Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will engage with this matter. From our perspective, it is hard to comprehend how this could get to the table. It runs contrary to the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement. It is clearly an issue in respect of which we are very much on the case. I also agree the Stormont House Agreement is the template for dealing with legacy issues. All of us have a role to play. The Government stands ready. We have also made it very clear to unionist politicians if they have cases or issues they want to raise with us, and they think the Irish Government needs to do more regarding its archives, by which I mean its documentation or whatever, we are willing to respond. That has not been firmed up on in terms of people actually coming to us. There is a meeting coming up that we are organising with one particular victims' group. I have met victims' groups from the North of Ireland. Some cases have been raised publicly but we said to come and meet us and to bring the documentation or presentation. We did it with the Smithwick inquiry. The Government did not hold back. We fulfilled our obligations in respect of that inquiry.

We see the shared island unit as a practical way of dealing with Article 2. We are all living on the one island. We need practically to share that island. We can make improvements to broadcasting and so on. We work with the agencies and all the various bodies to fulfil that. I said earlier that some of our agencies have to look differently at issues. Sometimes they look inward but they need to look at the island context in terms of all the citizens on the island to make sure services are available. We see the shared island unit as a very pragmatic working out of that constitutional provision.