Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Good Friday Agreement is a powerful and lasting achievement, marking an historic breakthrough in relations on this island, as well as in relations between Ireland and Britain. All of us must be conscious of the significant benefits that have derived from the Agreement but we must be diligent in our work to ensure the peace process is not just about the absence of violence. That is not taking away from the importance of the cessation of violence but the potential of the Agreement is not being maximised. Unfortunately, complacency has been the order of the day for both Governments over the past three years. The peace process was always intended to be a bit more than an absence of violence. The people of Northern Ireland deserve a political system that delivers progress and shows clearly in people’s everyday lives that politics works. The ongoing work of the peace process must be about delivering benefits to the people on this entire island.

All analyses of the work of the Northern Ireland Assembly show, regrettably, how ineffective it has been in regard to the processing and passing of legislation. The Executive and the Assembly have extremely important work to undertake, major problems to be surmounted when one considers the high level of child poverty which requires urgent attention. A staggering 46.2% of children in Belfast are defined as living in poverty. Those indices clearly indicate the need for financial support for families and communities, particularly in areas classified as deprived or disadvantaged.

Surely statistics should indicate to any public representative of any political party or religious belief that these are the issues to be tackled for the betterment of society, not daily petty political bickering. At the end of 2012 and in early 2013, the flag protests inflicted massive damage on the economy both North and South, but naturally more so in Belfast. Alienated sections of the community obviously will latch on to any particular movement like that, and such tensions and activities are holding Northern Ireland back. One also must be cognisant of the criminal intent of some people who would be referred to commonly as dissident republicans, which is a description I believe is not apt for criminals. Those people pose a threat to society in Northern Ireland and right along the Border, including my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan and elsewhere. I want to state clearly to those people that they have no mandate and no support, that their behaviour is not tolerable and is not acceptable and that such criminality, thuggery and violence should end.

Political parties in the North cannot simply rule by division of the spoils. As a guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, the Irish Government, together with its British counterpart, has a critical role to play in ensuring the peace process provides real dividends to all the people on this island. I commend those who participated positively and actively in the Haass talks, but unfortunately, a consensus was not reached on those particular proposals. As my party leader, Deputy Martin, stated earlier and as I have noted in debates with the Tánaiste in this Chamber, particularly during Question Time, it is highly regrettable that the two Governments did not adopt a hands-on approach in those important and necessary talks. Ireland's history and recent history in particular show clearly that the active and constructive engagement of the two sovereign Governments is essential to bring about needed agreement on major issues. All of the issues that formed the basis of the Haass talks are important and I note that the aforementioned talks were the first time that the Northern Ireland Executive undertook substantial discussions on the architecture of the peace agreement in the North without either Government being involved. The failure to date to reach agreement on the Haass talks clearly underlines again the importance of both Governments being vigilant and being actively involved in Northern Ireland.

I believe it is vital that the Irish Government, as a guarantor of the process, works with the British Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to help ensure that peace yields real dividends for all communities in the North. Lack of progress and a vacuum can be very dangerous. As I mentioned earlier, the residual threat of dissident groups and indeed violence by loyalist thugs are a real threat to the economy and to society on the island. Politics in the Assembly and in the Executive must be about bread-and-butter issues that face the communities in every town, village and rural parish in the North of Ireland. The time for grandstanding and playing to one’s own constituency is long gone.

I will take this opportunity to compliment Ambassador Richard Haass and Dr. Meghan O’Sullivan on their work in formalising good proposals which, unfortunately, have not won the support of the five parties in the Assembly. It is extremely regrettable that the two Unionist parties have not agreed to the proposals put forward. I believe the proposals are good, important and progressive and that they can be built upon. I commend the other three parties, which were positive in their work. There is an urgency with regard to this matter, particularly in view of the tensions, conflicts and violence Members witnessed last year. It always has been my opinion from the outset of this process that it would be extremely difficult to achieve agreement without the hands-on and direct involvement of the two sovereign Governments. All Members are aware that the Downing Street Declaration, the Good Friday Agreement and the St. Andrews Agreement were driven by the two Governments working with the parties in Northern Ireland. There never has been a breakthrough in Northern Ireland without the direct hands-on involvement of the two sovereign Governments.

I wish to recognise again the huge contribution the SDLP has made to the progress that has been achieved on this island. On 8 January, after Ambassador Haass and Dr. O’Sullivan had tabled their proposals, the SDLP leader, Alasdair McDonnell, speaking in the House of Commons, stated:

The Secretary of State will recall that when the Haass process has been mentioned on previous occasions, I have urged a much greater involvement at an earlier stage by both the British and Irish Governments to ensure [that a] positive outcome and ... a determined implementation and legislation programme [was put in place].

Those are the comments of the leader of a democratic Nationalist party that continues to contribute so much to the political life in this island. Moreover, they contradict directly comments made by the Tánaiste in this House previously. The proposals published by Ambassador Haass and Dr. O’Sullivan on 31 December 2013 captured a series of measures that would facilitate progress on the key issues that are holding Northern Ireland back. Both Governments, working with all of the parties in Northern Ireland, must ensure the progress made is not lost and that the outstanding issues are addressed properly and conclusively. Hopefully agreement will be reached without much further delay, and the SDLP and others have called on the British Government to contribute financially to ensure the successful implementation of the proposals that warrant expenditure. On foot of an agreement, any necessary legislation should be enacted and necessary financial resources provided.

I again welcome the publication of Anne Cadwallader’sLethal Allies: British Collusion in Ireland, which literally was chilling reading. Ms Cadwallader recounted the stories of 120 people murdered by loyalist gangs, some of whom had been armed from Ulster Defence Regiment, UDR, depots. All bar one of those 120 people were not involved in violence of any kind, with just one person having a link with the IRA. The rest were citizens going about their daily work. Some were active members of the SDLP and other legitimate voluntary and community organisations, including Cumann Lúthchleas Gael. That was their only public involvement. The minimum their families deserve is the truth, and society deserves the truth about all of those awful murders. Ms Cadwallader’s book raises a series of questions about the past that are very relevant in the context of the Haass talks. It has now been some years since Members passed the unanimous motion in this House calling on the British Government to co-operate on the matter of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings, but sadly there has been no positive response. Of the 120 murders outlined in Ms Cadwallader’s book, one third took place South of the Border. Sadly, a number of people were murdered in my own constituency, in the Belturbet bombing and in the bombing in Monaghan town. Appropriate inquiries must be carried out in respect of the slaughter of those innocent people. In the middle of December last, I arranged for representatives of the families of the Disappeared and of other victims to address the all-party Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. Again, those families outlined their demand, which simply was a demand for the truth. In meeting those families and in any dialogue with them, one can see they do not seek revenge but just want the truth. Margaret Urwin of Justice for the Forgotten and Anne Cadwallader are to be commended on their ongoing advocacy work with regard to these very difficult issues and their ongoing contact with and support for those families.

The reunification of the island of Ireland as one political entity is a founding value of the Fianna Fáil Party and a key guiding objective of our party. The changes to Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution under the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, verified by an overwhelming majority in an all-island vote, set out our vision to work towards that goal of a united Ireland through a peaceful consensus with all traditions. It was a pleasure to listen recently to the former British Prime Minister, John Major, outlining in detail the work both he and Albert Reynolds did in achieving the Downing Street Declaration. That work was carried out during a very difficult period in the history of both islands and it was the tenacity, commitment, leadership and courage of both political leaders that achieved that very important declaration. Similarly, the Good Friday Agreement and the St. Andrews Agreement were victories for constitutional republicanism. That commitment and that leadership were shown and this is what is needed at present to deal with the important issues confronting the people in the Six Counties, which are of critical importance to the entire island.

I note that the Minister of State, Deputy Perry, who also represents a Border constituency, is present in the Chamber. One area that must be addressed is the maximisation of the Good Friday Agreement, with particular emphasis on cross-Border economic, trading and retail policy. All of these issues must be treated with urgency and additional impetus must be given to them. I hope, for the benefit of all people on this island, that progress, which unfortunately is sadly lacking today, can be achieved.

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