Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 12 November 2020

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement

Shared Island Unit: Department of the Taoiseach

Ms Aingeal O?Donoghue:

We can give it another short time, but we must be gone by 3.45 p.m. I know the committee has some internal business to do anyway. Many issues have been raised in the last few interventions so it might be easier if we try to deal with some of them. Given the time, we might not be able to reply to all of them, but we will note them and, where appropriate, revert to the committee. Then we will hear the three speakers. I will be brief and just check-mark a few things.

The referendum on presidential voting rights is a key priority for the Government. The Bill is now back before the Oireachtas. However, I have made a point a few times. There are initiatives and work that will contribute to a shared island where we will play a role, but they also might have a home elsewhere in the Government. The presidential voting rights referendum is being led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. We will co-operate with them, but they will take the lead. It is moving forward and is now back in the Oireachtas.

I note the points on tourism. I have to say we have not engaged much. In terms of sectoral issues, tourism is one we still have to turn our minds to properly. Regarding engagement with the Oireachtas and political parties, there is a piece of work in that regard that we are still thinking through from our point of view. Part of our purpose today when invited to the meeting was to hear from the members. For us, an important strand to see happening is the North-South parliamentary engagement. The North-South parliamentary forum has had a checkered history in terms of stop-start and so forth, but whether it is in a formal forum or otherwise, having some way and more advanced mechanisms on North-South parliamentary engagement would be very important. We are also open to thinking more about how we would engage with the committee, both by coming here periodically to report on progress but also in terms of engagement. For the present, we see the dialogues as being very much a civic society and NGO engagement, but we then need to find a way to build in political engagement as well. In addition, we are always happy to talk, and have a great deal of contact already, in Northern Ireland with the Assembly parties. We are also happy to engage here as well.

On the rail matter, I do not wish to make policy pronouncements that are a matter for the Minister for Transport, but I can safely say two things. First, there is now a Minister for Transport in the Republic who is highly committed to rail travel. Second, there is work ongoing to extend the examination of the high-speed rail link - we are still at the feasibility study stage - to extend that to include Derry. That is part of the thinking at this stage.

Does Mr. Duffy wish to comment on a few matters? For example, he has already met the Community Foundation for Ireland as part of our ongoing outreach work.