Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I will share time with Deputies Connolly, McGrath and Sargent. Since the Dáil adjourned at the start of July, momentous events in Irish politics and in the life of this country have taken place. The announcement by the Irish Republican Army on 28 July that it was formally ending its armed campaign was a significant development. The IRA made a commitment on that date to put its arms beyond use and last Monday, 26 September, we received confirmation that it had fulfilled that commitment. This must be acknowledged as a courageous and unprecedented step on the part of the IRA. I pay tribute to the volunteers of the IRA for undertaking this leap of faith and for hazarding this mighty risk to advance the cause of peace with justice in Ireland.

This step has caused real difficulties for many republicans. It came after a summer when Nationalist communities in north County Antrim, Belfast and other centres in the Six Counties came under sustained attack from Unionist paramilitaries and sectarian gangs. Many here who are vocal about the alleged misdeeds of republicans were silent about these attacks. Only luck prevented widespread loss of life in Nationalist communities, while the ongoing loyalist feud claimed several lives in that community and has apparently not yet ended.

Despite the profound difficulties all this presented to republicans, the IRA has now provided a golden opportunity to advance the peace process significantly and open up a new era in Irish politics. I urge all parties and both Governments to seize this opportunity and to work together to implement the Good Friday Agreement fully. For many members and supporters of Sinn Féin, it appears that republicans have yet again had to leap first but we in the leadership of Sinn Féin have said clearly that this development must be seen for what it is, an act of faith in the ability of Irish republicans to move forward together towards our goal of Irish unity and independence by peaceful means.

The reaction of the Rev. Ian Paisley was predictable. So too were the begrudging contributions made today by Deputies Kenny and Rabbitte. The hypocrisy of the latter on the issue of arms decommissioning and making partition history were particularly hard to listen to.

Some space, however, should be given to the DUP and to the wider Unionist community to absorb the enormity of what has taken place. Now is the time for the DUP to give real leadership to the people it represents. That can only be done by engaging directly with the representatives of Sinn Féin. Such engagement is inevitable and should happen sooner rather than later.

I hope that many more in the Oireachtas and outside now appreciate that what the intransigent wing of Unionism was objecting to all along was not the continued existence of silent IRA weapons but the prospect of having to share power with republicans and Nationalists. However, share power they must and that is the only basis for moving forward. We do not seek to dominate or inflict upon Unionists what was inflicted on Nationalists for decades in the Northern state. We seek equality, not for Nationalists or Unionists but for all, regardless of political or religious beliefs.

There is a special responsibility on the Irish Government, which should now vigorously pursue the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement with a clear focus on the need for the Unionist leadership to share power and work with the all-Ireland structures. The British Government must fulfil all its responsibilities, including the complete demilitarisation of the Six Counties. While the guns of the IRA are now gone, British spy posts, barracks and troops are still in our country. Let it not be forgotten that the Unionist paramilitaries, which were armed by British intelligence, are still armed.

The Irish Government should advance the all-Ireland agenda on all fronts, by acting now to develop co-ordination and integration of infrastructure and public services on an island basis and encourage a similar process in the private, voluntary and community sectors. The Taoiseach should fulfil the commitment he made in 1998 to advance the issue of Northern representation in the Oireachtas. Speaking rights in the Dáil for all Six Counties MPs in specific debates should be provided for. The Government should publish a Green Paper on Irish unity which would set out a strategy for Irish re-unification.

The Taoiseach tried to draw parallels between 1926 and 2005 in his opening remarks to this debate. The difference is that the journey which began in the La Scala Theatre and with the founding of Fianna Fáil led, along the way, to the total abandonment of Nationalists in the Six Counties by the political establishment of this State. Had it not been for that abandonment, the people who found themselves locked within a sectarian regime would not have responded through the formation of the Provisional IRA or any other armed manifestation of Irish republican and Nationalist thinking in 1969. There would never have been a reason for armed conflict to arise. We need progress on other long overdue issues, such as the repeal of the Offences Against the State Acts.

In recent days, we have heard much about the mood and reaction of republicans. We have had acres of analysis but the best indication of republican opinion was given last weekend, when tens of thousands of people from all over Ireland gathered in our capital city to celebrate by marching together in pageant to observe an important date and event in our history, the centenary of Sinn Féin, and to support Irish unity.

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