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

Senator Blaney has other commitments and I believe Senator McGreehan will be joining us. I apologise that I missed the start of the contributions by Mr. Holder and Ms Boyd, because I was at another meeting. I very much welcome their contributions. The opening statements and the responses to questions from colleagues have been very enlightening.

This again goes back to the many times that we have discussed the non-implementation of some important aspects of the Good Friday Agreement. We are seeing the British Government attempt to tear up a very important part of the Stormont House Agreement with its proposal to introduce an amnesty for people who committed heinous crimes, such as leading members of state forces and paramilitary organisations. It is deplorable that any government would put forward a suggestion to cut off all investigations. This would ensure that there was no possibility of people getting the truth about who committed those crimes or of ever getting justice for their loved ones. It is an awful concept that a government in a civilised world would introduce such a measure.

We had a debate yesterday evening. The Cathaoirleach and I, together with many other members of the committee, participated in it. It dealt with legacy issues and with the recent Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland’s report. Three weeks prior to that, we had debates in the immediate aftermath of the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Derry. We also had statements where we reflected on the need to ensure that legacy issues are dealt with and that the important work on reconciliation and getting to the truth is prioritised. We all know that as time goes on, it will be more and more difficult to get through the majority of some of those heinous crimes and those awful events that happened on our island during that era.

It is unfortunate that a bill of rights not been introduced. The witnesses made that point very well. If we had the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement and New Decade, New Approach, allied to the fundamental implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, the issues the CAJ amplified so well would not be of concern to us today.

They make the point that the bill of rights would have prevented regressive actions of the British Government, including the current British Government paper on legacy. That is true and highlights the value and importance of a bill of rights. Apart from the contributions of the CAJ here today, I was informed on the importance of these issues when I met the North West Migrants Forum some months ago. I, together with a number of other Fianna Fáil colleagues, met the group, which gave us an excellent presentation on the day-to-day issues.

In this Oireachtas, in plenary session, in the Dáil, in the Seanad and at every committee of this House, we have discussed for years the need to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland in the context of Brexit. A huge effort was made by the political system, by the Government and by the Opposition at the time, as well as by all interested parties. We met various parliamentary groups from other member states of the European Union. We also met many committees of the House of Commons and of the House of Lords. All the time, there was a clear message that we need to avoid a hard Border on this island and that we need to ensure that we could go about our business as we have done in recent years. We talked with the North West Migrants Forum about how these new proposals by the British were in conflict with all of us and with successive Governments in respect of promoting more cross-Border co-operation in health, education and tourism.

I was reared in and live in a Border community. I have had the privilege of representing Cavan-Monaghan in the Oireachtas for 30 years. I have seen first-hand the huge change in how we go about our daily lives in the Border counties, as many other colleagues on this committee have also witnessed over the years. Yet, we never thought that we would be going back to where there could be a hindrance or an obstacle put in the way of people crossing the Border - be it for education, accessing health services, going about social activity, playing sports, going for a day out or going to visit a family member. It is not acceptable. It is not what we want in this country in this day and age. On that day when I met the North West Migrants Forum, we just talked, for instance, about how paediatric cardiac care is provided in Crumlin children’s hospital for all of our island. We know that the services that are provided by Altnagelvin hospital are so important for Donegal. In my own constituency, some health services are accessed by people from Cavan-Monaghan in hospitals in Northern Ireland and vice versa.

It was only three weeks ago that representatives of Cooperation and Working Together, CAWT, appeared before the committee. We met officials from the Northern Ireland health service and from the HSE here about us intensifying co-operation in the delivery of health services. If we are going to exclude an important part of our community, namely, people who are not Irish or British citizens but who are contributing to our society, who have integrated and who have enhanced our society in every respect or if we are going to have them treated differently, hat is not acceptable to any of us. It is an issue that, as John Finucane MP said, has not been given the attention it needs in the political system or in the wider public. I commend the witnesses on their work.

Could I ask, as Senator McGahon did with regard to the cases that had been reported to the CAJ, in general has it been people going from a port or an airport who have been asked for identity or have been stopped by members of An Garda Síochána or members of the PSNI? Are we aware of cases involving, for example, a family where a child is attending school on a different side of the Border than where they are resident or of people going to access health services or about their daily business? I am thinking about those who have been living here for some time, who may have settled here, who are working and who are contributing to society. One member of the household may be working in this State, while another member of the same household might be working in Northern Ireland, or vice versa. I am thinking of this in regards to the provision of and access to services.

I commend Mr. Holder and Ms Boyd on their work. I also take the opportunity once again to commend the work of the North West Migrants Forum. Have our guests come across instances of people who have been living here for some time and who have been asked to produce identification or whatever? I would see that as being reprehensible and as going against everything that has been fought for and worked extremely hard for by many people for decades to achieve. It is going in the opposite direction of the benefits from the Good Friday Agreement, the Stormont House Agreement and New Decade, New Approach.