Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Ceann Comhairle will have noted that there was an informative, inclusive and not rancorous session of Taoiseach's questions yesterday in the absence of the leader of Fianna Fáil. I raised the question yesterday with the Taoiseach of his upcoming meeting with the British Prime Minister and asked whether he would raise with her the outstanding issues arising from the Good Friday Agreement. The Taoiseach stated an acknowledgement of my point and he agreed that, "significant elements of the Good Friday Agreement - some historical and some cultural - have not been implemented. These are matters on which we need to follow through." I am looking to the Taoiseach to do that.

I extend Michelle O'Neill the very best of good luck. We will give her space to find her own voice and she will lead our party. She is not the first woman to lead Sinn Féin. Maire Drumm was a vice-president of our party and she was murdered by Unionist paramilitaries. Michelle is one of our many younger activists.

The protocol in our party for making appointments is the same as that of every other party. I note that the leader of Fianna Fáil has yet to appoint a deputy leader. Perhaps he will get around to it at some point. However, the big question facing us is Brexit and it will be the backdrop to the elections. Sinn Féin's resolve is to continue the work that Martin McGuinness pioneered, despite him being ridiculed and castigated by the leader of Fianna Fáil as a leader of one of the problem parties. Why did he resign? Unlike the leader of Fianna Fáil, he would not stand by when allegations of corruption had been made.

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