, detailed consideration must also be given on how European arrest warrants and other cross-Border child protection measures will now function.

On the stage of the negotiations, in a speech yesterday Michel Barnier pointed out that sufficient progress does not mean full progress. There are many other points to discuss for the UK’s orderly withdrawal. He also made reference to Ireland, where the UK has made important commitments but where he said much work remains to be done in a distinct strand of negotiations. I welcome Michel Barnier's statement that all Ministers agree that Ireland requires specific solutions because of its unique situation. As I have done previously, I commend the efforts of the Government in all the consultations and the officials for their diligence on this matter.

I urge the parties in the North to put aside their disagreements, even for now, and ensure that devolved government returns to Northern Ireland in order that the citizens of the North may have their voices fully heard in the Brexit negotiations. I have absolutely no doubt that they will be given credit for that by people who want to see proper functioning administrations in all facets to represent them both in Brexit and in the ministries which are not working in the North because of the lack of government involvement.

Michel Barnier spoke in Irish, using the phrase, "Ní neart go cur le chéile", meaning there is strength in unity. Mar fhocal scoir deirim gur ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine agus na tíortha. Humans and countries are interdependent. That is how we should progress.

Deputy Brendan Smith

Deputies Micheál Martin and Declan Breathnach have outlined clearly Fianna Fáil's strong view that we want the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive restored as soon as possible. We sincerely hope that the parties and the Governments will reach agreement. There is a particular onus on the two major parties represented in Stormont to ensure that the difficulties that have prevented a working Assembly and Executive for more than a year are resolved. I heard Deputy Adams mention a letter from civic society from different people in different walks of life in Northern Ireland, which was addressed to An Taoiseach and which requested Government invention, assistance and vigilance on a number of issues. I have been asking the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and his predecessors about the level of engagement the Government has had with civic society in Northern Ireland over the past 12 months, particularly when the people of Northern Ireland do not have the political voice they should have in their own Assembly and their own Executive. Only today, An Tánaiste replied to me that:

The power-sharing Executive is responsible for representing the interests of all of the people of Northern Ireland, including in relation to how the issues arising with the UK exit from the EU be addressed. It is imperative that the devolved institutions can urgently operate again. The North-South Ministerial Council must also resume its work to oversee and develop North-South co-operation, including that commenced last year to co-ordinate engagement with the Government and the Executive on dealing with the challenges raised on an all-island basis by the UK exit.

Unfortunately there was a civic assembly in Northern Ireland, and Sinn Féin and the DUP had it within their gift to have it restored. There is no point in blaming the Irish Government or the British Government. It was purely within the remit of Sinn Féin and the DUP to re-establish that civic forum, but the parties have failed to do it over many years. People are now talking, when there is no political Assembly, about how the voice of civic society must be listened to. It must be listened to when there is no political voice. Some of us went out and campaigned for the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Not every party campaigned for it, but our Taoiseach at the time, the British Prime Minister and representatives and leaders of many parties made major contributions in bringing about the Good Friday Agreement. Thankfully it was endorsed by over 94% of the people in our State in that referendum in May 1998 and by over 74% in Northern Ireland. That is the political mandate that we all have on this island, and it is not being implemented.

There is a huge onus of responsibility and blame resting on the shoulders of the DUP and Sinn Féin for not having an Executive and Assembly in place. I have engaged, along with many colleagues in the Oireachtas, in many meetings about Brexit, including in committees in this House and debates in this House and elsewhere. The best debate I have participated in and the best discussion on the matter was at the North-South Parliamentary Assembly in the first days of December 2016 at Stormont. The North-South Parliamentary Assembly consists of members of the Dáil and Seanad and members of Stormont. That day in Stormont, under the chairmanship of An Ceann Comhairle and the Speaker of the Stormont Assembly, saw very robust but honest discussion on Brexit and the issues confronting this island. Sadly, without that forum since, we have not had that robust discussion that is necessary on an all-island basis. That day, regardless of what political tradition people came from, there was honest-to-God debate. Good, progressive viewpoints were expressed. Different viewpoints were expressed, but listened to, and people understood the concerns raised by each side. Sadly we have not had a meeting of that assembly since the Executive and Assembly in Northern Ireland dissolved themselves.

The Minister has heard me speak at committee and in this Chamber to outline the concerns of the Border communities. I am privileged to represent two of the southern Ulster counties. I have great interaction with my neighbours in Fermanagh, Tyrone and Armagh. From speaking to those people I know they are very fearful of the outcome of Brexit. I compliment the Minister and his Government colleagues on what was achieved last week, and I sincerely hope that the message that the Minister has delivered will be realised and that there will be no Border on our island. That is what we want to see. My constituents, my friends and neighbours travel north and people travel south on a daily basis. Thankfully the Good Friday Agreement, to all intents and purposes, did away with the Border on our island as we went about our daily business. There is huge interdependence in the agrifood sector, the engineering sector and the construction products sector in my own region. Raw materials travel north and south, and the finished products go in both directions. Thankfully today we have all-Ireland companies which developed on an all-Ireland basis, facilitated by the workings of the Good Friday Agreement and the new dispensation on this island. It is an absolute shame that we do not have the institutions that were established by the Good Friday Agreement up and running and representing the people. They were overwhelmingly endorsed by the people of all of this island on the same day in May 1998, via referendums in the North and South. Deputy Adams was quoted by Deputy Micheál Martin earlier as saying that the challenge of Brexit is huge for this island. There is a substantial part of our country where great, painstaking work was done to bring about new political structures. They are not working, and it is a shame that is the position.

As a proud Ulster man I want to see people in all of Ulster represented by their politicians at local level, in the Assembly and on an all-Ireland basis as well. We could be working progressively towards achieving a United Ireland, but we want to ensure that the structures we have in place at the present time are working on behalf of the people who gave the politicians their mandate.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

I am glad to have the opportunity to talk tonight about the North of Ireland. Even though we are furthest away from the Six Counties, it still concerns everyone in Kerry as much as it does the people of the rest of the country. Great progress has been made over the last 20 years, after the 30 years of bloodshed, loss of life and damage to communities caused by lack of employment prior to that. The wonderful people of the North endured that suffering for so long and we were all glad to see peace at last after those 30 years. We need to ensure that the people of the North of Ireland benefit from the progress made, and indeed from Brexit, because Brexit is a real challenge facing the whole island and we need to have a proper plan to counteract the challenges that it poses.

Seeing the man detailed by the English Government to conduct negotiations, David Davis, contradicting himself on the public stage is not helpful in allowing the ordinary people to understand, or to have faith or confidence in, what is going on. With talks ongoing in Europe about the North of Ireland, it is not very helpful to see a man in this pivotal position contradicting himself within the space of a few days.

We have to acknowledge the great work and the great efforts of many people North and South. I know I will leave some out but I will mention a few. I will mention Garret FitzGerald and Albert Reynolds. In fact, when Albert Reynolds was Taoiseach he put his own life in danger by meeting members of the IRA in a hotel. One of his family members drove him to the basement and he went up to the top floor to meet people in order to talk about peace and getting the peace process going. We have to acknowledge that. Bertie Ahern also played a pivotal role. Deputy Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness, John Hume and Ian Paisley all played a massive role in ensuring the peace which we have had for the past 20 years.

It is very important that we get a good deal for the North of Ireland out of Brexit. We should not let the North of Ireland suffer, because the Twenty-six Counties are entwined with it now. Indeed, businesspeople around Killarney, Castleisland and Tralee have relayed their concerns to me about what will happen to them and their businesses in the future if the challenge of Brexit is not dealt with properly. They stress that any solution must be favourable to the South of Ireland as well as the North. They say that, even as it is, they are losing massive sums of money due to the depreciation in the value of sterling. They are getting as much as 10% to 13% less for the goods and products they export to the North of Ireland and to England. That is very hurtful indeed. We need to acknowledge that and to see what we can do as a Parliament to ensure the survival of these companies, many of which withstood the downturn from 2008 to 2015.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak briefly on this very important subject. As my brother rightly outlined, it is right to acknowledge at the beginning that we would not be where we are without people having made what I would call very courageous decisions. If I am to mention anybody, the first would be the late Martin McGuinness. He was not only a great loss to his own family and community, but he also did great work politically over his time. Along with others, he made great moves which directly led us to where we are and to peace on our streets, which of course is of paramount importance.

On the threat posed by Brexit and all that it entails, I am very glad of the work of the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs, of which I am Chairman. I thank all of the members for the work they have done to date. As the Minister knows, we travelled to Brussels and met Michel Barnier. We asked him to come here and address the Oireachtas. We also asked Guy Verhofstadt. Those trips were significant and timely. When Guy Verhofstadt went to the North he saw at first hand the complexity of the problems which could face the farming community there and businesses on both sides of the Border if we were thrown any type of a hard border. He saw the problems and complexities which could arise. We hope we are a big part of the way towards ensuring that we will not have any type of a hard border. If we had such a border, it would have a very destabilising effect on the whole system in Northern Ireland. We have farmers who have lands which straddle the Border. We have businesses which trade North and South. We have 30,000 people going over the Border every day. If there was to be any type of impediment or restriction on that access for goods or people it could have drastic consequences in the future.

The whole situation is still fragile. It would be neglectful not to acknowledge the work of the Minister, in particular his work over recent weeks. I would call the effort he has put into his role as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade tireless work. It would be very neglectful not to acknowledge in the House tonight the work he has been doing on the whole Brexit issue. It is a very heavy burden of responsibility but, in my opinion, he is discharging it in a very workmanlike fashion, which is nothing less than I would expect from him any day of the week. That good work has to be kept up. We all have to be united.

In recent weeks we were threatened with a completely unwanted and unnecessary general election. If that had happened during such a key time, when we were just getting through the first round of Brexit talks, it would have really put us on a very bad footing for the negotiations during that critical time. We need stability facing into the second phase of the talks. We need everybody pulling together. All of us as politicians must put our shoulders to the wheel to ensure that when Brexit is finally completed, Ireland will suffer the least impact possible. Our recovery is at such a fragile stage. We do not want anything to rock the boat or to impact adversely on our financial status, on our exports, on the trade we have with England and the rest of Europe, or on the passage of goods and people over the Border in Northern Ireland.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

I too am glad to be able to speak tonight on behalf of the Rural Independent Group and to deliver a statement on Northern Ireland. I note a number of things in the Minister's speech and how hard he has worked to try to keep everything on an even keel. I also note the news from Westminster tonight that the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, has lost the vote by 309 votes to 305. She is losing all authority. While we are panicking here - we are not panicking, but we are worried - things could change across the pond. I respect totally the decision of the United Kingdom, its autonomy and its right to decide what outcome it will seek. Unlike us when we had to vote twice on the Nice and Lisbon treaties, the UK Government accepted the democratic wish of the people. We can never deny that to them or to any other democracy. We now know the implications. We had them here last week with the issue of the European army and everything else. This all started with the Lisbon treaty.

I respect what is going on in the UK, but I do not respect what Mr. David Davis was saying last week. We were after getting commitments and the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach had announced the agreement. I compliment the Tánaiste on the work and time he put in because I know he put in long hours. Mr. Davis then tried to unravel that and was saying that the agreement could be changed. It is completely unacceptable to use that kind of language when the stakes are so high. The stakes are high for the whole economy here in Ireland, especially for our farming sector. It will of course affect all sectors which interact with Northern Ireland.

My wife is from Monaghan, which is on the Border. All the gun clubs, sporting clubs, fishing clubs and hunting clubs in the area straddle the Border. There is no longer an effective Border.

I compliment the good work of two Tipperary men, the late Fr. Alec Reid and the former Minister of State and advisor, Martin Mansergh, as well as that of Martin McGuinness, God rest him, Deputy Adams, John Hume, Ian Paisley and all those who were involved, including the former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, who left his mother's graveside to go and tie up the deal. We must not lose the enthusiasm that existed for the Good Friday Agreement and was evidenced by huge turnout in the referendums, North and South.

We must not have a hard Border. I travel to Medjugorje every year and I see the border between Bosnia and Croatia. There is a new motorway, obviously built with the help of EU funds, on which a large border checkpoint has been built. It is an external EU border. If the EU is prepared to put in a big border post there, no one should cod us that it would not be prepared to put a similar one in this country. At that border post there are queues for a couple of miles with buses and so on and passports are checked. It would be unthinkable to return to that in Ireland.

We must work together. I will not lecture those in Sinn Féin who are present but it is a pity that nationalists in Northern Ireland have no representative in the United Kingdom Parliament. They used to be represented by the SDLP and, to a lesser extent, the Alliance Party. It is a polarised situation. Members know who the minority holding the sway over Prime Minister May is and that is not Sinn Féin or the SDLP or any other nationalist group. One has to admire the DUP for its tenacity and the way it has come to hold such power but I do not agree with many of its views on the issue.

I meet many farmers from Northern Ireland who do not want Brexit. The exports and imports of milk, grain and poultry and so on across the Border have a phenomenal impact and it is a huge sector. I have met sales persons from companies and machinery exporters in this country which are known all over the world such as Keenan Systems, McHales in Mayo and Abbey Retail in Nenagh. The order books of such companies are very much diminished not because they will not get the orders but, rather, because there is such uncertainty over Brexit in the food and farming sector right across the parts of Europe and beyond with which they deal. That behoves us all to put our shoulder to the wheel, as Deputy Michael Healy-Rae said, and have the situation resolved. The uncertainty across the pond is of no help to any parts of markets North or South. All the farming organisations are very worried, as is the education sector. There are so many cross-Border initiatives at risk, such as the Collins and Healy-Rae bus that brings people for treatment for cataracts. That bus will keep going and the Deputies will fill it and we will shame the Government into providing such a service here. However, we might lose the connectivity of cross-Border initiatives from Northern Ireland, which would be a fierce disaster for a campaign that the Deputies have rightly gotten going to allow people to see the light.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Declan Breathnach)

There were eight 15 minute slots. Deputy Durkan has indicated he would like to speak, with the permission of the House. Is that agreed?

Deputy Mattie McGrath

Ar aghaidh leat.

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin

A couple of minutes.

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Dhá nóiméad.

Deputy Gerry Adams

Lean ar aghaidh.

(Interruptions).

Deputy Mattie McGrath

I propose that Deputy Durkan take 15 minutes.

Deputy Simon Coveney

Deputy Durkan should not be harangued by Sinn Féin Deputies.

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

I come to the House to record our appreciation for the work done by everybody in connection with the Brexit negotiations. We were very lucky. Our negotiating teams have honed their skills in negotiation and international diplomacy. I compliment the Tánaiste, Deputy Coveney, the Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, and the former Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, for laying the groundwork over the past 12 months at a crucial time for the island of Ireland, North and South. I compliment the chairman of the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, for the way he contributed and donned the Irish jersey in promoting the cause North and South. We should also acknowledge our European colleagues who stood so solidly with us in order to ensure that the Union prevailed and looked after itself.

The people of this island, North and South, have become economically dependent on each other over the past 20 years in a way that did not pertain before that. There has been a significant economic dividend from the relationship that has developed and the benefit of that has been seen by all. The next stage and objective must be the degree to which the Tánaiste and the Government can interact with nationalists and unionists in Northern Ireland in order to represent their interests in the context of negotiations that must and will continue because there is an onus on everybody on the island to ensure that what was achieved over the years and the sacrifices and very serious calls that were made are not allowed to slip away. There is no intention of allowing that to happen. The Tánaiste can take a bow and convey our thanks to our colleagues in the European Union, who have clearly indicated their willingness to back the Union and endeavour to do everything possible to retain the benefits we have achieved.

Dáil Éireann debate - Wednesday, 13 Dec 2017

Northern Ireland: Statements

Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 13 Dec 2017