Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

For the foreseeable future, the situation in Northern Ireland will need the closest attention and care from the Irish and British Governments. With an unwelcome election pending, we are suddenly asking ourselves how relations between the DUP and Sinn Féin were allowed to deteriorate so rapidly. There was a reasonable expectation here, in the United Kingdom, throughout Europe and in the US that since so much time, effort and money had been invested in establishing an agreed government structure the parties in Northern Ireland would get on with power sharing. We might have expected the norms of western democracy would kick in and deliver good government and services to the people of Northern Ireland rather than calling an unnecessary election on financial irregularities, an election which risks being very divisive.

The success of the peace process needs to be acknowledged and celebrated. The killing and maiming has stopped. The guns and bombs have been decommissioned for the most part and the hard men have come into the political fold and seem intent on staying there. We are all well aware of our history and when we look across Europe we see how historical differences and deep animosities have been acknowledged and reconciled, leading to a European Union which has led to almost universal peace, stability and increased prosperity.

Power sharing in Northern Ireland is a fragile political system which has grown from the Good Friday Agreement, but it requires co-operation and compromise from all shades of political opinion in Northern Ireland to make it work. The common good must trump party politics. Having emerged from 30 years of sectarian conflict and having developed devolved government and democratic self-rule, it is the responsibility of all elected representatives in Northern Ireland to value co-operation above conflict and not to allow sectarian ideology to damage progress in creating a tolerant peaceful society.

No country can stand alone in the global structures that have formed our modern world. Northern Ireland faces huge external challenges, not least from Brexit. Having voted by a substantial majority to remain in the European Union in last year's referendum, Northern Ireland faces the certainty of being forced to leave the European Union and have a Border not only with Southern Ireland but also a border between the European Union and the United Kingdom. This will have serious and unknown consequences. To manage these changes it is paramount that Northern Ireland has a stable government which can have a strong voice in the United Kingdom so it can influence its own future.

One way or another we face an election which promises to be a torrid affair. While appealing to parties in Northern Ireland to turn down the heat, we also have a responsibility not to inflame an already difficult situation with our commentary. The former President, Mary McAleese, and her husband, Martin, made a great contribution in solidifying the peace process with their building bridges initiative. This work is often replicated throughout the country by community groups and organisations. An example in my constituency each year is the Scariff Harbour Festival, which invites personalities from Northern Ireland to discuss their experiences in conflict resolution. Over the years many youth groups from both sides of the divide have travelled to Scariff to participate in the festival. The ongoing process of building bridges must be supported at local and national levels.

The restoration of power sharing is essential. The prospect of returning to direct rule from London should an election produce a stalemate would be a seriously damaging retrograde step which would lead to further political and civil instability. This would not be in anybody's interests. Politicians need to break from their rigid roles and recast themselves in a new progressive form, which will lead Northern Ireland to a bright new future. We must always be reminded that Northern Ireland remains a national issue of supreme importance and that we must continually promote the end of sectarianism and develop an inclusive tolerant society.

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