Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I object to Question No. 7, which asks the Taoiseach if he met the Scottish First Minister recently, being lumped with questions relating to Northern Ireland and relations within Northern Ireland between Britain and Ireland. The idea that questions about Scotland should be grouped with questions pertaining to Northern Ireland is absurd and whoever prepared that grouping should reflect on the matter. We could have an interesting session in its own right on the Scottish experience and whether the Taoiseach had meetings with Mr. Salmond.

I ask the Taoiseach to specifically answer Question No. 17, which asked him when he last visited Northern Ireland. As I did not hear the response to that question in his reply, he might tell me the date on which he last visited Northern Ireland.

The record of this House over the past three and a half years shows that the Government's approach to Northern Ireland has been defined by growing distance and detachment. I have pointed this out on repeated occasions. This is probably the first Government in decades which has been willing to accept the idea that disputes between parties in the North should be left to those parties. I put it to the Taoiseach that this was a complete negation of the entire approach which secured peace in the first place. He seems to be taking the view that the Government is an observer rather than a participant.

The commitment of Sinn Féin and the DUP to promoting their own interests first was always going to lead to vital communal issues not being addressed to the degree that they should have been. The ongoing positioning within the executive is not a good basis for effective government, and hence the need for the Haass talks to commence. I welcome that the two Governments have woken up to the seriousness of the situation and the need to get involved. They are now indicating that talks involving Haass need to resume in respect of a range of issues. However, I do not welcome the failure of the Taoiseach and his Government to state clearly and unambiguously that Dublin must be involved in every aspect of any discussion about changing the structures of power and power sharing arrangements within the edifice that has been created as a result of the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements. I am somewhat concerned about the statement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade that he will simply be observing developments. That is not good enough. The 1998 settlement involved an international treaty. We changed our Constitution on that basis and our role in Northern affairs was acknowledged. I ask the Taoiseach to confirm that no step back from that position is acceptable and to give us an assurance that he will demand full Dublin involvement from the outset of any discussions about future structures and powers in Northern Ireland. There has been too much detachment over the past several years. I regret to say that but I have been pointing it out as diplomatically as I was able and a very serious situation is now emerging in Northern Ireland in terms of the structures there, the capacity to bring many of these issues over the line and the relationship between the Dublin and British Governments in regard to Northern Ireland. I was struck that when the economic programme was launched in Downing Street by the First Minister, Deputy First Minister and the British Prime Minister, there was no Dublin presence. The event was more than 18 months ago. That said it all.

I ask the Taoiseach the basic question of whether Dublin will be fully involved from the outset of any discussions about future structures and powers in Northern Ireland.

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