Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:“notes that:

-- this year marks the fifteenth anniversary of the historic Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which was ratified by an overwhelming majority of citizens in referendums held North and South on 22nd May, 1998;

-- this is set out in an internationally binding treaty;

-- the Agreement recognises the legitimacy of whatever choice is freely exercised by a majority of the people of Northern Ireland with regard to its constitutional status;

-- the Agreement and subsequent agreements, at St. Andrews in 2006 and at Hillsborough Castle in 2010, are premised on the principles of full respect for, and equality of, civil, political, social and cultural rights, of freedom from discrimination for all citizens, of parity of esteem, and of just and equal treatment for all the people in the diversity of their identities and traditions;

-- a crucial role was played by all those, both in Ireland and abroad, who worked to bring the conflict to an end, promote the political process and build reconciliation; and

-- the Government, as joint and co-equal guarantors of the agreements, is committed to continuing to:

-- work to ensure that the agreements are fully implemented;

-- engage substantively with the British Government and the parties of the Northern Ireland Assembly to progress outstanding issues, including the establishment of a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland and an all-Ireland Charter of Rights, a Civic Forum and an Irish language Act for Northern Ireland;

-- observe and implement human rights principles across the range of issues set out in the agreements;

-- ensure, through working with the British government and the parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly, the acknowledgement of the pain that victims and their families have endured and the accommodations they have made for peace;

-- ensure strong and deep cross-Border co-operation on policing, security and justice matters;

-- closely co-operate with the Northern Ireland Executive in the framework of the North-South Ministerial Council in support of economic recovery and the provision of public services on a shared basis;

-- encourage the Northern Ireland Executive to expedite the review of North-South co-operation as set out in the St. Andrews Agreement, including further development of existing areas of co-operation, additional areas of co-operation on a North-South basis and completion of the consideration of the case for additional implementation bodies; and

-- encourage the Northern Ireland Executive and the parties of the Northern Ireland Assembly to continue to work together to develop a strategy for building a shared and reconciled society in Northern Ireland, and to ensure that initiatives and policies to tackle sectarianism and segregation are fully delivered thereafter.”

I wish to share my time with the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Deenihan, and Deputy Deasy.

It is timely and appropriate that this House marks the 15th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. On Good Friday of this year, I participated in the reading at Dublin's Unitarian Church of the names of the more than 3,500 victims of the Northern Ireland conflict. The reading of the names was a poignant reminder of the lives lost, the families devastated and a society traumatised by a conflict which endured for more than 30 years. We should never forget those victims, nor our shared responsibility to ensure that Northern Ireland never returns to those dark days.

The Good Friday Agreement was instrumental in putting that conflict behind us. It laid the basis for a peaceful society in Northern Ireland. It was a seminal moment in our recent history, a great achievement. More than 2 million people North and South voted to ratify the Agreement in what was the most collective, determined act of political will in our modern history. The Agreement has opened up new possibilities and opportunities for a generation who are growing up in a time of peace. It has exerted a positive influence on all parts of this island and on our society, our economy and our international reputation.

The Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive have now been operating continuously since 2007. The Assembly term from 2007 to 2011 was the first to see no interruption to its work. The North-South Ministerial Council has established an excellent record of substantial work on North-South co-operation. Thirty-one meetings of the North-South Ministerial Council were held in 2012. This is the highest number held in any year since its formation and reflects the significantly increased activity of the Irish Government across all issues relating to Northern Ireland.

The North-South Interparliamentary Association, which was recently established, held its second plenary meeting in Parliament buildings at Stormont earlier this month. We continue to develop an ever-deeper and more productive partnership with the British Government. The Joint British-Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat in Belfast plays a valuable role both in the British-Irish relationship and in this Government's activities and outreach in support of the peace process.

The Agreement has also had an impact beyond these shores as other parts of the world in conflict have looked to Northern Ireland as an example of what can be achieved. Practical international support for the peace process, especially from the European Union and the United States, was vital in its early days and remains important today. I am particularly pleased that during our EU Presidency we have been able to ensure a commitment to further EU support totalling €150 million for a Peace IV programme. In addition, the United States has remained steadfastly committed to the peace process brokered under Senator George Mitchell. I welcome the announcement last Friday that President Obama will visit Belfast in advance of the G8 summit, which will be a great opportunity to showcase Northern Ireland. Last week's visit by the Elders, whom I met as part of their programme, provided an opportunity for them to listen to youth voices working for reconciliation in Northern Ireland. The Elders were understandably impressed by the remarkable passion of young people to secure a peaceful, inclusive and culturally vibrant future for Northern Ireland.

Peace-building is a process which requires long-term commitment and effort by all actors to achieve real and lasting progress and to create a peaceful and stable society. As former US President John F Kennedy famously said, "Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures". During the past 15 years, progress was often slower than we would have wished but we have seen this type of incremental progress across a range of areas. Some people have declared that the peace in Northern Ireland is a "cold peace" but I do not share that view. There is a warmth of relationships across these islands which could not have happened without the Agreement. Undoubtedly, however, there are serious challenges ahead. Two weeks ago I met in Belfast with a broadly representative group of young people who were all born or had grown up in Northern Ireland since the Agreement was signed. One young man from North Belfast spoke of how too little has changed for him and his friends in an area marked by sectarian division, high unemployment and paramilitary control.

These, in summary, are some of the gravest challenges to the peace process - sectarianism, disadvantage and paramilitary activities. Let me take each briefly in turn. Sectarianism and the legacy of the conflict and its genesis continue to have a chilling effect across communities in Northern Ireland. These are difficult issues which, if left unchecked, will continue to affect negatively the lives of all the people of Northern Ireland across a range of areas, from education to housing, from sport and culture to security. The difficult but essential steps have yet to be taken by the Executive towards a shared and reconciled society in Northern Ireland. I welcome the announcement of some steps towards addressing this issue, made by the First Minister and Deputy First Minister last week and debated in the Assembly this morning. I look forward to publication of the detailed strategy and to working with the Executive on this important initiative. I also welcome the intention to establish an all-party group, including civil society, with an independent chair to address key contentious issues including parades, protests, flags, symbols, emblems and the past. This work is now overdue and urgent and cannot wait any longer.

The second challenge is one we understand all too well - how to secure new jobs and protect the most vulnerable against the most difficult economic backgrounds. There is no easy answer to that. I understand the frustration that comes with having to deal with reduced resources for essential services. However, I am convinced that closer North-South co-operation must be a part of any effective solution. The Government has been pressing for some time now for an open and comprehensive review of co-operation. We have been open-handed in our approach to expanded co-operation, for example, inviting all Executive Ministers to informal EU meetings in their area of responsibility hosted under our Presidency. Later this week Ministers Jonathan Bell MLA and Jennifer McCann MLA will participate along with community representatives at the Battle of the Boyne site in a briefing for the EU Committee of Permanent Representatives. I am hopeful that this open spirit of co-operation will be reciprocated and that we can agree new areas of co-operation when we meet our Executive colleagues in plenary session in July.

The third challenge, namely, the continued role played by paramilitaries in some communities, is one about which we must never become complacent. Unfortunately, members of the security forces still have to remain vigilant, given the murders in recent years of Garda Adrian Donohue, Prison Officer David Black and PSNI officers Stephen Carroll and Ronan Kerr. These and other attacks and attempted attacks have rightly been condemned by people across the political spectrum. Thankfully, co-operation between the Garda Síochána and the PSNI has never been better and both police forces continue to record success in intercepting attempted attacks by so-called dissident groups claiming to be Irish republicans. I understand that the Minister for Defence, Deputy Alan Shatter, will address some of these issues when he speaks in the debate tomorrow evening.

Underlying these challenges is a fourth one, reflected in the views of the young people I met in Belfast last month who questioned the ability of politics to transcend division and create a genuinely shared society for their children. Their scepticism is a just and timely challenge to the partisan and divisive character that has sometimes characterised Assembly debates. For that reason, before turning to the motion before the House, I wish to acknowledge and pay tribute to the bipartisan approach which the Oireachtas has always taken to matters related to the peace process. In that context I commend the excellent work of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, under the chairmanship of Deputy Joe McHugh. The important work of that committee illustrates the value of an all-party consensus approach to Northern Ireland issues. This has most recently been demonstrated on the ongoing all-party approach to the Finucane case and to prisoner cases.

I realise there is much thoughtful public discourse underway already in terms of how best to address these most difficult of issues. The 15th anniversary of the Agreement invites us to take stock of how far we have come and of how far we still have to go. The Government's amendment to the motion is one I hope we can all agree. It amends the motion tabled by Sinn Féin in a number of important respects. First, it acknowledges the enormous progress achieved over the last 15 years in Northern Ireland. The primary political institutions of the Agreement are firmly in place and are transforming the totality of political relationships within Northern Ireland, between North and South and between Ireland and Great Britain. Second, it reflects the particular responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive and those in leadership positions in the Executive to play their part in ensuring full implementation of the Agreement and in tackling sectarianism and segregation. It is not months but years since the Government tabled proposals for a North-South consultative forum, sought an early and thorough review on North-South co-operation and tabled specific proposals to eliminate duplication and improve service provision with reduced resources. A response is awaited on each of these.

Third, it reflects the deep and continuous commitment of this Government to implementing and developing the peace process and to uniting in harmony and friendship all the people who share this island in all their identities and traditions. Fourth, it gives due importance to the principle of consent with regard to the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement recognised that it is for the people of the island of Ireland to bring about a united Ireland, or to maintain Northern Ireland's status within the United Kingdom, subject to the Agreement and consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland. Finally, it reflects more fully some of the unimplemented aspects of the agreements - a bill of rights for Northern Ireland, an Irish language Act and a civic forum. These are not merely boxes to be ticked. Each can make an important contribution to the fair and well-functioning society in Northern Ireland that this House has worked so long to achieve.

I commend the Government's amendment to the motion to the House and hope that all parties will work with the Government in taking this work forward, as we build on the achievements of our predecessors. In doing so, it is important that we work together. The strength of the Government's position as co-guarantor of the agreements derives largely from the all-party approach that has always been taken on the issue of Northern Ireland and the peace process. I hope that will not change. I hope nobody present has an agenda to make Northern Ireland and the peace process into a domestic political issue. This Government is working the agreements and is fully engaged in the process with Northern Ireland. We are open to suggestions, to help and to assistance in carrying that work forward. We work closely with the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, whom I meet regularly, as we do with the Executive. I also meet regularly with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers. Great progress has been made, although difficulties, frustrations and differences of opinion are encountered at times, and our best prospect for overcoming obstacles is by working in unity and on a cross-party basis in this House.

See this speech in context