Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 September 2023
65. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his attendance at the British-Irish Association 2023 Conference; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41856/23]
View answerI was a keynote speaker at the British Irish Association’s annual conference, which this year took place in Oxford.
The aim of the British-Irish Association is to promote mutual understanding between the people of our islands, to identify emerging issues, to support positive change and to look to the future. Such an ambition is ever more important against the backdrop of the ongoing challenges facing Northern Ireland, in particular the continued blockage of the Good Friday Agreement institutions.
At the conference, I was glad to have the opportunity to meet with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris, and political, religious and civil society leaders from across Northern Ireland. Throughout the conference we heard from voices across the political spectrum on issues including the changing context for British-Irish relations, the absence of functioning power-sharing institutions in Northern Ireland and the importance of all three Strands of the Good Friday Agreement.
In my address to the Conference, I set out a positive vision for a stronger partnership approach between the Irish and British Governments on Northern Ireland, which is needed to ensure that all three Strands of the Agreement deliver as intended. I highlighted the Government's Shared Island initiative, which is investing in partnerships across these island. I also urged Northern Ireland’s leaders to consider the effect that the current political crisis has on the weave of social fabric, particularly on those parts of society where the peace process is spread most thinly.
In my meeting with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the margins of the conference, we discussed the challenges around Executive Formation and the importance of closer partnership between the two Governments as we work to restore the institutions. I also raised in very frank terms the Government’s concerns on the UK’s legacy legislation – it is deeply regrettable that the UK has since pressed on with this legislation in the face of almost universal criticism from stakeholders.
