Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 March 2018
150. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on the commemorations for the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in Dublin, Belfast, London and the United States of America. [14146/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraA programme of events is underway, at home and abroad, to highlight this important anniversary and to mark the achievement of the Agreement, which continues to be the cornerstone of our commitment to peace and reconciliation.
My Department continues to engage with other Government Departments and, both here on the island of Ireland and through our overseas Embassy network, with a range of individuals, groups and institutions, who are considering and planning conferences, seminars, cultural responses, acts of commemoration and other initiatives to mark the 20th anniversary.
The Government’s programme will include a production called A Further Shore, which uses poetry, images and music to reflect on the troubled journey towards peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland. This production will take place in London on 5th April and Belfast on 9th April. Events to mark the people’s vote for the Agreement on the 22nd May are also under development. An all-island schools competition is also underway, in co-operation with the Department of Education, and a prizegiving ceremony will take place for the winners of this competition in Dublin in May.
In February, I spoke at a Co-operation Ireland ‘20 Years of Peace’ conference in New York on the Good Friday Agreement, which was supported by the Consulate there. Earlier this month the Taoiseach addressed a forum on the anniversary at the Library of Congress in Washington DC.
Further events, organised or supported through our Mission network, are currently planned for Abuja, Boston, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, Brussels, Kosovo, Warsaw, Beijing, Tokyo, Geneva and Tel Aviv.
The events marking this important anniversary will provide an opportunity to reflect on the peace process, past and present; to remember the loss of life during the years of conflict; and to look back at all that has happened on the journey of peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland.
This journey is of course an ongoing one, and the continued imperative to work to realise the full potential of the Good Friday Agreement will form an essential part of the Government’s approach to the 20th anniversary.
