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

I welcome our guests and thank them for their contributions. Perhaps we might receive a paper from Professor Hamber and Dr. Jarmon because both of them mentioned a very wide and diverse range of issues which need to be tackled. A very important point Mr. Sheridan made was that we should continue to recognise the achievements of the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement which remain as impressive as ever. The potential of the Agreement needs to be realised, which I think was a theme running through the three contributions.

I saw a figure recently indicating that 21% of the population on the island had not been born at the time of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. A huge proportion of the population were born post the Agreement which was never seen as an end in itself. Mr. Seamus Mallon who contributed so much to politics on the island said it was a new dispensation to ensure we reshaped politics to benefit all communities. I hope I have quoted him correctly. Dr. Jarmon has said that, by and large, we have a society free of the violence to which unfortunately we had become used over many decades. He has spoken about the underlying issues and the fuelling of violence by the lack of opportunities in so many communities.

I was surprised that in the three contributions greater emphasis was not placed on education and the poor school completion rates in the more disadvantaged areas, particularly in loyalist communities. Those of us who have been involved in public life for some time and society in general recognise that if young people are not given the opportunity to gain skills, they will not gain employment. That people do not have job opportunities can pose a threat and present an opportunity for groups not working in the best interests of society to manipulate and prey on those who may be vulnerable at different times. We must be conscious of the need to deal with underlying unemployment problems in communities in which, unfortunately, there are high rates of unemployment, as well as a lack of skills and poor participation rates in education.

Many members of the committee had the opportunity during a visit to Belfast at the end of November to meet different groups. It was very clear to us that many of these communities were not sharing in what should be the dividend of empowering young people and giving them the skills and opportunities to acquire skills which would enable them to take up the limited job opportunities available throughout the island. In the working of the Agreement and the work of the Executive and the Assembly some initiatives must be taken to ensure people living in communities which have been blighted by unemployment during the years receive the benefit of that extra intervention. When Senator George Mitchell was here, we discussed this issue with him and he agreed with us that throughout the world wherever there had been conflict, there was a need post-conflict to place additional emphasis on ensuring people in very disadvantaged communities had the opportunity to acquire good educational qualifications and skills. Unfortunately, as we all know, the necessary skills do not guarantee someone a job, but whatever chance he or she has of gaining employment, it is extremely limited if he or she does not have a good education and has not pursued the acquisition of skills in different areas.

On the 15th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, it is very important to mark the huge progress made on the island. The Agreement is not an end in itself. It is incumbent on all those involved in politics in Northern Ireland and the Executive to ensure they give the leadership in Northern Ireland. I take the opportunity to compliment the likes of Mr. Mark Durkan and others who for many years and decades strove to reach the day when an agreement would be signed which would not threaten anybody's identity or nationality. People like Mr. Durkan and many others contributed immensely to that process.