Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 marked an unprecedented historical breakthrough that has provided the platform upon which the last 15 years of political stability and relative peace has been built. The Agreement itself was recognition by all sides that the policy of partition had failed. Decades of discrimination, oppression and the abuse of power by some within the Six Counties led to an armed conflict that was an inevitable consequence of partition. Prior to the signing of the Agreement, the Six-County state was a bankrupt political entity that, as well as failing Nationalists and republicans by treating them as second-class citizens, also disenfranchised a sizeable percentage of the Protestant-Unionist community.

The signing of the Agreement in April 1998 was a result of more than two years of intense multi-party talks between the political parties in the Six Counties and the Governments in both London and Dublin. While it was not a perfect arrangement, the Good Friday Agreement paved the way for the establishment of a far more equitable and reflective political system that empowered elected representatives from both communities so they could have a more meaningful role in the future direction of their communities. The Agreement also recognised the legitimate but differing political aspirations of Nationalists and Unionists, but for us as republicans - we make no apologies for saying this - we see it as an opportunity to achieve our objective of a united Ireland through political means.

Republicans have always endeavoured to work the Agreement with others in the interests of all citizens - Nationalist, republican, Unionist and loyalist. We have done that despite the fact that the Stormont Executive has had one hand tied behind its back. The lack of fiscal power, the cut in the block grant, the failure of the London government to honour its commitments to provide a peace dividend and the current Tory government's attempt to impose more than €1 billion in welfare cuts will not deter republicans from pushing this process forward and from achieving the full implementation of all the outstanding issues.

The establishment of a power-sharing government between parties from very different backgrounds and history and with very different ideologies has not stifled progress in transforming, not only the political landscape of the Six Counties, but the economic, educational, cultural, civic and social landscape. Evidence of that can be seen every day in the infrastructural development of the Six Counties in terms of new hospitals, schools, tourism centres and transport links. Sinn Féin is very proud of the pivotal role we have played, along with others, in forging this Agreement and making it work. Our track record in the Assembly is there for all to see and we have shown on countless occasions a willingness to make the hard but fair decisions that are taken for the betterment of citizens from all backgrounds in the Six Counties. It is a track record that also makes a mockery of some of the condescending comments we hear from too many Government and Fianna Fáil spokespersons, who without even a touch of irony claim Sinn Féin is unfit for government in this State.

The comments from Deputy John Deasy on the motion last night were ill-informed and ignorant. His assertion that for the past 15 years Sinn Féin had no interest in substantive engagement with others on the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement is laughable and has a touch of irony considering he would probably get a nose bleed if he crossed the Border. Deputy Deasy’s contribution reflects the all too familiar partitionist mentality of some Deputies in this Chamber who see and talk about the Irish Republic as a 26-county political entity rather than a 32-county democratic socialist republic as declared in 1916. Lest Deputy Deasy has forgotten, he is a member of a political party that once claimed to be "The United Ireland Party", which makes his crass partitionist attitude all the more ironic. Let us compares what he said to some of the other contributions made by members of his party. Deputy McHugh's contribution was well-informed and conciliatory. That is the type of dialogue we need between political parties in this State. The peace process is not to be taken for granted and needs continuous work. I appeal to people such as Deputy Deasy to step out of the past and into 2013 and to work with us to ensure the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. The hardship that ordinary people in this State have had to endure as a result of the ineptitude and corruption of previous Governments resulted in the destruction of the economy in this State, and the policies of their successors in the current Government, of which Deputy Deasy is a member, and which continues to impose the failed policy of austerity is in stark contrast to what the Good Friday Agreement set out to achieve, namely, equality, justice and a path towards a new shared Ireland which respects all of the traditions and cultures on this island.

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