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

I thank the Cathaoirleach very much. Like him, I welcome the witnesses. I also wish to say how powerful the presentations were. I compliment all of the witnesses in that regard. I do not think any of us disagree with any element of the contributions they made. I listened to Ms O'Connor recently at a meeting of the North-South Inter-Parliamentary Association, as did the Cathaoirleach and Deputy Conway-Walsh. The participation of marginalised groups in discussions is essential. My colleagues have heard me say previously that I do not think we get to the hard-to-reach groups often enough. I attend events and it is often the same people who are there. I know it is not easy. Our jobs and the jobs of the witnesses in representative organisations and advocacy groups is to try to get to those people who do not participate, and to get their views. That is critical. As we build a new shared and agreed Ireland, it is important that those voices are heard. We must ensure that constitutional issues are not seen as being removed, and only in the remit of those involved in politics. If we do not get over that perception, it would be a fatal blow to the Ireland we want to build. Everybody's voice needs to be heard when building and agreeing a new Ireland.

One point that is often made here is that we should establish a citizens' assembly or other such body. I do not believe in putting 101 people together and saying the wisdom will reside within them, regardless of their ability or knowledge, to shape the Ireland that we need.

In her concluding remarks, Ms O'Connor talked about expanding the idea of dialogue. In its manifestation to date, the shared island unit has gone out and tackled issues on a sectoral basis. We must do that because there are people with knowledge of particular areas, be it health, justice, education, women's issues, women's health or violence against women. We must ensure that we get buy-in from those groups who have the practical knowledge to ensure that it is not a group of people prescribing something for all of the rest of us. As the Cathaoirleach said, 50% plus one will not build the new Ireland that we need. I am a passionate believer in a united Ireland, but I am aware we have a lot of work to do to ensure that we achieve the Ireland that the likes of me, with my political philosophy, want to see happen.

Another theme of each of the contributions was violence against women. The Reverend Karen mentioned at the outset that 98% of the women surveyed experienced at least one form of violence or abuse in their life. Those statistics are frightening. I watched on the news on BBC and UTV late last night the story about the 22-year old young lady who was murdered in south Belfast. The news item referred to the number of young women murdered in Northern Ireland in recent months. The situation is desperate. It is terrible. Violence against women must be dealt with and reduced dramatically before we have a united Ireland. We have so much to do that requires urgent attention.

In building a new Ireland, we must ensure that the voices of women are heard and there is equality. More needs to be done to tackle violence against women across society and the island of Ireland.

As Co-Chair of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, we had a meeting in early March 2023 to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in Stormont. I invited the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition and the people who participated in it as our guests on the day. They made a huge contribution to achieving the Good Friday Agreement with the multiparty talks that led up to the agreement. Listening to those people such as Monica McWilliams and her colleagues, as I have done in many different fora, the commentary from some of the males who participated in the discussion at the time was absolutely deplorable. We should always bear that in mind but the contribution of the Women's Coalition and others was absolutely critical.

Reverend Sethuraman mentioned that a question typically asked by the women to whom she has spoken is how, if there was to be a new Ireland, that would have an impact on their families and their daily lives. This is why we need a comprehensive analysis, be it across health, social welfare, taxation, income and every aspect of society, civil and basic rights as well. Again, it has to be comprehensive in preparation.

Ms Murphy quite rightly mentioned that we cannot ignore the past in seeking to build a new Ireland. Not enough has been done to deal with legacy issues and Ms Murphy has quite rightly pointed out that the committee here, led by our Cathaoirleach, engaged extensively with regard to the deplorable British legacy legislation, as did every political grouping in the Oireachtas and at Government level. We fought a campaign against that legislation. Again, any legacy issues have to be victim-centred. That legacy legislation was perpetrator-centred. It literally gave dispensation to people who could absolve themselves of the most heinous of crimes. It was absolutely deplorable. Legacy must also be at the top of our agenda in thinking about the new Ireland.

I see that the time is running out. The National Women's Council talked about its all-Ireland women's forum and the different fora it has. Is the council happy it has got enough geographical spread with regard to the participants, both rural and urban? Again, and I cannot emphasise this enough, as all of the witnesses have done ,the hard-to-reach groups to try to ensure that they are involved in all of its conversations.

When discussing a safe space Ms O'Connor stated, "Safety means fostering an environment where women, particularly those from marginalised communities, can express their views without fear of intimidation, hostility, or marginalisation." I believe all the witnesses referred to this but in this context, are they talking about the desperate influence of paramilitaries still in communities? Is that what is meant when Ms O'Connor mentions the need to create a safe space? I might have to leave before the witnesses are finished. I am just watching the Dáil questions. The committee will excuse me if I have to leave.