Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 March 2018
46. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to request the British Government to convene an Intergovernmental Conference between the British and Irish Governments in respect of Northern Ireland; and the proposed agenda for such a conference. [14460/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI seek as an honest an assessment as the Tánaiste can give on the possibility of calling a British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference as one of the potential mechanisms for unlocking the current impasse in the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. As we approach the 20th anniversary of the establishment of this incredible structure, it is particularly sad that the Good Friday Agreement is in such difficulty. What response, if any, has the Tánaiste received to his call for convening an Intergovernmental Conference? What would be the agenda of any such meeting?
I share Deputy Eamon Ryan's frustration and concern as we approach the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, which was a transformative agreement for many people in Northern Ireland that laid the foundation for a peace process that has taken hold in the past two decades and resulted in the creation of an invisible border on the island of Ireland, a border we are seeking to protect from Brexit. The agreement has, at times, brought together political parties and communities that would otherwise have been polarised and divided. That said, there remains much work to be done, inspired, I hope, by the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement and using its structures to ensure that we can solve the current problems and impasse in terms of the lack of a devolved government at Stormont. Devolved government is a central piece of the Good Friday Agreement in terms of ensuring it works to facilitate structured North-South co-operation and devolved decision-making in Northern Ireland. In its absence, the Irish and British Governments regularly discuss how we will find a way forward to get devolved government back up and running because that is the only credible answer to how politics should function in Northern Ireland.
When this issue was last raised - I believe it was Deputy Eamon Ryan who raised it - I made the point that I had, in conversation, asked the Secretary of State, Ms Karen Bradley, to think about convening a British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference at ministerial level. I will speak to the Secretary of State on the matter this week. At the time, she indicated she wanted to reflect on the matter, which was a reasonable response because any decision one makes has consequences and triggers reactions, responses and so on. I do not have a formal update for the Deputy. However, I will speak to the Secretary of State this week and we will see how things progress from there.
Earlier this week. I spoke with my Green Party colleagues in the North, Stephen Agnew, MLA, and Clare Bailey, MLA, who gave a harsh assessment of what is happening. They are in constant contact with various community groups and other organisations that are effectively shutting up shop because the budgetary process is continuing and they are not receiving funding. The whole mechanism of local government and local community involvement is falling apart. This cannot go on because we have reached crisis point. My colleagues are on the ground and close to the political system and their assessment is that there is not a snowball's chance of a devolved administration or assembly returning. No one in the North believes that is on the cards in the foreseeable future for a range of complex reasons connected to Brexit and other matters. What happens if the Secretary of State says "No" or needs another two or three weeks to respond to the Tánaiste's request? What would that say to the community and other groups we work with, which are effectively operating under direct rule? They are not being given direction or shown fairness.
I share many of the Deputy's concerns. The current impasse in Northern Ireland is very serious. That is why, when the devolved institutions are not functioning, it is important the two Governments work together, build a relationship based on trust and ensure that decisions are made in the best interests of people in Northern Ireland who rely on their sovereign Government, namely, the British Government, but also on the structures of the Good Friday Agreement, which provides the Irish Government with a consultative role in terms of some of the considerations that are needed now. Much thought is going into how best to proceed. We must do so without being in any way naive about the barriers, frustrations and blockages that are clearly in place, some of which linked to tension regarding Brexit, while others are linked to ongoing inquiries and conversations that are taking place in political parties. My approach is to listen to and consult all the political parties and ensure that the Government plays its role and fulfils its responsibility as a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement in terms of the relationship it continues to have and in partnership with the British Government in the context of decisions that need to be made.
While the Good Friday Agreement was a huge leap forward and set a great international example, it was not without flaws. For some time, the Green Party has been calling for a constitutional convention involving ordinary citizens in Northern Ireland similar to the Citizens' Assembly. We need to recognise that a range of mechanisms in the Northern Ireland administration and assembly need to be reformed because of their sectarian nature. For example, forcing Members of the Legislative Assembly, MLAs, to declare whether they are nationalists or unionists and the use of petitions of concern are deeply flawed structures. Rather than focusing discussions entirely on what I would describe as the sectarian end of the political spectrum in the North, why has the Government not engaged with the likes of my colleague, Stephen Agnew, to examine ideas that might break the impasse, particularly as no such ideas are coming from a sectarian position in terms of administration of the Good Friday Agreement? My colleagues are trying to make the agreement work and this will require change. Will the Tánaiste break out of the DUP-Sinn Féin hold on this issue and start broadening the political debate to try to break the impasse?
The straight answer to the Deputy's question is "Yes". I have been open to listening to, discussing and debating with parties in Northern Ireland other than the DUP and Sinn Féin. I will be happy to speak to Green Party representatives in that regard. I speak to the SDLP, the Alliance Party and the Ulster Unionist Party and will continue to do so. We have an obligation to listen to everybody. All the parties, big and small, have a mandate and all of them, including the big two, want devolved government restored at Stormont. The question is how we can create a context that will allow this to happen.
The truth is that we cannot have devolved government if the two largest parties do not agree to work together to make it happen. We want to have a fully inclusive executive that involves all of the parties. Fundamentally, however, this will be very difficult in the absence of efforts by the two largest parties to accommodate each other in terms of a way forward. If it is not possible to do that in the short term, we will have to look at ways in which we can create stability in the medium term, while we try to put a context and structure in place that can ultimately deliver the outcome of devolved government. However, we also need to be careful not to question and undermine the Good Friday Agreement when trying to achieve this outcome because the agreement is the one certainty and foundation that we know works in terms of providing structures within which to work. This is why the Government is so committed to using the structures of the agreement to try to find a way through the current impasse. This is not the first time there has been an impasse in Northern Ireland that has posed significant difficulties. We need to find a way of overcoming the current impasse and I believe it is possible to do so.
