Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to open the debate on Northern Ireland as we face once again into a critical juncture for the peace process. I can assure the House that the two governments in Dublin and London remain steadfast and determined to support the parties in the North to reach agreement on critical issues.

With the conclusion of the Stormont House Agreement in December 2014 after months of talks, it was hoped that a way forward was agreed on resolving the difficulties in the Northern Ireland Executive around finance, welfare reform and dealing with the legacy of the past.

Unfortunately, implementation of the Agreement ran into difficulties, creating major challenges for the Northern institutions. The resulting political impasse was further compounded by the murder of Kevin McGuigan and the attendant implications for trust and confidence among the parties participating in the Northern Ireland Executive.

I made the Government's position clear when I spoke at the British-Irish Association in Cambridge in September and reiterate that, 21 years after the IRA ceasefire and ten years after decommissioning and the IRA announcement of cessation of paramilitary activity, it is past time that it should carry any capacity for threat. Statements to the effect that the IRA has gone away or left the stage are simply not credible. It is the responsibility of Sinn Féin, in particular its leadership, to address these issues and help to restore the trust that has been lost. We have become used to incredible statements, be they about past activity, current activity, murder, robbery or child abuse. There may have been a time when living with constructive ambiguity helped the peace process but that time is now past.

It is not for Sinn Féin alone to help to make progress. All of the parties and both Governments have responsibilities to shoulder. The shadow of the gunman and the poison of paramilitarism are not just confined to so-called republicans; they are still deeply embedded in loyalist communities, often with nakedly criminal agendas. Paramilitarism, in all its vestiges, must be removed. We need clear, not blurred, lines between constitutional politics and criminality. There must be no shared platforms or strategies and no shady grey areas between right and wrong.

The peace we now have was built by the people of these islands through their commitment to non-violence and reconciliation. The institutions of the Good Friday Agreement were created by these same people through their democratic vote. Political representatives are elected and thereby duty bound to protect the peace and the democratic institutions the people have created. These words are as true now as they were when I first spoke them in Cambridge in September. We must face the truth that an event such as the brutal and savage murder of Paul Quinn in 2007 illustrates most graphically and awfully the very worst effects of the scourge of paramilitarism on individuals, families and communities.

Devolution in the North is facing hugely significant challenges. That is why, on 2 September, the Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron, and I agreed that the seriousness of the political impasse warranted the urgent convening of talks in Belfast involving the two Governments and the parties that had subscribed to the Stormont House Agreement. It was envisaged that these talks would be short, focused and intensive and advance implementation of the Agreement, as well as addressing the trust and confidence issues arising from the impact and legacy of paramilitary activity. While the talks got off to a reasonably encouraging start, progress was delayed by several developments that further compounded the situation. The Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan, with the support of the Minister of State, Deputy Sean Sherlock, worked closely with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to facilitate the return of all of the five main parties in Northern Ireland to round table talks. They resumed in round table format on 21 September. Talks have intensified in recent days and, while significant challenges remain, good progress is being made across the main issues. I remain hopeful that, with committed collective engagement, we can make real progress in the coming days on the critical issues, with a view to a successful conclusion of the talks.

I have kept in close contact with the Prime Minister, Mr. Cameron, and we last spoke on the telephone on 20 October. I expect to meet him again when in London next week to address the annual conference of the Confederation of British Industry. I am hoping that at that time we will be able to discuss significant progress in the talks process. I have also been keeping the US Administration informed of progress, most recently in my meeting with Senator Gary Hart on 14 October, when I expressed my gratitude for the continued US engagement in, and support for, the peace process. Of course, our No. 1 priority is to facilitate and encourage the Northern Ireland parties to find an inclusive agreement on these issues, a task to which the Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Sean Sherlock, have dedicated much of their time in recent weeks.

In response to the concerns raised about the activities of paramilitary groups, the British Government commissioned an assessment of the various paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland to be carried out by the PSNI and the British security services. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, had also asked An Garda Síochána for an assessment of the status of the Provisional IRA in this jurisdiction. Both assessments were published on 20 October. In the first instance, the British Government's assessment makes for sobering reading. While acknowledging that the paramilitary organisations no longer represent a terrorist threat, it nonetheless presents a complex and challenging profile of unacceptable residual activities by various groups in Northern Ireland which are damaging to communities and which must be addressed. The assessment underscores the critical importance of the political talks process under way.

There is substantial common ground in the findings of both assessments and both raise deeply troubling issues about the Provisional IRA and the legacy of paramilitarism. Both communities continue to be affected by the so-called dissident republican groups and their ongoing campaigns of terrorism. While these groups are separate from and at odds with the Provisional IRA, they have their origins in the Provisional IRA. These things have no place in our democracy and never did. As I have said before, the future of the peace process depends on their being removed from the life of this island, completely and forever. All participants in the Stormont House talks have a duty of care to the people of this island to bring an end to the remaining blight of paramilitarism in communities and agree outcomes that will provide lasting peace and political stability in Northern Ireland.

A second aspect of the Provisional IRA's brutal legacy is the involvement in organised crime of a significant number of people who have been associated with the Provisional IRA and who, as the Garda Commissioner points out, are involved in organised crime and make full use of the reputations they acquired as members of the Provisional IRA and do not hesitate to use their previous terror tactics. The Garda Commissioner has made it clear that the close relationship and the successful record of co-operation with the PSNI will remain the cornerstone of tackling the cross-Border crime that harms communities, North and South. In that regard, both An Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland have my full support and that of the Government. An Garda Síochána is strongly committed to tackling crime of whatever sort, whatever its origin and whomsoever is involved. There was not, is not and cannot be any question of a blind eye being turned to any criminality and the Government is determined that there will be no hiding place for whatever manifestation of the IRA might be involved in it. Since the establishment of the Criminal Assets Bureau in 1996, a total of €28 million has been remitted to the Exchequer arising from proceeds of crime actions and tax assessments in respect of over 50 individuals who have had connections or associations with the Provisional IRA in the past. Other investigations and proceedings are ongoing.

The Minister, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, recently met the Justice Minister in the North, Mr. David Ford, to discuss what more could be done to tackle cross-Border crime. The two Ministers jointly hosted the annual cross-Border conference on organised crime which took place in Sligo on 30 September and 1 October, with over 100 delegates attending from the North and the South. It is one demonstration of the close and ongoing co-operation between the two jurisdictions in this regard. There is extensive operational co-operation to tackle smuggling and other Border-focused criminal activities. This co-operation involves the police and other law enforcement agencies from both jurisdictions, with the inter-agency, cross-Border enforcement groups on fuel and tobacco fraud being two examples of this joint work in action. We are looking at ways to build on the excellent co-operation that already takes place in this area and want to see an overarching and enhanced structure in place to support it. It is the joint working of all of the law enforcement agencies involved on both sides of the Border which will be crucial in tackling these issues. As a Government, we will support them in any and every way we can. The Government will maintain and intensify its focus on combating paramilitary activity and organised criminality, whatever its aims or origins, and will continue to work in close co-operation with the authorities in Northern Ireland in this regard.

Dealing with the past is also a key element of the Stormont House Agreement and the implementation of these elements is an important part of the current talks. Many families, including those bereaved by incidents in which collusion has been alleged, continue to deal not only with the awful pain of losing a loved one but with the struggle for answers decades after these traumatic events occurred.

The impact of the many atrocities perpetrated North and South lives long in our memory and is felt to this day. Last July, this House adopted an all-party motion on the Ballymurphy massacre and only last week, we learned of further developments in the ongoing inquest into this case being carried out by the Coroner's Court in Belfast. I take this opportunity again to reiterate the support of the Government and this House for the Ballymurphy families in their quest for truth through an independent panel of inquiry.

I know the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement also met recently with several representatives of victim and family groups and I am grateful to its Chairman, Deputy Feighan, for his initiative in this regard.

I have always said there is no hierarchy of victims. They come from all sides of the community and from all strands of society. I understand and acknowledge the frustration of families who for too long have had to contend with inadequate mechanisms for addressing their cases. For that reason, the establishment of a new, comprehensive framework for dealing with the past, as envisaged in the Stormont House Agreement, remains a priority of the Government. We believe that these mechanisms offer the best hope of helping the thousands of families touched by the Troubles, including those affected by collusion. I know that the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, with the support of his officials, is working intensively with the Secretary of State, the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland political parties to ensure the rapid establishment of these institutions within the context of the ongoing round table talks. The Government is committed to ensuring full co-operation by the authorities in this jurisdiction with any new investigative body in Northern Ireland with appropriate policing powers and I have reiterated this at recent meetings in Northern Ireland, including with the Kingsmill and Ballymurphy families.

Finance and welfare reform is primarily a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly. However, the Government here fully recognises the importance of finding an agreement on these issues for the economic well-being of Northern Ireland. The British Government has a pivotal role to play and I hope in playing this role, it will recognise the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland as a society still emerging from decades of debilitating conflict. Under the Good Friday Agreement, we have seen important progress in North-South co-operation, through the work of the NSMC and the North-South bodies. I look forward to attending the next meeting of the NSMC in Armagh on 13 November and taking further stock of our progress across all the areas of co-operation.

This Government's recently published capital plan clearly states our ongoing commitment to investing in infrastructure to support North-South co-operation to help unlock the full potential of the island economy. This commitment is, of course, predicated on a stable political environment in the North with all of the institutions and cross-Border agencies operating to full effect. In our capital plan, we have reaffirmed our support for the EU PEACE and INTERREG programmes and will continue to work closely with the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure that funding opportunities are maximised, with almost half a billion euro available from EU sources from 2016 to 2021.

In addition, there will be a renewed focus on investing in a number of key transport corridors, including ongoing review of the scope for building on the current commitment to the A5 road project, which is of major strategic importance to the north-west, and the Dublin-Belfast rail line, which is critical to the development of the Dublin-Belfast corridor and is currently in receipt of an €18 million upgrade package. The Government remains committed to the concept of the Narrow Water Bridge, which would provide a valuable North-South link between counties Louth and Down, with potential to provide jobs and a significant boost to tourism in the area. The Government will also continue to explore the development of further cross-Border greenways and blueway cycling, walking and water leisure routes, including the Ulster Canal.

In considering Northern Ireland's economic future, it is also important that we recognise the European Union's strong support for, and positive influence on, the peace process and the importance for Northern Ireland politicians of engaging on the EU-UK debate. It would be remiss of me not to mention the bad news today in respect of the closure to come of a major plant in Northern Ireland, with the loss of over 800 jobs.

This Government has clearly set out its vision for a Northern Ireland free from the grip of paramilitarism and organised crime. We want to see a shared society governed by efficient, effective, representative devolved institutions which co-operate to build the island economy through overseas investment and joint efforts in trade and tourism. The people of Northern Ireland deserve political institutions which work to build a world class infrastructure and focus on delivering high quality citizen-centred public services, including an education system that promotes integration. The current talks have the capacity to move Northern Ireland forward towards that brighter future. Now is the time for the parties to step up to mark and show that they know how to make real and mature decisions about the future, rather than rely on the possibility of a return to direct rule.

The outstanding issues can only be successfully addressed by the Executive parties and the two governments working together to resolve the issues of trust, confidence and of political and financial instability that threaten the continuation of devolution and of course by implementing the Stormont House Agreement in its totality.

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