Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

Like everyone in this House I favour Irish unity but it will not happen overnight. It will take time as there is a lot more persuading to be done. However this is a goal that is worth achieving and in time it will be achieved. This is, after all, a small country. Membership of the EU has caused borders to become blurred. The larger EU community has made us realise we are a small country and community.

The only difference between the South and North of the country often boils down to the colour of the post boxes or the post offices. Galway, Dublin, Derry or Belfast have the same shops such as Marks and Spencer and McDonalds. Urbanisation has created a sameness and many built-up areas look alike on the surface.

All communities have the same need for proper services and the need for older people to be cared for within their community if at all possible. People North and South have much in common. The Troubles have been a great source of worry to people in the South and they have held back the development of the North.

I visited the North during the first ceasefire and it was a wonderful feeling to be able to drive over the Border unchallenged in our own country. There is a need for co-operation between the two parts of our country and the Good Friday Agreement created progress in that regard. This needs to be continued. A very sad aspect of the breakdown was that over time many of these North-South bodies did not achieve their full potential. I hope they will achieve that potential in the fullness of time.

We have problems in common, given that we are a small nation. I noted on my visit to the North the disappointing lack of tourism facilities, such as bed and breakfast accommodation, which are widely available in the South. The Troubles have held back the development of the North.

I was proud to visit Stormont some years ago. I was involved in spearheading the campaign for a helicopter emergency medical service which I believed should be set up in a North-South context. This is the only country in Europe which does not have this facility as it does not exist in the South or the North. I have met various Ministers for Health on this issue, such as Deputy Noonan and Deputy Martin, and I also met the Minister for Health in Stormont, Bairbre de Brún. It was a very proud occasion for me when I walked up the steps of Stormont, the bastion of discrimination with its associated bad history, and was able to speak in Irish to the person who was the Minister for Health at that time. It was a very useful meeting. I also spoke to the North-South body dealing with emergency facilities which was set up under the Good Friday Agreement. I believe Irish unity is achievable but a lot of water needs to flow under the bridge and a lot of persuasion will be needed. Go raibh maith agat.

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