Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I share the view expressed by Deputy Martin that if there are people who have information or are in possession of facts that are relevant to issues with regard to Northern Ireland or anywhere else, they should make them known. I listened to a portion of an interview that Deputy Adams gave recently during which he was asked direct questions about a particular range of matters. I also heard about his engagement with the relations of someone who had been shot quite a number of years ago. They deemed him to be serious about trying to help in that particular case. I hope he can. If there are others out there who can bring closure to long-past tragedies, it would be very helpful.

The Northern Ireland First Minister, Mr. Robinson, and Deputy First Minister, Mr. McGuinness, have announced a good relations strategy for Northern Ireland entitled Together: Building a United Community. They intend to launch it within the next few weeks. That is a positive engagement from the First and Deputy First Ministers. The Northern Ireland Executive has a strategically important role in promoting reconciliation and dealing with sectarianism. I hope there is an understanding of just how this affects the well-being and lives of people across the communities, particularly those in disadvantaged and interface areas. I look forward to the publication of that strategy and to further discussions about it when I meet with the First and Deputy First Ministers.

I understand that it is proposed also to establish an all-party group with an independent chairman to consider parades, protests, flags, symbols and emblems of the past. I welcome that proposal. These are difficult but important areas for the Executive and the Assembly in Northern Ireland and for the people of Northern Ireland generally. It is important, therefore, that the views of all parties be considered.

What will be critically important in the months ahead is that any new initiatives and policies to tackle sectarianism and segregation are fully delivered upon and that this will in part be a matter over which all parties in Northern Ireland can have an oversight. For our part, we as a Government want to stay fully engaged in terms of supporting the Executive, the Assembly and the people of Northern Ireland in dealing with unresolved issues where they are a legacy of the conflict.

Regarding the bill of rights, I said previously to Deputy Adams that this is part of the Good Friday Agreement. We have said that it should include the reflection of principles of mutual respect for identity and ethos of communities and parity of esteem alongside the rights that are contained in the European Convention on Human Rights. If the parties in the Assembly are to engage in constructive discussion on the issue, we would be very supportive of it. The Good Friday Agreement also tasked the joint committee of the Irish Human Rights Commission and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to consider the possibility of establishing a charter for the protection of fundamental rights for everyone living on the island of Ireland. The advice of the joint committee was delivered to the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly and to the Ceann Comhairle in June 2011. They then passed on all the advice to the political parties in both jurisdictions for their consideration. According to the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, the charter of rights would be for signature by the political parties. This advice should now be given serious consideration by all of the political parties on the island of Ireland. I urge our colleagues here and in the Northern Ireland Assembly to make every effort to progress this particularly important decision.

Deputy Martin asked an important question about the attitude of this country towards what is happening in Britain. I do not speak for the Tory party – the Conservatives. The Prime Minister has set out his position in so far as his view of Europe is concerned. He has said quite clearly at European Council meetings that he wishes Britain to remain a member of the European Union. For our part, we want to keep the doors and the ports open between Britain and this country because of the trading relationships and for so many other reasons. That is building on the strategic partnership that we signed last year and the memorandum of understanding on energy and the possibilities in that regard, but also the enormous trade over and back across the Irish Sea. The Irish people voted 60:40 in favour of the fiscal stability treaty. As the only English-speaking country in the eurozone we are a fundamental part of Europe, the eurozone and the European Union. The Prime Minister has for some time spelled out his views regarding the capacity of the Single Market. I stressed the point to him that Europe must get its act together on banking union, which is affecting the eurozone. I am pleased to see progress being made at the ECOFIN meeting today in that regard. The issue affects all the countries in the eurozone. If Europe and America can agree on a mandate to open trade negotiations it would be of direct interest to Britain also although it is outside the eurozone area. That is why for our part we have said growth, stability and jobs are central pillars of the Presidency.

A meeting of the European affairs committee was held yesterday. We hope to conclude 100 dossiers in the next six weeks. Great progress has been made in a number of areas but there are many complications in other areas, some very technical, where all kinds of issues have arisen and it will not be possible to get them through. Substantial progress has been made in the negotiations by the permanent group and Ministers dealing with their business. From our point of view, we very much want to keep our links with Britain open but we are also clearly focused on the potential of the European Union. I cannot speak for what the British people will do in due course, nor any decision or change that might be brought about by the Tory party or what the Prime Minister wants for his government or his party. For our part, we want to see European leaders follow through on the decisions that are made with particular interest in the banking area which is so important for the economic revival and renewal of this country and others. In that sense, these issues have been articulated by me to the British Prime Minister, Mr. Cameron, and at European Council meetings in full, formal session.

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