Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The North's Minister for Justice, Mr. David Ford, MLA, has acknowledged that there is a gap in the legislation on parades. He would like to see it addressed.

Deputy Smith referred to immigration reform. The Taoiseach and the Ministers will take every opportunity to advance this work. The Tánaiste was recently in ongoing contact with Congressman Paul Ryan. People on all sides of the political divide agree that this is a major priority. We are anxious to make progress on it as quickly as possible.

Deputy Conlan raised a number of issues. With others, he mentioned the heavy goods vehicle, HGV, levy, which will be introduced across the UK from 1 April. Naturally, we are concerned that it may impact on cross-Border trade and all areas within the Border region. A number of representations were made by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, who has taken the lead on this issue. Several roads that criss-cross the Border - parts of the A37 and the A3 - are being exempted from the levy. We will continue to pursue additional exemptions, including for the A5, given the Irish Government's financial commitment to its upgrade. We are anxious to ensure that the levy is not dealt with in the way outlined by Ms Gildernew, that is, it is discussed in the broader UK, but its application to Scotland and Northern Ireland is an afterthought, and that it not interfere in any way with cross-Border trade and co-operation between the two jurisdictions.

Deputy Conlan raised the issue of health care services. A degree of co-operation in this area is taking place. For example, ongoing co-operation is taking place with the radiotherapy centre in Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry. Likewise, there is ongoing co-operation on the health initiative with European Union funding. There are also developments in cross-Border children's paediatric cardiac surgery. They are a number of examples of co-operation but health is such a crucial area that facilities north and south of the Border that are in easy reach of each other should be maximised to the full. We will take that matter on board. A note is being taken by the officials of all the items that have been raised and they will be built into the system.
Ms Michelle Gildernew, MP, is very welcome. Her initial question on having an out-of-hours contact is a valid point in that there can be issues that concern this jurisdiction and it is frustrating if no contact is available at the time in question. We are happy to address that and we will be in contact with her on that point.
On the health issue Ms Gildernew raised, we are anxious to expand and develop the level of co-operation that is in place. It is at a fledging level at present but it is certainly an area for cross-Border co-operation. The next meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council plenary will provide an opportunity to review the health area that was raised by Deputy Conlan and Ms Gildernew and to review progress with the Northern Ireland Executive.
Ms Gildernew mentioned the reconciliation fund. Naturally, we are extremely open to any progress and developments in this area and in ensuring the most efficient use of the funds. However, it is important to bear in mind that these involve small grants - less than €120,000. Essentially, it is a fund that is provided in this jurisdiction and it does not have matching funds. It is not a substitute or an add-on to funding that comes from the Northern Ireland Executive. There are considerable limitations on what can be done with this fund. It is something that might be well worthwhile examining in terms of matching funds, topping it up and increasing that amount.
Deputy Ferris's remarks about an all-Ireland economy in the context of jobs are extremely important. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste propose much closer agreement with the Executive on the issue of youth unemployment in particular. That was very much the focus of our Presidency in the first half of last year. It is something that could be strongly explored because there are high levels of youth unemployment on both sides of the Border. The Minister for Social Protection is finalising the drawing down of €130 million in this jurisdiction in regard to youth unemployment and that is frontloaded for the first two years, 2014 and 2015. In the context of perhaps examining areas of matching funds, the Government has to look at making its contribution but also the European Investment Bank has agreed that it would provide matching funds. There is a whole area that can be opened up in that respect. It is something that could very easily be addressed on a joint cross-Border basis and it probably would lead to greater progress than any other in the sense of providing jobs where there are none at present. That is something we will certainly take on board.
On the role of the two Governments, I would emphasise the point that in the talks that are taking place, primary responsibility lies with the Northern Ireland Executive parties. The Irish Government is playing an active role to the full in partnership with the Northern Ireland Executive parties as they complete the work of the Agreement. The Tánaiste spoke with all the party leaders last week and that level of contact will continue. It is essentially the Northern Ireland Executive that has to deal with the substance of the issues but there will be full support from the Tánaiste and the Government.
Deputy Wall raised the construction of the Narrow Water Bridge and the establishment of a civic forum. That is unfinished business in regard to the Good Friday Agreement. The Tánaiste, who has ongoing contacts with the Secretary of State, will take the opportunity to discuss the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, including the establishment of a civic forum. With the Northern Ireland Executive concluding in the context of the North-South Ministerial Council, the Government has continued to support the re-establishment of the civic forum as a valuable and, as yet, unimplemented provision of the Good Friday Agreement. We are of the view that a strong and resilient civic forum can play an important role in providing a positive and constructive challenge to the political process and in building a more reconciled and prosperous Northern Ireland. That is an area that needs to be pushed because with the establishment of a civic forum, ordinary people get involved to a greater degree. It is something we are always talking about in terms of overseas development and our activity on the international plane is focused on the importance of civic society and the importance of space for engagement at a civic level. I am sure that is something we will strongly take on board.
Deputy Crowe referred to the Justice for the Forgotten and that is an important area. The subject of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings is coming back to the fore again as this year is the 40th anniversary of those bombings. Good work has been done by Margaret Irwin in that context and it is important there is funding to support the good work that is being done. I previously indicated that Justice for the Forgotten would be welcome to apply for funding from the reconciliation fund, which is operated through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It has been in contact recently with the Justice for the Forgotten and the closing date for receipt of such applications is 7 March 2014. The Deputy might just bring that to their attention again. We would be very supportive of ensuring that there is a stream of funding to continue the good work that has taken place to date in very difficult circumstances.
Deputy Crowe made an interesting suggestion regarding GSOC, a relevant one at present. The Northern Ireland ombudsman and policing commission have been very successful. It is important we take those messages on board in the current context as we are reviewing the operation of our own Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and there is the need to ensure that we update in that context. We can very well take the template that has been effective in Northern Ireland and take on board the benefits gained from that. That is a good cross-Border initiative on which we can work.
In regard to the economy and what Deputy Ferris said in that context, we have been engaged in joint trade missions with Northern Ireland. We had a joint trade mission with Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom and Ireland two weeks ago in Singapore and it was very successful. This is a matter that comes under my direct jurisdiction and I am very anxious to see a greater level of joint trade missions to various parts of the world where we can complement each other in terms of doing business, seeking partnerships and making useful engagements. We started the Africa Ireland Economic Forum two years ago where a few hundred of Ireland's companies that are doing business in Africa meet on an annual basis in conjunction with the Global Irish Economic Forum and a few hundred businesses in Africa come over to Ireland. We do it through the embassies and it would be useful to have Northern Ireland presence there in order that Northern Ireland companies could equally engage at that level.

There are specific areas in that respect, and agriculture is another area on which we could do a lot of work together.
Deputy Crowe might be aware that one of my responsibilities is in terms of development. There is not any reason we should not do a joint project on overseas development aid where we would work together with the Northern Ireland Executive in delivering a project we would seek to fund jointly. That would be beneficial in terms of sustainable development in some country, perhaps in Africa where there is great need in that respect. There are areas in that regard where I believe such joint projects would be very useful.
The Parry family has been told they are welcome to apply for reconciliation fund support. Deputy Crowe might mention that to them.
The last point Deputy Crowe made was on the consultative forum. The Government wants to see this established but, ultimately, it is a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.
Regarding immigration and border controls, we will see about pursuing that. We have dealt with the issue of victims.
Senator Moran spoke about penalty points. We will have to come back to the Senator on that. It is primarily a matter for the Departments of Justice and Equality and Transport, Tourism and Sport. I have seen the documentation on that, which has been covered in the media, and I am aware of the difficulty in applying penalty points in another jurisdiction, but that was always the difficulty. We knew that was the difficulty and the question is how we find a solution to it. It is a legal issue for the Departments of Transport, Tourism and Sport and Justice and Equality but we will bring it to the attention of those Departments and ask that they progress it in the context of this committee.
The Narrow Water Bridge is another issue raised but we have dealt with that.
Deputy Feighan's points were well made. He made a thoughtful contribution in looking at the broader issue of a decade of commemoration, and the centenary commemoration currently taking place. In terms of looking at what took place 100 years ago and the different positions people took, the families who fought in the First World War, the families who fought in the War of Independence, ending up in the Civil War, and the legacy from all of that, it is the intention of the Government, rather than emphasising the differences, to emphasise the degree of involvement of all of us on this island in those issues in terms of the different positions people took. We must ensure the emphasis will not be on negativity but on the positive aspects and building reconciliation across the board. There are lessons to be learned from those early years as well.
There is a good deal to be done in terms of cross-Border activity such as Fine Gael public representatives going across the Border to attend engagements, many of whom, I understand from the Chairman, would not have been in Stormont or even in Belfast previously. There is much work to be done in that respect but there is a huge amount of work to be done by ordinary people in the Republic travelling across the Border to visit Northern Ireland. A major initiative is the Titanicexhibition, which has been a great magnet for people coming from Dublin and elsewhere in the country. It is hoped the economic benefits of that will spread to other areas in Northern Ireland.
In particular, I would like to see some progress made on the gateway to the north west in which I have a particular interest. I can assure the Deputy that the A5 project will be one of the areas I will seek to progress strongly now that, hopefully, our economic difficulties are behind us. In terms of the counties bordering on the north west, which have a large Unionist population, I hope the level of cross-Border activity can be greatly increased.
I thank the members for their contributions. This is still part of a listening mode. We want to draw it into the review mechanism and ensure that the broadest possible consultation takes place. Everything that has been said here today will be taken on board and fed back to the Minister. I thank the Chairman and the members.