Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

However, the refusal of Arlene Foster to step aside, without prejudice, until a preliminary report on the RHI allegations is published, and her refusal to set up such a process, blocked any possibility of a robust and comprehensive investigation. As a consequence of that and not the spurious half-truths that An Teachta Martin peddles, Martin McGuinness resigned as deputy First Minister last week. Mar is eol dúinn, beidh toghchán don tionól ar siúl ar 2 Márta.

In the ten years that Martin McGuinness was in that position and beforehand as Minister for Education, we faced deliberate provocation, arrogance and disrespect, but we put up with them for the common good. When so-called dissidents killed British soldiers, PSNI officers and prison officers, Martin McGuinness stood firm and resolutely opposed their actions on our behalf. As a result, his family home in Derry has been attacked and his life has been threatened. There are some, especially in the DUP, who have seen Sinn Féin's attempts to promote reconciliation, defend the peace process and be generous and patient as a sign of weakness. It is not. Rather, it is a sign of strength.

The political institutions established by the Good Friday Agreement can only function effectively and deliver if they have the confidence and support of the people, if agreements made are honoured and if there is zero tolerance for corruption. To achieve this, the political institutions must be built on foundations of equality and partnership. Regrettably, DUP intransigence has prevented this. For example, there has been no progress on a bill of rights. That is also the responsibility of both Governments. Léirigh an DUP dímheas uafásach ar an nGaeilge agus ar na saoránaigh sin gur mhaith leo a saoil a chaitheamh trí mheán na Gaeilge. Masla amach is amach don Ghaeilge a bhí sa chinneadh chun maoiniú don scéim Líofa a ghearradh roimh an Nollaig. There are serious allegations of sectarian bias about the allocation of money for community centres. I suppose that Fianna Fáil would just have put up with all of that.

There have been other significant issues of contention, for example, the decision to renege on the programme for Government commitment on the Long Kesh site, the DUP's resistance to legacy and truth recovery mechanisms, the Red Sky scandal, the Project Eagle debacle and, more recently, the RHI scandal. For the record, Sinn Féin first became aware of concerns around the RHI scheme when the deputy First Minister was informed by the head of the civil service early last year that there were serious problems. On 2 February of 2016, the deputy First Minister was provided with a briefing on this matter. He immediately asked for urgent action to close down the scheme. That closure was formally agreed by an urgent procedural decision on 5 February and the issue was then passed to the assembly. During the assembly debate on 15 February, Conor Murphy raised his concerns about allegations of fraud within the scheme. At the end of the debate, the SDLP voted to keep the flawed scheme open. So did the UUP. Sinn Féin voted to close it. It was closed on 29 February. Conor Murphy also spoke to the Comptroller and Auditor General and raised with him his concerns about the RHI scheme. The Comptroller and Auditor General produced a damning report in the summer of 2016.

The scandal around the RHI is a scandal created by the DUP. It has been made worse by bad governance. Despite the opportunistic attacks on Sinn Féin from the Ulster Unionist Party, the SDLP and others, and despite the understandable concerns in sections of our own electorate, Sinn Féin offered space and time to the DUP. We made recommendations to get to the truth of the scandal. We used the commission of investigation approach that has been used in the South following tribunals that cost millions of euro, lasted for years and mostly looked into corruption by those on the benches across from me. We suggested another model for dealing with this matter, but there was no legislation to allow for the compellability of witnesses and evidence. We said that that would not be good enough and that we needed the ability for such an investigation to compel witnesses and documentation. That is what we proposed. The DUP refused.

Despite our best efforts, the institutions are now gone and an election will be held. I invite Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour to contest it.

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