Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to reflect on developments in Northern Ireland, in particular on the recent political talks and the contribution and role of the Irish Government in support of political progress, reconciliation and prosperity in Northern Ireland. In the past few years there have been significant developments across the agenda of government in British-Irish relations. There is a mutual interest and ease in co-operation, trust and respect which goes across government and which reaches beyond it into the official and civic spheres also. I have experienced this on my visits to Britain, when I have encountered the assurance and confidence of the many younger Irish people who are succeeding in business, the arts and all sectors in Britain. Being Irish in Britain now has only positive connotations.

Engagement with the British Government is increasingly about our bilateral opportunities, shared interests in Europe and internationally. Our economic interdependence is explicitly recognised and valued by both Governments, with €1 billion worth of traded goods and services crossing the Irish Sea each week. We will continue to grow this area of co-operation, yet co-operation in support of reconciliation, prosperity and a shared perspective in Northern Ireland remains at the heart of the British-Irish relationship. The British-Irish bilateral relationship has been both a catalyst for positive change in Northern Ireland and a beneficiary of that change. We want to ensure the strengthening of the British-Irish bilateral relationship benefits and is reflected fully in Northern Ireland. This is because, despite the enormous political progress of recent years, a number of significant challenges remain with respect to Northern Ireland. In my recent visits I have been confronted with concerns about identities under threat, work that is still needed to ensure parity of esteem and the virulence of sectarianism. That is why reaching agreement around the proposals which emerged from the panel of parties talks is so important. Parades, flags and emblems and contending with the past can be touch-paper issues which, in the absence of agreement at executive level on how best to deal with them, continue to disrupt other areas of government and civic life. We saw this happen on numerous occasions during 2013. Agreement and unity on these issues would inspire a new sense of security and confidence across communities in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland parties deserve and require all the support they can get from across society and the two Governments.

The Government will provide that support to the full as the Northern Ireland parties seek to complete their work on these issues. Both Governments have made it clear that we attach high importance to the parties making progress on these issues and we aim to facilitate progress in any way we can. This work is important in itself, but it is also necessary in order that the parties can turn their attention to the other serious, pressing issues around unemployment, education and economic recovery. The Irish Government has no closer political relationship than with the Northern Ireland Executive. There is a shared interest to move North-South co-operation in a practical direction in support of recovery. Ministers have been reviewing priorities in their respective areas, especially where they could cultivate more economic recovery, job creation, the best use of public funds and the most effective delivery of services. We are making real progress on these issues. I would like to see a new approach to co-operation that will emphasise job creation and boost exports and economic activity. Opportunities for greater co-operation in higher education, youth employment measures, transport, sport and health are also being examined very carefully.

From visiting Derry I have seen that there are great synergies, real and potential, between Derry and Donegal. Since 2006 the Government and the Northern Ireland Executive have worked hard with local stakeholders through the north-west gateway initiative to take the fullest advantage of the potential for co-operation at all levels within the region. There has been good progress with the Altnagelvin radiotherapy unit as a regional centre which will serve the people of the north west. There has also been excellent co-operation between IDA Ireland and Invest NI on the north-west business technology zone which is providing linkages between industry, the colleges and Altnagelvin. As well as looking at co-operation on the island, the Government and the Northern Ireland Executive are also looking at how we can collaborate internationally to ensure that where there are economies of scale which give us competitive advantage, we pursue these opportunities.

The Good Friday and St. Andrew's Agreements have had an overwhelmingly positive and transformative effect on security, politics and economic and social opportunity on the island, in Northern Ireland most particularly. They came about as a result of a sustained effort over a number of years by the British and Irish Governments and the Northern Ireland parties. The US Government also played a crucial role, through its envoy George Mitchell and directly, in facilitating agreement in 1998. The US Administration continues to provide significant support and encouragement in addressing current challenges. Vice President Joe Biden, in particular, has made clear his support for the ongoing political talks and I deeply appreciate his positive and ongoing contribution and that of the US Administration.

Taken together, the agreements set out the guiding principles for peace, stability and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, namely, devolution, power-sharing, agreement on sovereignty, human rights, parity of esteem, support for the rule of law, and the continued shared responsibility of the two Governments to guarantee these principles. However the full potential of the agreements has yet to be reached. We need to reflect honestly on where gaps remain and commitments are unfulfilled. As is the case in any comprehensive political agreement, implementation is essential to the integrity and balance of the whole.

I want to mention three issues I believe require particular effort. First is the strengthening of civic society in Northern Ireland. I support the establishment of a civic forum which would stimulate informed public debate on key societal challenges. As part of their work, Richard Haass and Meghan O'Sullivan met with a variety of community groups and with representatives of wider civil society. I believe this consultation process enriched their work, in particular in regard to the proposals on contending with the past. I wish to put on the record today also my gratitude to them for their contribution in progressing so significantly public and political debate on the three contentious areas of parades, flags and emblems, and contending with the past. Through my Department's reconciliation and anti-sectarianism funds, we support the community sector to play its part also. We enable organisations to pursue projects promoting genuine and lasting reconciliation and to build sustainable community relations. Grants totalling almost €2.7 million were made in 2013 and I am pleased to confirm that an equivalent amount will be available in 2014. I thank Members of this House for their support through the Estimates process for this important resource.

The second issue is the need for further progress, in a rights-based approach, to addressing contentious issues. During my visits to Northern Ireland, I have been struck by the level of interest among a broad swathe of civic society in a Bill of rights for Northern Ireland. Many of the contentious issues around culture and identity have rights at their core and progress on a Bill of rights would provide a framework for the resolution of these issues. The third issue is the need to give effect to the principle of parity of esteem. I believe, for example,that an Irish language Act should be introduced in Northern Ireland. All parties to the Good Friday Agreement recognised the importance of respect, understanding and tolerance of linguistic diversity.

Seeing through the implementation of the remaining elements of the agreements is about supporting stability, prosperity and reconciliation. They are not add-ons, belonging to one party to the agreement or another, but are an integral part of it. I am confident that working together the NI parties, with the support of the two Governments, will complete this important work. I do not underestimate the nature, scale or complexity of the work ahead. What started as a political process almost 30 years ago continues today as a journey toward reconciliation that is as complex and as challenging as any previous phase. If we rise to the challenge, it will continue to be every bit as rewarding economically, socially and politically for every inhabitant on this island.

A few weeks ago we marked the 20th anniversary of the Downing Street Declaration, a landmark in British-Irish relations and in the peace process that has helped redefine political relations on this island. Every party in this House has played its part in shaping and guiding that process, through challenges that often appeared insurmountable. That we have come so far is a tribute to this House, which has long taken the view that this work lies above politics, above party advantage. However, we need to be vigilant and alert to the risk of complacency. We have come a long way and some may be tempted to say that "this good is good enough". It is not. If we cease moving forward, we risk handing the momentum to those who would turn the clock back.

The challenges that face us now, while considerable, are far from insurmountable. Parades can and should be regulated in a manner that encourages dialogue, respect and compromise. Steps can and should be taken that provide for the respectful expression of British and Irish cultural identity, whether that is for the appropriate display of the Union flag as the sovereign flag of Northern Ireland or for affording the protections and status to the Irish language that are already afforded in Wales to the Welsh language. We must also find a much better way of dealing with our past and of meeting the needs of those who were bereaved, hurt or damaged during the Troubles. That is why the political talks on these issues matter so much.

Speaking in Iveagh House recently, John Major reminded us "the task of building a normal society is still work-in-progress. The British and Irish Governments need to continue working together to help Northern Ireland become the tolerant, inclusive, shared society we all wish to see". That work of the two Governments continues, as it must. Tomorrow, I will meet the Secretary of State and we will consider what more the Governments can do to help facilitate agreement. I know there is a great deal of scepticism that these talks will lead to agreement. I do not share that scepticism. I believe there is genuine desire by all party leaders to find agreement and that agreement is within reach and achievable. I encourage them to conclude this work now without further delay. Today's debate can help support that process.

See this speech in context