Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There has been a huge change in the political climate since the pre-Good Friday Agreement era. Every once in a while, people should pause and recall the time when the conflict in and militarisation of the Six Counties affected all aspects of life on this island. They should also recall how, before the Agreement, it was virtually impossible to contemplate an era of peace in which British soldiers and their sidekicks in the RUC would not harass and hound Nationalists, in which the Six Counties would not have been all but cut off from the remainder of the island and in which thousands of men and women would not languishing in jails in Ireland and Britain on foot of conflict-related charges or in which death and injury as a result of war would not be a daily occurrence. We have achieved much of that to which I refer, which was a dream for all of us during the conflict. As an Irish republican, I also dream of a time - soon, I hope - when I will witness the reunification of Ireland.

The subject of this debate is the Good Friday Agreement, 15 years on. I commend those who had the vision to see beyond that supposedly intractable impasse in which we lived until 1998. The work of some of the key players in early years of the peace process has been acknowledged by previous speakers. I support the comments that were made in this regard. However, I especially wish to acknowledge the role of my party leader, Deputy Adams, and of the Deputy First Minister, Mr. Martin McGuinness, MLA. Without them, there would not have been a Good Friday Agreement and there would be no peace. Perhaps Deputy Deasy, who seems to be stuck in blinkered anti-republican mode, might dwell on that when he reflects on his ill-informed contribution to this debate. The Deputy's comments are only a reflection of the other ill-informed statements and jibes we regularly hear in this Chamber. Ignorance is bliss but it behoves the Members of this House - as with any other issue - to fully inform themselves of the facts with regard to what is happening in the Six Counties. Somebody should inform Deputy Deasy that 15 years have passed and that Ireland and the world have moved on. However, that is not to state that everything has been resolved. Far from it. Without Deputy Adams, Deputy First Minister McGuinness and the party, as a whole, pushing out the boundaries during negotiations on the Good Friday Agreement, the Weston Park agreement and St. Andrews Agreement, we would be much worse off than is now the case. Others were contemplating settling for much less than was achieved in the Good Friday Agreement.

Dar leis na Poblachtaigh, is próiséas atá i gceist anseo agus dá réir sin, tá bogadh éigean agus dul chun cinn éigin i gceist. 'Séard is brí le sin, ná go bhfuil ar an Rialtas anseo agus i Shasana comhlíonadh a dhéanamh ar na geallúintí a thug siad. Don chuid is mó, tá an méid atá geallúnta ag an Rialtas anseo comhlíonta, ach níl se sin déanta i gcás an Rialtas i Shasana. Ag an staid seo, ba cheart go mbeidfimís ag cur leis an dul chun cinn seachas a bheith fós ag lorg geallúintí a bheith chomhlíonta 15 blian ina dhiaidh an Chomhaontú.

My colleagues have outlined many of the outstanding issues, particularly in respect of a peace dividend for the North. In December, I informed the Minister for Justice in the Six Counties, Mr. David Ford, MLA, that the biggest threat to the peace process would be the death in prison of Marian Price or Gerry McGeough.

Since then, the latter has been released, but Marian's health has continued to deteriorate. The intractable mindsets of securocrats who would keep an ageing woman with mental health problems locked up without charge, deny their own Queen's pardon and keep Mr. Martin Corey locked up without trial or a case to answer obviously do not understand the history of prison conflict in Ireland. Maybe they do and it suits their warped agenda, which was never about what was best for Ireland.

The message should go out from this Chamber to the British Government loud and clear - release Marian Price and Martin Corey immediately. There should be no prevarication.

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