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

I welcome Professor Harvey's contribution. The issues he has put before the committee are those that need amplification. There must be a greater awareness of some of the issues that have not been implemented that were critical and essential parts of the Good Friday Agreement. We need a better public discussion and public debate on that.

With regard to the extension of the electoral franchise, it is quite ironic that as Professor Harvey made his presentation as a debate was taking place in the Dáil on a 2018 report from the implementation group on Seanad reform. We are not very quick to bring about electoral reform in this State. It is not an issue that gains a lot of urgency. My predecessor as a Fianna Fáil Deputy in Cavan-Monaghan was the late Tánaiste, John Wilson. As Minister for Education he sponsored a referendum in July 1979 to extend the university franchise to the graduates of the then National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin and the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, now Dublin City University and the University of Limerick. The referendum was passed to enable the extension of the university franchise to those colleges in addition to Trinity College and the constituent colleges of the National University of Ireland but the necessary legislation and regulations have never been implemented.

During that period, the Oireachtas has failed to implement even that small measure of electoral reform. That is disappointing. I would never be one to believe that electoral reform will happen quickly.

The Taoiseach was asked about the referendum at the Féile an Phobail leaders' debate in which I participated in Belfast last August. He indicated hat the referendum would be proceeding. That particular issue came before the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence for pre-legislative scrutiny. As a committee, we deemed the pre-legislative scrutiny unnecessary in order to ensure that the necessary legislation could be enacted very quickly. To my memory, that was last July but nothing has happened in the meantime. As Deputy Breathnach said, the proposed referendum date has not been adhered to. That is disappointing. I instance the small measure of Seanad reform that was envisaged in 1979, provided for in a referendum and has not yet been implemented.

In all the discussions we have had at this committee and at the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence, one of the issues that colleagues and I have put forward is that, in any Brexit negotiations, there must be no diminution in any way of the workings of the Good Friday Agreement or, indeed, in the potential of the agreement. Bertie Ahern stated in the late 1990s that the Good Friday Agreement was not just about the absence of violence, although I am not in any way diminishing the importance of the end of violence on our island. Bertie Ahern, Tony Blair, George Mitchell and the party leaders who were all signatories to that agreement emphasised that a lot of work would have to be done to ensure that it was implemented. The work was not done when the agreement was put in place. The clear message was that the Governments and political parties would have to work hard to ensure that all aspects of the agreement would be implemented to the benefit of all the people on this island. Unfortunately, that has not happened.

My understanding, and please correct me if I am wrong, is that the bill of rights would have been a matter of responsibility for the British Government and, unfortunately, it has not been implemented. Does Professor Harvey believe that the absence of the Northern Ireland Executive and the assembly leaves a leadership role vacant? Is there a huge lacuna or vacuum there in driving forward issues that are of critical importance to the people of Northern Ireland and elsewhere on the island? There is a huge onus on the two Governments and the political parties in Stormont, particularly in the context of the Executive and the assembly, to ensure that they are working to implement the mandate that was given to all of us through the referenda, North and South, in May 1998 when the Good Friday Agreement was overwhelmingly endorsed. The political mandate that has been given to all of us, North and South, is not being implemented at the moment, unfortunately. Our society is worse off for that.

Professor Harvey mentioned a near permanent close relationship for Northern Ireland with the European Union post Brexit. I sincerely hope he is right in that view because Brexit is going to happen even if we would prefer that it did not. The withdrawal agreement that is there now is a lesser agreement, from an Irish point of view, than the one reached between the EU and former Prime Minister May. There is a lack of clarity about what will happen after Britain leaves the European Union. The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, when asked in the immediate aftermath of Mr. Johnson getting agreement with the European Union, indicated that there would be no paperwork needed for customs regulations on products moving between Britain and Northern Ireland. He corrected that half an hour later and said documentation and determinations would be needed.

I remember reading a quote from a former Permanent Secretary of the British Department for Exiting the European Union. He indicated that customs regulations would pose particular difficulties and that the matter is not straightforward. He used a phrase that one might associate with my part of the country, the south of Ulster, more than with the City of London. He said the customs regulations would be ferociously complicated. That was not indicating that things would be simple or there would be easy arrangements to put in place. We sincerely hope that is not correct because we all understand that the best possible relationship between Britain and the European Union is essential for the good of our country. We want to try and minimise obstacles to trade and to us going about our everyday living.

It is welcome that the professor has highlighted the issues that need to be progressed. A wider public debate on these important subjects is essential. There is an absolute need to implement those outstanding elements of the Good Friday Agreement that have not yet been implemented for the benefit of the people.