Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As Deputy Martin stated, the Fianna Fáil Party welcomes the agreement, which will help bring much needed stability to the workings of the Northern Ireland Executive and the Northern Ireland Assembly. As a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, it is incumbent on the Government to ensure the latest deal is fully realised. I welcome the Minister's concluding remarks that the implementation process and the implementation review will be at the top of the agenda, which is where it needs to be. The complacent strategy that has marked much of the Government's approach to Northern Ireland has to be replaced with active, ongoing engagement. A series of outstanding issues must be addressed to copperfasten progress in Northern Ireland. Like Deputy Martin, I compliment the Minister and the Minister of State. Since last July, they have taken a different approach from their predecessors by ensuring a hands-on approach. Time after time during Priority Questions to the previous Minister for Foreign Affairs, I indicated that it was my belief and that of my party that progress would not be made in Northern Ireland unless there was active engagement by both governments and unless both governments carried out their role as co-guarantors of the agreement. Unfortunately, for a long time it was left to the five Northern Ireland Executive parties to conduct the negotiations and the British and Irish Governments were bystanders. I compliment the Minister and Minister of State on their work in that respect.

The Stormont House Agreement before Christmas averted the political collapse of the Executive and impending financial suspension. Sinn Féin agreed to welfare cuts it had opposed for a long time. The British Government put forward a financial package of up to Stg£2 billion with additional borrowing powers for the Executive. The deal repackages much of the proposals put forward by Richard Haass and Meghan O'Sullivan, which were finalised on the final day of 2013, and it is unfortunate that because of the intransigent Unionist leadership those proposals were not advanced at a much earlier date.

The negotiations, unfortunately, failed to lead agreement on a bill of rights, an Irish language Act and an inquiry into the killing of Belfast solicitor, Pat Finucane. We will all recall discussing the de Silva report into Mr. Finucane's killing in the House, which exposed shocking levels of state collusion in his murder.

It is important that the key proposals be advanced as much as possible. It has been indicated that it may take two years to have the historical investigations unit to inquire into killings during the Troubles operational. I took from the Minister's comments that the unit's work would be completed within five years. I hope there will not be a lacuna of two years before its work commences. We are all aware of the electoral cycles here, north of the Border and in Britain. I sincerely hope the Minister of State when he replies will give the House an assurance that there will not be such a delay in setting up the unit.

My understanding is issues particularly relevant to the South may not be investigated by the unit unless the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman agrees to refer the particular issues to it. That means many long-standing grievances, which have not been adequately reviewed or assessed in the context of who carried out particular murders, will be left out. I refer to a desperate bombing that occurred in Belturbet in my constituency in 1972. and I quote fromLethal Allies, Anne Cadwallader's book:

In between the Dublin Bombings of 1st December 1972 and the 20th January, 1973, Fermanagh-based members of the UDR and UVF carried out three bombings within an hour - Clones (County Monaghan) Belturbet (County Cavan) and Pettigo (County Donegal) - all on 28th December 1972. Two teenagers, Geraldine O'Reilly (aged fifteen) [from Belturbet] and Paddy Stanley (aged sixteen) [from Clara, County Offaly], were killed in Belturbet. Again no one was brought to justice.

I sincerely hope that no mechanism will be put in the way of ensuring that this particular atrocity, along with so many others, is fully investigated when the historical investigations unit is put in place.

The Minister knows that I have constantly raised the Dublin-Monaghan bombings and the failure of the British Government to release the files in respect of the desperate atrocity that occurred here in 1974. It was the single greatest incidence of carnage on our island during that period. Again, the British Government has not co-operated. Quite a number of us in the House this evening supported and spoke on motions in May 2008 and 2011. These two motions calling on the British Government to release those papers so that the proper investigations could be carried out into those desperate atrocities were passed unanimously by this House. We know that 33 people were killed on 17 May 1974, which is more than 40 years ago. As I said earlier, it was the highest number of casualties on any single day during that desperate period known as the Troubles. It left a further 300 people injured. Many families across this island suffered terrible losses during the Troubles, including the victims of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings and so many other atrocities. I appeal to the Minister to ensure that mechanisms are not put in place to prevent a proper investigation into those atrocities. It is very least that the victims' families and survivors deserve. Mention has already been made of the massacre at Ballymurphy in respect of which the British Government has refused a proper investigation. Again, this is totally unacceptable.

I think I used the phrase "who can be afraid of a civic forum?" during the last Question Time in this House. It beggars belief that there cannot be agreement on the establishment of a civic forum north of the Border. We know there are many communities which feel totally isolated. They feel that nobody of any political colour represents them. They believe that a forum which would hear the views of the different community organisations and different sectors could play a part in ensuring there was a broader representation for so many communities which feel alienated and believe they have not benefited from the Good Friday Agreement.

Given the considerable length of time that has elapsed since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and the time that has elapsed since the signing of the St Andrew's Agreement and the Hillsborough Agreement, it is time to move on. There must be a review of the workings of the Good Friday Agreement, particularly the all-Ireland bodies. We should be moving on to the next phase of introducing new all-Ireland bodies.

Deputy Martin referred earlier to the economic potential for the development of this island on an all-Ireland basis. There are significant economic challenges North and South and significant financial challenges for Administrations North and South. Surely we should be putting in place the structures to ensure we maximise the potential for the good of all the citizens throughout this island. I hope the Minister will retain a hands-on approach along with his colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, to ensure that what has been agreed is implemented.

I will conclude with the comments I read shortly after Christmas which were attributed to the SDLP. It behoves all of us in this House to listen to the concerns expressed by a party that has been central to putting the Good Friday Agreement and other agreements in place. The SDLP executive concluded that while there has been some progress, the final outcome was not "comprehensive or decisive across all issues". It stated that it will work to correct what is weak in the Stormont House Agreement and that it will try to make progress on issues where the Stormont House Agreement is far too silent, including a bill of rights, a proper civic forum and the freeing up of the potential North and South and Acht na Gaeilge. It acknowledges the progress on the past but expresses concern that the proposals lack detail and fail to make state agencies fully accountable. Again, it raises concerns about a lack of clarity on parades. I would also have concerns with regard to bringing the Parades Commission into the political domain. From my recollection, the first Parades Commission was strong, made decisions, stuck by them and made progress in very challenging times. I hope the Minister and his colleagues in Government will ensure that the concerns expressed by a party that has been to the forefront in trying to secure progress on this island are addressed and that, hopefully, the issues about which we all expressed concern in a positive way that can be built upon to make more progress can be addressed. We wish the Minister well in his work of ensuring that the agreement is implemented.

See this speech in context