Dáil debates

Tuesday, 3 November 2015

Northern Ireland: Statements

 

6:35 pm

Photo of Gerry AdamsGerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an díospóireacht seo. However, it takes great patience to sit and listen to some of the rubbish and the lies which are peddled here, thinly disguised as a serious contribution to the resolution of the problems facing the people of this island as a result of partition. Ní bhíonn go leor díospóireachtaí anseo againn nó go leor ama againn ar chor ar bith chun na rudaí tábhachtacha seo a phlé. Sinn Féin has consistently proposed that there be a monthly Dáil debate on the North and I again urge the Taoiseach to agree to this proposal.

The Good Friday Agreement marks the most significant political development on this island since Partition. An international agreement, it involved the two Governments and Nationalist, republican and Unionist political parties in the North. It has provided a peaceful and democratic way to deal with contentious constitutional and political issues. It has opened up a new and peaceful path to the realisation of Irish unity and ending the union where none presented before. However, the political process has been held back by continuous phases of instability since 2010. This stems from the negativity, disengagement and mismanagement of both the peace and political processes by the present British Government. Tragically, this approach has been mirrored by the Irish Government's semi-detached approach to the North. Both Governments have failed to honour their commitments to ensure full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and other agreements since 1998. A commitment made at Weston Park to investigate the murder of human rights lawyer Pat Finucane has not been honoured or implemented. In the St. Andrews Agreement, a commitment was made to Acht na Gaeilge. This has not been honoured or implemented. There is no bill of rights or all-island charter of rights. There is no civic forum.

In the period from 2010, the two Governments have stepped back from their responsibilities and political unionism has refused to properly support power sharing in the North. That has contributed directly to the serious political difficulties and ongoing instability, particularly around dealing with the past, disputed parades, flags, symbols and cultural identity. Despite intense lobbying and advocacy by Sinn Féin, there has been a failure to implement the equality, parity of esteem and mutual respect elements of the Good Friday Agreement. This impasse led to the convening of talks by Richard Haass and Meghan O'Sullivan in late 2013. British Government and Unionist rejection of the Haass-O'Sullivan proposals and further political instability led to further political negotiations in November and December 2014 at Stormont House. Bealach nua chun tosaigh a bhí ann i gComhaontú Theach Chnoc an Anfa agus tá dóchas le fáil ann go fóill. However, this difficult political situation has been exacerbated by the austerity crisis caused over recent years by the British Government's reduction of the North's block grant by £1.5 billion. This has had devastating consequences for public services, jobs, social welfare protections and economic growth in the Six Counties. With the election of a majority Tory Government in May, worse is set to come. Another £1.4 billion will be cut from the block grant. An estimated £120 million per year will be taken from the pockets of working families as a result of Conservative cuts to tax credits. British Government austerity policies have deepened political instability in the North. Cuireann polasaí na Tories an próiseas agus na hinstitiúidí i mbaol.

Against this backdrop, political unionism has contrived to create a real crisis following the murders in Belfast of Jock Davison and Kevin McGuigan. This crisis was facilitated when a criminal investigation into Kevin McGuigan's murder morphed into an assessment of the status of the IRA by the PSNI leadership. While the PSNI chief constable may argue that this was not a political intervention, it is the responsibility of the PSNI to investigate criminality and to make those responsible accountable in the courts. It should do this by following the evidence and it is assured of the support of Sinn Féin in so doing. However, Sinn Féin will strongly resist any efforts to bring what should be operational matters for the PSNI into the political processes. We reject totally and will resist any efforts to undermine the rights of our electorate or any other section of voters.

This was the background for a cynical electoral power play between the two main Unionist parties which brought these talks to an effective standstill pending the publication of a report by the British Government.

Some elements of the British report, and a parallel report from An Garda Síochána, were seized upon by opponents of Sinn Féin, including the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Fianna Fáil leader, and misused for narrow, party political agendas. There has been a deliberate effort to criminalise and demonise republicans, Sinn Féin activists and other citizens, especially those in cross-Border communities in places like south Armagh and north Louth. Contrary to the Wild West image portrayed by some elements in the media and others in this Chamber, the people of the Border region are decent law-abiding citizens.

Let me also hold up to ridicule the absurd notion that there is a twilight zone in which the Garda colludes with republicans involved in fuel smuggling and so on as part of the peace process. This is patent rubbish. Let me repeat once again that Sinn Féin is totally and absolutely opposed to criminality of all kinds and we stand with communities across this island and with An Garda Síochána and the PSNI in opposing criminal gangs and criminality in all its forms. As a consequence of this, Sinn Féin members and our homes and families have been attacked. Despite this, Sinn Féin will be to the forefront of any future initiative to tackle paramilitaries or criminality on this island. No other party has done more to build the peace, reach out to others and robustly face down violent loyalism and so-called republican dissidents.

I have also made it clear that Sinn Féin members are only accountable to our electorate. Sinn Féin has no fear of the electorate. We respect them. They are the people, after all, who gave us our mandate.

Despite the political opportunism and cynicism which was evident in the efforts of the Taoiseach to get the Assembly adjourned and the entirely ham-fisted call by the Fianna Fáil leader for the suspension of the political institutions - this cynicism is again evident the Dáil today - talks have recommenced in Belfast. This is very much to be welcomed. Ach tá an baol ann go gcuirfidh daoine isteach ar an dul chun cinn atá déanta, sin daoine atá agus a bhí i gcónaí in aghaidh an phróisis ar fad.

I spend at least two days a week if I can in the North and I spend most Mondays in Stormont. There is a widespread conviction that some elements within political unionism have pulled back from the political process and are not seriously committed to power sharing. I always make the case that this is understandable because if they have other options, they will take the other options. If governments keep to their obligations and responsibilities and implement agreements that have been made, then this old guard has less room to manoeuvre. The British Government position lacks credibility and there is no genuine intent to resolve the impasse.

The very people in MI5 and in the old guard of the RUC, who produced the recent report, have also brought in a veto to stop the families of victims of British terrorism from getting the truth about what happened to their loved ones. These folks are locked into the conflicts of the past. They are the same people who directed agents, informers and paramilitary organisations that killed hundreds of citizens, including citizens in this city, with the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, and stirred sectarian violence and colluded in murder. They are prepared to put the peace and political processes at risk in an effort to stop the growth of Sinn Féin, North and South. These are the people some in this Dáil choose to believe. The Fianna Fáil leader does not believe the Garda Commissioner but he believes MI5. MI5, some in the PSNI and the British Government have also attempted to use the new legacy legislation to elevate British interests above those of victims and their families.

Victims’ groups are seriously concerned about the British Government attempting to row back from commitments on dealing with the legacy of the past. They are anxious and upset following a meeting last week with British Government representatives called to discuss the progress of legislation on this issue.

The British and Irish Governments agreed at Stormont House on the need to provide justice and truth-recovery mechanisms that would give disclosure to families of victims of the conflict. The British Government's legislation is in clear breach of this agreement. The legislation is all about hiding the British state’s role as a central player in the conflict and its collusion with Unionist paramilitary death squads. This is unacceptable. People there - I am sure the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade has met some of them - look to this Government to stand up for them.

All measures to deal with the past, including any legislation, must reflect the commitments made at Stormont House by the parties and the two Governments. Given of the serial crises in the political institutions in recent years, their reputation and public confidence in them has been severely undermined. It is the responsibility of the Executive parties to repair this. The responsibility of the Irish Government and of the parties in this Dáil should be to support the efforts to make progress and not to place narrow self-serving party political objectives and opportunistic untruthful propaganda above the necessary process of change and progress.

Sinn Féin’s priorities have been to ensure the efficient functioning of the power-sharing institutions while endeavouring to create jobs, reduce unemployment, protect the most vulnerable and bring forward working budgets that ensure delivery of front-line services. I commend the patience and fortitude of the Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, MLA, in this regard. He has played a consistently positive role. In particular, he has demonstrated an extraordinary willingness to reach out to others whether within unionism or in the British royal family.

Sinn Féin wants the political institutions to work and to deliver for citizens. Despite all the difficulties, the Executive, the Assembly and the all-Ireland institutions have worked better for citizens than the years of direct rule by unaccountable British Ministers and decades of one-party rule by the Ulster Unionist Party.

The British Government needs to accept the reality of special circumstances in the North. I know the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade accepts this; I am uncertain if the Taoiseach does. The North is a society emerging from decades of conflict. It has always been a dysfunctional society; partition has that effect. Both Governments must accept the need for an economic dividend to the necessary process of peace building and political and societal change. Both Governments must fully implement the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements. The Irish Government needs to play a more constructive ongoing consistent role in the North and I have made this point many times to the Taoiseach.

Citizens in this State expect their Government to proactively pursue and promote the peace process. Citizens in the North, even those within unionism, expect the same. All of us in the Dáil must work to break down partitionist mindsets. This is a particular challenge for the Taoiseach and other leaders here. This Dáil itself needs to break out of a partitionist mindset. It was an interesting experience to hear the Tánaiste mention partition in an otherwise unremarkable and barely coherent contribution. The Government needs to move beyond its occasional rhetoric about republicanism. Any government that truly wants to unite all the people of this island, including those who see themselves as British, in peace, equality and harmony, needs to work diligently and in an effective way towards that end. There is also a constitutional imperative and obligation on the Government to do so.

This means pursuing every avenue to promote greater all-Ireland co-operation and working to build relationships on the basis of equality between all our people, regardless of their background or tradition. It is through the building of all-Ireland sectors as part of a single-island economy, including the environment, health, energy, education and agriculture, that peace and unity will be established. We must use every available opportunity to utilise the goodwill of our international friends, including those in the United States.

It also means proactively reaching out to Unionists. Crucially, the Government must end the practice of playing junior partner to the British Government when it comes to the peace process. The Government must see itself as a co-equal guarantor and deal with the British Government on that basis. Anything else is a recipe for failure. The British Government cannot be allowed to set the agenda, the pace of negotiations or the scope of discussions.

I have urged the Taoiseach here many times to prioritise his engagement with the British Prime Minister with the objective of stabilising and sustaining the political institutions set up under the Good Friday Agreement but also to deliver on the separate responsibilities and obligations of both Governments. A 15 minute phonecall and an occasional meeting on the margins of other meetings with the British Prime Minister is not good enough. The process needs a consistent, strategic involvement on an ongoing basis.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade will have noted, as I did, the positive contribution of the Minister of State, Deputy Sean Sherlock. I am sure the former will vouch for the fact that Sinn Féin is currently working positively with all of the political parties and with the two Governments. However, as a co-equal guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, and other agreements, the Taoiseach must engage with the British Prime Minister with greater focus and consistency. We must accept that the peace process is bigger than party political point scoring or narrow electoral considerations.

As I have said here previously, this is a time of change for the British union and that has major implications for the North. That situation in itself is destabilising elements of unionism. The issue of Scottish independence has not gone away and remains a live political issue with obvious implications for the North of Ireland. The Government can rest assured that unionism is watching that space very closely. While Sinn Féin is highly critical of elements of the European Union, including the lack of democratic accountability, the narrow ideological pro-austerity focus and the failure to deal with the humanitarian crisis faced by refugees, the prospect of increased or full withdrawal by the British state from the EU or the significant erosion of human rights protections also have major implications for Ireland, North and South.

All these issues argue in favour of the Government to be fully and consistently engaged in a strategic manner, in keeping with its constitutional obligations, as well as its responsibilities under a series of agreements. There is a clear onus on the Government to contribute fully to the development of the A5, the Ulster Canal, the bridge at Narrow Water, as well as other capital projects. That has been made clear by both the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister. The British Government must also face up to its economic obligations. It is not clear whether the British Government will ever accept its role as a participant in the conflict but the Government must insist that it does. British political and economic policy towards the North must change if we are to see political stability and proper commitment to real power sharing and to sustaining the institutions, which requires a workable budget. Let us have no doubt about that. Without a proper budget, the Executive cannot deliver the economic dividend that is required. Today's bad news about the job losses at Michelin show the challenges that face working people.

Important contributions that are being made by civic society should not be ignored. They include Punching Above Our Weight by the Confederation of British Industry, CBI, Growing the Economy and Living Standards by the Unite union, the substantive Irish Congress of Trade Unions submission to last year's Stormont House negotiations and the content of the recent Equality Coalition conference in Belfast.

Our opponents here lecture us on the need to build trust. At the same time, they patronise, insult, engage in the most vile, offensive and untruthful invective against us and our party. Let me assure the House that Irish republicans need no lectures from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael or the Labour Party. We will work with them. We know the business of building peace is challenging but that is our priority. In the short time available, we need to see energy, vision and inspiration. In short, we need to usher in a new phase of the peace process and that is Sinn Féin's focus.

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