Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Good Friday Agreement was signed in April 1998. It enjoyed the support of the vast majority of people in Ireland, North and South, and is underwritten by the British and Irish Governments. It is enshrined as an international agreement.

The Good Friday Agreement was not solely about ending a war, it was about rebuilding this country North and South. It was about two Governments recognising that communities in the Six Counties and their neighbours in the Twenty-six Counties, particularly those living in the Border area, had been severely disadvantaged ever since the foundation of this State.

If one were to look at an infrastructural map of the island of Ireland in 1998 one can clearly see the Border between six and 26. Even more distinct is the infrastructural border between the east and the west of this island. I am sorry to say that in the 15 years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement there have been very few improvements and little redressing of the infrastructural imbalances between east and west and North and South. There have been many studies, reports and plans but little improvement in, for example, the Belfast-Sligo road, which leads to Galway, the Belfast-Cavan road and other cross-Border roads. The north west is still regarded as difficult to access by those who might wish to set up a business, work or holiday in the area.

The austerity programmes in both the Six and the Twenty-six Counties are incompatible with the solemn declarations set out in the Good Friday Agreement. How can we reverse disadvantage by reducing the income of the poor and vulnerable? How can we describe ever-increasing State charges on people as a peace dividend? The truth of the matter is that this Government and the British Government are focused on the balance sheet for the end of this year, not on the strategic developments necessary to make a real and lasting contribution to peace and prosperity on this island. What difference has the Good Friday Agreement made to people in our communities who cannot afford the basic essentials; to people, especially young people, in our communities who have had to emigrate; and to people the length and breadth of Ireland whose public services are being dismantled in the name of austerity?

One of the biggest impacts of partition on this part of the country was the separation of the industrial North from the rest of the country. This resulted in the South being underdeveloped in terms of infrastructure, and it ended up with a lagging economy for many years, indeed decades. The only sustainable model for infrastructure in Ireland must be based on an all-island economy.

The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Rabbitte, is currently working on a North-South energy interconnector between the Six and the Twenty-six Counties and proposes an energy interconnector between Ireland and Britain to facilitate the export of energy generated by wind in the midlands to our neighbouring island so that Britain can help reduce its carbon tax liabilities. Currently the amount of energy received by households across Ireland from renewable supplies is insufficient. What is needed is an all-Ireland strategy on renewable energy. Sinn Féin, in both Leinster House and Stormont, has called for such a renewable energy strategy. The wind does not stop blowing when it reaches the Border, nor does the tide stop at Inishowen. The development of an all-Ireland renewable energy strategy is essential for energy security into the future. With rising oil and gas prices, an all-Ireland economy needs a competitive edge and we are uniquely placed to develop and use renewable energy sources.

What we do not need is fracking, which would endanger the environment and health of people on both sides of the Border. I welcome the fact that the EPA is investigating the possible use of fracking in Ireland and that the investigation is being done on an all-island basis. However, if fracking is allowed on one side of the Border it will not necessarily mean that those on the other side will be protected if fracking is banned there. I said earlier that the wind does not stop when it reaches the Border, nor does the tide stop at Inishowen. Poisoned water does not stop at an artificial Border in this country. We need to take an all-island approach to the protection of human health and therefore the decision on fracking needs to be made on an all-Ireland basis.

Mobile phone companies can legally impose roaming charges on customers who cross the Border or on customers who approach but do not cross the Border. The Taoiseach often says he wants this to be the best small country in the world in which to do business. I support the Taoiseach in this. However, the fact that roaming charges remain is a serious impediment. Ireland, in comparison to other developed countries, has a very poor communications infrastructure. Much of this problem stems from the privatisation of Telecom Éireann. Roaming charges in what is a relatively small country simply do not make sense. If we are to bring our telecommunications service up to speed with the rest of Europe we need to abolish these roaming charges.

The Good Friday Agreement was not an endpoint but only a beginning. It needs buy-in from the Government in the Twenty-six Counties if we are to reap the full benefits of the Agreement. This means that the Government needs to buy into developing infrastructure on an all-Ireland basis: one electricity grid, one gas network and one strategy for developing renewable energy. Then we would be talking of a proper dividend from the Good Friday Agreement.

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