Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the agreement reached at Stormont House in Belfast before Christmas between the Irish and British Governments and the political parties in Northern Ireland. When I became Tánaiste last July and when the Taoiseach and I agreed the Government's statement of priorities for the next two years, we included securing and enhancing peace in the North as one of our six key objectives. We did so in the context of a potentially difficult marching and parading season last summer and against the backdrop of political stalemate that had existed since the end of the talks chaired by Dr. Richard Haass last January.

Thankfully, the marching season passed off relatively peacefully. Subsequently, the political parties engaged in ten weeks of political negotiations during the autumn that ultimately concluded with this agreement. The Irish Government was an active participant in those negotiations. For this, thanks are due in part to my party colleague Deputy Eamon Gilmore, who, in his final weeks as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade last June, engaged in a series of meetings to encourage all parties and the British Government to enter into discussions. Thankfully, this came to fruition during the autumn. In this respect, the fact an agreement is now in place is no small part due to the efforts Deputy Eamon Gilmore made, often behind the scenes, during his time in office. All parties and the two Governments are grateful to him for that.

The Irish Government's efforts to achieve a successful outcome were further boosted by the work of Deputy Eamon Gilmore's successor, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan, and by the appointment of the first Minister of State with responsibility for North-South co-operation, my party colleague Deputy Sean Sherlock. Their work over recent months with their officials was also central to this agreement.

Along with the Taoiseach and the two Ministers, I joined the Irish Government negotiating team towards the conclusion of these negotiations in December. I believe the combined presence of the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and two Ministers demonstrated the Government's commitment to achieving an agreement and ending the political deadlock. That was my motivation in attending the talks. I will continue to make myself available for any matters relating to Northern Ireland for the remainder of the Government's term in office.

The peace and progress achieved since the darkest days of the Troubles has been hard won. All of us who remember that terrible period in our recent history have a responsibility to ensure those days never return. As to the details of the Stormont House Agreement itself, the Irish Government's primary interests lay in building to the greatest extent possible on the proposals contained in the Haass package on flags, parades and dealing with the past. Further, we also sought to develop the role of the North-South institutions, conscious of the potential of all-island economic development to boost employment and investment. I am glad the package of measures agreed on the past largely reflects what was contained in the Haass proposals. Rather than dwell on their details, it is more important to concentrate on implementing them as quickly as possible.

Victims and survivors in Northern Ireland have had several false dawns in terms of processes for dealing with the past. The Eames-Bradley report of January 2009 laid out a comprehensive set of proposals and recommendations which were regrettably not acted on following publication. Hopes were raised once again during the Haass negotiations but these were dashed when the parties failed to reach a final agreement. Now we have a clear set of measures to be implemented that include the establishment of a new historical investigations unit to review Troubles-related deaths, a new independent commission on information retrieval and an implementation and reconciliation group. These developments are a step forward for families who have long sought processes for achieving truth and accountability for what happened to their loved ones.

There is also a subsequent onus on both paramilitary organisations and Governments to step up to the mark and meet the obligations required of them in these new structures. Success in what has been agreed on the past will ultimately be judged on whether or not it meets the needs of victims and survivors. Only when searches for the disappeared have successfully concluded, when we have full disclosure on collusion between paramilitaries and the State and when families are satisfied they have achieved a measure of justice, will we know these processes have worked.

On the issue of flags, I hope that progress can be made through the new commission that has been established. This has proven an extremely difficult issue to resolve, and I believe the commission is the best possible compromise in current circumstances.

While there is some uncertainty regarding the process for determining parades, I do welcome the fact that the Northern Ireland Parades Commission is to remain in place. The commission has done excellent work in extremely challenging circumstances in determining that the rule of law must be upheld. Parades will remain a difficult issue in Northern Ireland for some time to come. While the overwhelming majority of these parades pass off peacefully, the public must have confidence in the rulings that are made on contentious parades. The Parades Commission is vital to this process.

On question of North-South co-operation, I welcome the commitments made to expediting the review of relevant North-South issues that was agreed some time ago. However, I am concerned that we are not fully realising the potential of all-island economic development. The SDLP, in particular, has consistently argued that rather than compete for investment, there are numerous opportunities for expanding North-South co-operation particularly in the Border region. I would hope that Sinn Féin will use its position in the Northern Ireland Executive to argue for the North-South agenda. In his role as Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with responsibility for development, trade promotion and North-South co-operation, Deputy Sean Sherlock will continue his work in this regard, as I believe that both economies can benefit from shared resources and greater co-operation in the years ahead. It is very important that we get communities in all parts of the island in communication and co-operation with each other. It is absolutely the best way of promoting a shared understanding of what is a very difficult past for people on both sides.

On the subject of Sinn Féin, I am aware that Sinn Féin has constantly railed against the difficult decisions the Government here in the South has had to take to correct our public finances, get the country back on its feet, and get people back to employment. Spokespersons from Sinn Féin have been trenchant in their comments on that. It was interesting in the context of the Northern discussion how the rhetoric here was matched with an equivalent campaign against what I think was called "Tory cuts" in Northern Ireland, some time before these negotiations began. When the budget deal was done - it involves very challenging and difficult budgetary issues around a £700 million package - the Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, described this package as the best deal possible. It will be challenging, particularly for Sinn Féin to reconcile its previous opposition to cuts on such a scale with its current support for the package of budget and welfare changes and reductions that have been signed up to as part of the Stormont House Agreement.

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