Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)

I see the co-chair, Deputy Joe McHugh, across the Chamber. I commend him for the excellent job of co-chairing what was a most successful gathering of the assembly in the Seanad Chamber earlier this week. The BIPA has been in existence for 20 years. Much has changed on this island and between these islands during these two decades, much of it for the good. This is especially the case with the peace process in the North. With the dawn of peace and the end to hostilities, people have had the time and space to get to know each other and to understand each other a good deal better, especially the Unionist and republican communities in the North. The imagery of Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness travelling to America together seeking inward investment for their people, and then Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness doing likewise, is powerful. Many events have taken place in recent times that were successful. I acknowledge that the initiative that saw the Queen of England come here last year was a success and a sign that the relationship between the peoples of these islands is healing.

In terms of what we do with that, it is now time to take it to the next level. I know Deputy Joe McHugh, as a representative of the people of Donegal North East, would share that view. The Minister of State, Deputy McGinley, also represents the people of Donegal. We know the impact of partition on our county and how the potential of our county was hampered by having two health services, two education systems and two taxation systems. Effectively, we had two economies back to back in that small region and we need to break that down step by step.

We have had positive developments such as the sharing of cancer services with Altnagelvin hospital going ahead. That was a cross-party, cross-community campaign and even when it appeared to be under threat from the northern end, Unionists and Nationalists, all political colours and creeds, stood together and defended that important piece of health infrastructure for our region. That was only right because there are half a million people in the north west of Ireland, and we need the same equality as everybody else.

In terms of the A5 project, we now have motorways from Dublin to Galway, Limerick, Cork, Waterford and Belfast, and rightly so, but we need the same infrastructure coming into the north west of Ireland. Derry is the fourth largest city on the island. Half a million people live in the north west. We have a population broadly similar to the south west and we need the same infrastructure. We are looking for equality, nothing less or nothing more. That objective must be advanced, and we can do that through the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly.

More important than addressing the deficits in the north west caused by partition and the Administrations in Dublin and Belfast not seeing our part of the island is the potential for the all-island economy. I had the honour of serving on the board of InterTrade Ireland for more than three years where I saw academic institutions in the North being connected to businesses in the south, and vice versa. It had a vision for all-Ireland infrastructure, preparing for a population of 8 million by 2020, and people combining their skills. This is a small island of 6 million people. It is interesting that there is no opposition within unionism for what Unionists call common sense co-operation in terms of building an all-Ireland economy, harmonising our approach to taxation and having a joint approach whenever we go overseas. We should not have a situation where Invest Northern Ireland, IDA Ireland or Enterprise are singing from different hymn sheets when they promote job creation overseas. We should promote the potential of the entire island. We should bring together science parks and academic links, and do everything we can to join up the dots of this island because we are in this together. That is the key objective of the BIPA.

We also need to develop our understanding of each other as a people. For hundreds of years there has been conflict between our peoples. It is only in recent times that we have had breathing space. There must be that development of that relationship. I am also conscious that the BIPA includes representatives of the Northern Assembly, the Welsh Assembly, the Scottish Assembly, the Isle of Man and Jersey but the Northern, Welsh and Scottish Assemblies represent democracy being brought closer to people and giving them a sense of identity and purpose with which we in Ireland can work in partnership. When one has conversations with Assembly members from Scotland and Wales the sense of connectedness they have with Ireland is interesting.

We must look increasingly at the BIPA as an assembly that can deliver, that has teeth, stands together and speaks with one voice on key objectives. I suggest that an all-Ireland economy, addressing the infrastructure deficit in the north west of Ireland, sharing health and education services and making use of the resources we have in an intelligent, common sense way must be at the top of the assembly's agenda to be addressed in the foreseeable future.

I commend the Co-Chairman who did an excellent job. It was a well put together, high level session attended by the Taoiseach down to all the Ministers, a range of civil society players and business players who spoke about practical ways we can co-operate and who were generous in taking a wide range of questions. The amount of time given by senior politicians in Ireland to engage on the different issues was noticeable. I agree with the previous speaker that the bar has been set high for the next session in Glasgow, and we can take it from there. Well done to the Co-Chairman, and I look forward to working on a practical basis to see what we can develop together through the assembly.

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