Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Ms Kelly, Mr. Dallat and Ms McNeill and thank them for their presentation. We must determine the position on this matter. They asked whether there was an appetite for reconvening the civic forum. In the last vote held in the Assembly on this matter, a small majority was in favour. In this lies the answer. The SDLP, Sinn Féin and Independent groups want the civic forum, yet the Unionists are failing to grasp this desire, which is overwhelmingly supported by the number of submissions made to the Haass talks. In all of the committee's visits to Northern Ireland and in my visits through my political party, the one thing that the groups we met all wanted was to be able to explain their positions and to have them understood. If we stymie that, we will stymie the aim of all of this, namely, the joining together of two communities for the betterment of both and with knock-on effects for the political process.

The Good Friday Agreement was heralded worldwide and everyone was on board with it. As such, it is disappointing to see that the civic forum will not be a part of it. We must use every mechanism available to us, be it the consultative forum or the North-South Ministerial Council, to pressurise the Northern Irish system, which steadfastly refuses to address this issue. The civic forum's initiation cost £500,000 or £750,000. Compared with the costs being incurred by other ongoing problems, for example, the flag dispute, the civic forum's initiation was value for money. It gave various groups an opportunity, be they communities, political entities or sporting bodies. Each community has many different aspects. We should give them all an opportunity to participate, offer their opinions and work together to get us across the line.

I support the trend at this meeting. I will refer to my party leader, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, the concerns and words that have been expressed and ask that we put the civic forum's reactivation on the agenda of any talks he has with the Secretary of State or Westminster.