Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I support the amendment. Fianna Fáil entered the peace process as leaders of Nationalist Ireland and has tried to bring all strands of Nationalist Ireland together to our analysis of Irish unity and partition. For the past 20 years Fianna Fáil and other parties in this House have tried to convince the Provisional IRA that a united Ireland can never be delivered down the barrel of a gun. For 20 years we told the Provisional IRA that its military campaign was pushing the day of Irish unity further into the future. The IRA has finally decommissioned its weapons which means it has finally accepted our analysis. It is a pity that 3,500 lives were lost before that analysis was accepted. The months ahead will see difficult discussions on how to move the process forward and it is of the utmost importance we do not lose sight of the need to uphold all aspects of the Good Friday Agreement, consolidate the progress already made and seek to achieve its full implementation.

With previous speakers I wish to see a climate created on this island where a consensus develops around a united Ireland. Like previous speakers I know this will not be achieved simply by persuasion and preparation. It will require full acknowledgement that relationships on this island and between these islands are complex. These relationships need to be developed and nurtured if we are to develop the trust and confidence stressed by previous Government speakers and others.

Co-operation has developed under the aegis of the British-Irish Interparliamentary Body, of which I have the honour of being the current joint chair. Interparliamentary links have been important and valuable in fostering the climate of partnership and mutual understanding between the two Governments and between parliaments and elected representatives of the people of these islands. The British-Irish Interparliamentary Body continues to play a significant role in facilitating ongoing contact between all our parliaments, both on developments in Northern Ireland and the wider and evolving ambit of British-Irish relations. It is worth recalling how far we have travelled since the body first met 15 years ago. From a position where there was virtually no contact between the British and Irish Parliaments, Members now meet on a regular basis in both plenary and committee form to discuss matters of mutual concern. The closeness of relations between the two Governments is clearly evident in our continuing efforts and shared determination to achieve lasting peace and stability in Northern Ireland. Contacts between British and Irish parliamentarians made through the body have reinforced the broad, popular cross-party support which exists for the Good Friday Agreement and for its full and complete implementation. We have witnessed extraordinary developments over the past 15 years, and the fact that so much progress has been made brings into sharp contrast the absence of our colleagues from the Northern Ireland Assembly. We look forward to the early restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland and an assembly which can embrace, represent and serve the interests of all sides of the community.

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