Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

Fine Gael has always had a bipartisan approach to matters relating to Northern Ireland. Essentially, this has involved not making political capital out of such matters and, while in Opposition, broadly supporting the thrust of Government policy in dealing with the issue without giving a blank cheque. Fianna Fáil has mainly followed the same approach. I recollect the bizarre exception concerning the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 20 years ago, which laid the foundation for this country's present progress and the Good Friday Agreement.

Apart from that bizarre exception, Fianna Fáil has followed that bipartisan approach during its time in Opposition. That bipartisan approach helped to bring about results in determined opposition to terrorism and paramilitarism, in advancing the peace process and eventually contributed to the development of the Good Friday Agreement. I commend this bipartisan approach, in particular resisting the temptation to make political capital from the national issue, to others in the House, in particular Sinn Féin.

I examined the Government amendment and I state genuinely that I support and endorse every phrase in it, no doubt delicately crafted by those in Iveagh House in the Department of Foreign Affairs. It would be in the national interest to have a unanimous vote in support of those sentiments tomorrow.

I mentioned the full support of the courts for the Good Friday Agreement and bipartisan support for the Government's approach to Northern Ireland. However, let me make clear that Fine Gael does not give the Government a blank cheque. The leader of the Fine Gael Party, Deputy Enda Kenny, made it clear that Fine Gael would not support issues outside of the Good Friday Agreement, such as arose in the case of the release of the killers of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe. Deputy Kenny stoutly stood up and defended the position of Detective Garda McCabe's family and widow and members of the Garda Síochána. We did not and will not support anything other than that. Whether or not it was a side deal to the Good Friday Agreement, it was not part of the Agreement.

In the same way, it is not in the Good Friday Agreement to extend either representation or speaking rights in this House to people from Northern Ireland. I was vice-chairman of the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution which examined this issue two days after the conclusion of the Good Friday Agreement. The views and decisions of that committee have been misrepresented. The decision of that committee was to endorse the proposal in paragraph 18 of strand two of the Good Friday Agreement that the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Oireachtas should consider developing a joint parliamentary forum bringing together equal numbers from both institutions to discuss matters of mutual interest and concern.

The committee also supported the establishment of an independent consultative forum as mooted in paragraph 19 of the Agreement. It examined the issue of representation in this House and the unanimous recommendation of the committee was that no change should be made in the franchise for Dáil elections. The committee also examined the issue of speaking rights, teased out all the aspects and its final view was, "that any such participation should take place on a cross-community basis with parity of esteem for the different communities in Northern Ireland".

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