Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. I think everyone has contributed.

Mr. Maskey asked what we had been doing about the equality issues. Some of those present might remember how, the summer before last and shortly after I entered this job, when we went straight into the heat of negotiations, I made it clear that it was a previous British Government commitment under the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to facilitate Irish language legislation. We supported that, as it needed to happen. I got roundly criticised by unionism in Northern Ireland for taking sides and so on when really I was just repeating what had been an Irish Government policy for many years in light of the commitment that had been made by a British Government. That is still our position. Northern Ireland is a unique place where identities are held strongly, and if people are not allowed to express their identities, they feel that in terms of a lack of acceptance by others. Unfortunately, that is why the Irish language issue has become such a divisive one politically. Language should not be about divisive politics. It should be about allowing people to be who they are. That is why many Irish language speakers feel frustrated that this issue has become such a divisive one politically when it should be the opposite, namely, a celebration of the diversity of identity in Northern Ireland.

We are always looking for ways in which we can recognise the threat, unfortunately, that some unionists feel from the Irish language. People talk to me about the Irish language being used as a political weapon. That sounds unrealistic to many in this room, but for others it is very real, and we must find ways of addressing that if we are going to get agreement, compromise and facilitation. There are other elements that some unionists regard as part of their identity that some nationalists or republicans feel offended by, too. We need to try to find ways to deal with these issues, which have become contentious and been part of contentious election campaigning, that take the heat out of this while also getting something real done.

My record has been one of honest conversation about how we do that. I spent many hours, in particular with members of the DUP and Sinn Féin, until this time last year trying to do that.

I refer to the broader support we have, as a Government and as co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement and at what the Government has looked for in terms of North-South consultative forums, successive talks processes from 2014 to 2017, inclusive, talking about the need for a bill of rights and talking honestly about the Irish language and how we can overcome that issue, which really was the obstacle a year ago, because perceptions were the problem here in terms of what was being asked for and what was real and what was not.

The questions from Mr. Francie Molloy related to nationalists feeling left behind. I really hope those who share the same views on nationalism do not feel left behind.

Let us think about Brexit and about what the Government, of which I am a part, could have been doing in terms of its approach to Brexit. We have a €75 billion east-west trade relationship with Britain, but we have not talked primarily about that today, last week or last month. Primarily, we are talking about how we protect the peace process and how we ensure there is no border infrastructure that acts as a barrier to the movement of goods and people. We are talking about people in Northern Ireland primarily in the context of the Brexit debate and many people have asked me why there is so much focus on the Border when the majority of the trade is east-west. That is because, as I have often said, some things are more important than commerce and trade. What I would say to nationalists, unionists and people who are neither in Northern Ireland is that we are trying to find a way of getting an outcome to Brexit that by and large protects the status quoand then allows us to re-establish a functioning Executive so that we can start to build on all the other things we need to do around legacy issues, reconciliation and allow people to freely talk about their future aspirations under the Good Friday Agreement in a way that is less threatening and less divisive. We are in the middle of a potential crisis that needs to be resolved. That has to be our focus right now, but I can promise that, in many ways, people who live in Northern Ireland have got more attention from the Government in Dublin at one level, than the people in the Republic in the context of Brexit.

Let me reassure everyone that no one is being left behind. We will not, and we will not let the EU, sign up to any deal that involves a really damaging unintended consequence of Brexit. That is what we have been firmly trying to do for many months.

On the question of speaking rights and so on, I take Deputy Brendan Smith's point that if we come to a point where we are voting in this committee-----