Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 October 2014
74. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide details of the latest initiative to reach agreement on the Haass proposals in Northern Ireland; the areas to be dealt with in these talks; if the devolution of further responsibilities to the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly will be considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37870/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI congratulate the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan, and the Ministers of State at that Department on their appointments, and I wish them well in their responsibilities.
I welcome the statement made at the end of September by the British Secretary of State, Theresa Villiers, to the effect that there will be a new round of cross-party negotiations involving the Irish and British Governments. I also welcome the follow-up statement made by the Minister, Deputy Flanagan. Important and contentious issues must be resolved, specifically parades, flags and contending with the past. I have argued for most of the past year that both Governments, as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement, must take a central, leading role in the talks to drive them to a successful and early conclusion.
I thank Deputy Brendan Smith for his comments and look forward to working closely with him on this important issue. The British and Irish Governments have confirmed their intention to convene all-party talks involving both Governments. Over the recent period, the Northern Ireland Executive has been faced with a number of challenges on which it has been difficult to find agreement. I am strongly of the view that talks are required to overcome the current political impasse within the Northern Ireland Executive, including legacy issues such as parades, flags, identity and dealing with the past, which were the subject of talks chaired late last year by Dr. Richard Haass and Dr. Meghan O’Sullivan. A failure to address these issues would have serious consequences for the effective functioning of the Northern Ireland Executive. I am confident the North's political representatives will show the leadership needed to deliver comprehensive, fair and balanced solutions to the issues before them.
This will require compromise and committed engagement to the talks process. The goal is to ensure that Northern Ireland’s political institutions not only function, but flourish, to the benefit of all, as envisaged by the Good Friday Agreement. I support partnership government in Northern Ireland and will continue to work with the Northern Ireland Executive parties and colleagues in the British Government, with the full support of our partners in the United States, in the period ahead.
The specific agenda and format of the talks have yet to be finalised. In addition to the above mentioned legacy issues, I expect budgetary and financial matters to also be on the agenda; these may include the question of the devolution of corporation tax powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly. I will report back to the House when a specific agenda has been agreed.
I thank the Minister for his reply and I am glad to note there will be an expansion of the particular issues to be discussed. Will the Minister indicate the timeframe and the work programme? When does he hope to have these agreed between the two Governments and the Executive parties? The Minister quite rightly stated that peace must yield benefits and dividends to all communities. Throughout these talks, urgency and momentum must be attached to show the people of Northern Ireland and throughout the island that politics work and that it is about delivering for people. Dealing with these issues will allow the Executive, the Assembly and the two Governments to deal more and more with the bread and butter issues in which the people throughout the island want to see us engaged. I hope progress can be made quickly. As I have stated previously to the Minister's predecessor, the two Governments need to take a leading role and I sincerely hope it will be the Minister's focus. Why was the statement of Theresa Villiers a stand-alone statement with a follow up statement from the Minister? I know he was in New York on the day. Why was it not a joint statement on a major issue? It is a departure from precedent.
To deal with the final issue first, it was not a joint statement because, as the Deputy is aware, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland issued her statement at her party conference. It would not have been appropriate for me to issue a statement at a Conservative Party conference. I issued a statement from New York at precisely the same time. We had been engaged in the process during the previous days. I was conscious of the fact the announcement would be made at a forum at which my attendance could not have been facilitated. If the Deputy checks the record, he will see the statements were made contemporaneously.
As soon as I took office as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, I immediately engaged with all key stakeholders in Northern Ireland. In recent months I have regularly met and spoken with party leaders to exchange views on developments as they occur. This evening, I will have a meeting with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and we will work out the detailed agenda, the particulars of which I am not yet in a position to provide to the House. With regard to the timeframe, it is expected the talks will take place over the next two weeks or more. I am cautious of putting a definite timeframe on them but I will be disappointed if the talks are not under way within a period of two weeks. I expect they will intensify. With goodwill on the part of everybody involved, I hope that by the year end we will be in a position to report progress.
