Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Private Members' motion. The word "united" appears in the script of the motion on quite a few occasions. It almost gives the impression that only one party wants unification. I certainly wish to see a united Ireland. If I were examining it from the viewpoint of a Northern Protestant, I would be highly sceptical of the motion. It would confirm my previous intransigence and resistance to the agreement and would leave me highly apprehensive and suspicious about the motive behind it. I regret that is my reading of this motion.

I and another Deputy recently attended a meeting of Co-operation Ireland. I was struck forcefully by the fact that during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, there were 18 peace walls in Belfast whereas now there are 33 and the number increases by the day. That is not the way we want to go. The right message regarding unification, coming together and moving the right way is not being sent.

We heard the Good Friday Agreement described as the only show in town. It was historic in terms of the compromise reached between Nationalism and Unionism. It seems that is becoming the preserve of a single party, which is not what the Good Friday Agreement is about. It belongs to us as a nation, and is our map forward. It has been endorsed by the majority of people on this island, North and South. It afforded them the opportunity to transform the face of Ireland for the better after three decades of conflict. This Agreement, forged between the North's political parties and the London and Dublin Governments, paves the way for an end to violence and civil unrest. It also signals the restoration of political evolution in Northern Ireland and increased co-operation between North and South.

This North-South dimension of the Agreement was of crucial importance and was best exemplified by the establishment of successful cross-Border bodies. A number of other issues are more urgent, such as tourism, agriculture, transport, infrastructure and health care, and we should be seen to work together on them. We could first work on them in the Border hinterland, and establishing bodies there would lead us to the type of country of which everybody wants to be part, without forcing ourselves into situations. In tourism we see the benefits of Fáilte Ireland marketing Ireland as an entire island, from the Glens of Antrim through Kavanagh country and down to the lakes of Killarney, and including attractions such as the Shannon-Erne waterway. I would like to see that fully restored and see the benefits it brings to both our societies in the hinterland of Ulster on the divide line.

The land is divided and so are the people. If people across that divide see us in a better way, they may look more favourably on us and want to join us. I believe that is the way it should be. The former Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Mr. Seamus Mallon, famously described the Good Friday Agreement as the Sunningdale Agreement for slow learners. People are probably learning fast and perhaps that is as it should be. In 1973, Ulster hostility and intransigence put paid to the initial groundbreaking experiment in which Unionists, the SDLP and the Alliance Party shared power and self-government for the first time in Northern Ireland. That sowed the seeds for devolution and showed another way forward existed.

Back in those days, Sinn Féin would settle for nothing less than a total British withdrawal or a declaration of intent to do so, together with a 32-county sovereign country. It was utterly dismissive of the SDLP's conciliatory strategy based on the consensus approach to politics in Northern Ireland. It has ceased to ridicule the SDLP for its perceived give and take attitude. Such an attitude as taken by the British Government and the Unionist community has got us to where we are today. Sinn Féin was steered in the right direction by the former SDLP leader, Mr. John Hume, who initiated the Hume-Adams talks. I remember the risks taken in those talks. Talks were the only way to resolve this centuries old conflict. The moderate and anti-violent strategy of the SDLP was a beacon of light in the darkest days of the North's conflict. Mr. Hume's greatest achievement was to internationalise the conflict in Europe. We must also recognise the involvement of former President Clinton. He put pressure on Downing Street which successfully resulted in the Downing Street Declaration in 1993, the first IRA ceasefire in 1994 and ultimately the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

We must not be exclusive and we cannot drag people kicking and screaming in here. We must show it can work and establish cross-Border institutions and progress in that way.

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