Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá áthas orm bheith ag caint mar Theachta Dála as contae atá buailte ar an Teorainn agus mar phoblachtach, agus go bhfuilimid ag plé na ceiste tábhachtaí seo anocht, 15 bliain ar aghaidh ó síníodh an socrú stairiúil sin, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta. There is no doubt that much has changed in the 15 years since the Good Friday Agreement was signed. The Agreement was about peace and prosperity. I am delighted that it has brought about peace, which has played a huge part and changed society, North and South. This huge change is a credit to all political leaders who played a very positive role in the Good Friday Agreement and a positive part in the institutions created since. However, the prosperity promised in the Agreement has yet to be realised and 15 years on we must ask whether the economic potential of the Agreement has been unleashed. In other words, have people, North and South, benefited economically from the dynamic of change it set in place. The answer is an obvious "No" and this needs to change. This change would best be brought about in the context of Irish unity and having one economy on the island of Ireland. In the meantime, as we strive to get to that point, there is no excuse for not breaking down the barriers and making an all-Ireland economy work. This means empowering the Assembly to have its own levers to bring about change and set an economic policy decided in Ireland for the benefit of the people who live on the island. However, the Assembly is not being allowed to do what it was established to do; it is being frustrated by the lack of fiscal powers. The model of funding for the North is based on an English model which is not sustainable in the Six Counties. The British Government has recognised the same model which applies to Wales and Scotland is broken.

The full transfer of fiscal powers to the Assembly is a necessary step in allowing politicians elected in the North to deal with the realities for people living there. That is their job and they should be empowered to do it. This is also a vital step in the creation of a real all-Ireland economy which serves the interests of all the Irish people. We need an all-Ireland economy, which requires the Assembly to take on fiscal powers. The unleashing of an all-Ireland economic system could play a major part in the recovery for which the entire island is crying out. It is undeniable that an economy of 6.5 million citizens, consumers and taxpayers would be a stronger basis for creating prosperity than two separate competing economies. A united Ireland would make economic sense. The economic potential of the North and the South in a united Ireland has yet to be properly debated. It is not beneficial to have an island nation of 6.5 million people on the edge of Europe split into two separate tax, currency and legal systems and two separate economies with split populations of 4.6 million and 1.9 million. It is no coincidence that some of the poorest and most disadvantaged counties are on either side of the Border. Businesses, farmers and citizens suffer every day because of the Border. An all-Ireland economy is the way forward and our future lies in taking possession of the tools required to devise and implement fiscal policies to match the needs of the people. It is concentrating on building a strong sustainable all-Ireland economy which, while welcoming foreign direct investment, would allow indigenous businesses to flourish and access export markets independent of Britain's economic interests.

Almost all political voices in the Six Counties want corporation tax transferred to the Assembly, but their united demands have been deflected by the London Government. The question must be asked whether this is the spirit in which the Good Friday Agreement was entered into. Sinn Féin has shown how an all-Ireland jobs plan and economic planning would make sense. We owe it to the people of Dublin, Cork, Dundalk, Crossmaglen and Donegal to run this small island in a co-ordinated way. The alternative is a waste of money in back-to-back services. I am aware that many Members on the backbenches of the Labour Party and Fine Gael have, since the general election, discovered an interest in what happens in the Six Counties. I welcome this interest, but, unfortunately, it is mainly founded on political cynicism and ignorance of the reality in the north of the country. I hope these Members will take the opportunity to support the motion and do something positive for the people living in the North and here in the South. I challenge every Deputy and party to support the motion, to support democratising our economic future by centring it on the island and to support unleashing the economic potential which is latent on our island but kept down by old-school thinking and outdated politics.

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