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

Perhaps the committee has but it has not happened while I have been here. We have to be honest with ourselves. This is not a fully representative committee. There are no unionists in this room. I know the witnesses can say they choose not to turn up, but that does not solve the problem. If we are going to have a real conversation here in the future about Northern Ireland and its future, shared responsibilities and so on, we have to find a way of having that conversation with people who represent a big portion of the population of Northern Ireland. There is a very complete picture here in terms of the nationalist perspective but some of the issues that have been raised today and some of the painful legacy issues of the past involve families who would not regard themselves as being represented here. Let us be honest about it. All of us have work to do and the last thing we need to be doing is splitting this committee with votes and trying to force things through because one party may have more representation than another party. That is not exactly the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement but, in fairness, I do not think that is the point Mr. Molloy was making and I do not want to attribute it to him. I think what he was trying to say is that he wants to have a real say here, recognising the fact that he represents Irish people and I do not think that is an unreasonable sentiment