Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

I do not agree with the general point made by the Deputy that there must be an equivalence in respect of the arrangements made on both sides of the Border. I do not accept that we must do everything they do or that every human rights initiative taken in the Six Counties, as the Deputy terms it, must be mirrored in this State. This is a constitutional State and we must uphold our Constitution. The people of Northern Ireland do not have access to a written constitution. No citizen in Northern Ireland has the right to have the laws enacted in Westminster struck down on the basis that they conflict with a written constitution. When it comes to equivalence, it is not a question of comparing like with like. The citizens of this State have a more robust and constitutionally understood system for vindicating their rights than the people of Northern Ireland.

I do not accept that, if the United Kingdom Parliament or a Northern Ireland Minister decides to introduce a certain method to deal with a social issue in Northern Ireland, we are obliged under the Good Friday Agreement to follow suit. In the area of civil and political liberties, both sides of the Border share a determination to establish high standards of protection but these standards will not be identical because, if they were, we might as well close this Chamber and ask for direction from Westminster. If that was the case, Deputy Ó Snodaigh's party colleagues might be tempted to take their seats in Westminster.

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