Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his positive response and his own personal commitment to safeguarding those provisions in the Good Friday Agreement. I am glad he referred to paragraph 10 of the Good Friday Agreement's section on rights, safeguards and equality of opportunity. The specific provision provides for a joint committee of representatives of the two human rights commissions, North and South, as a forum for consideration of human rights issues on the island of Ireland. The joint committee will consider, among other matters, the possibility of establishing a charter open to signature by all democratic political parties, reflecting and endorsing agreed measures for the protection of fundamental rights for everyone living on the island.

That was a positive measure in the Good Friday Agreement and we can now see how important it was to have it there. What consideration is being given at present to putting in place such a structure to ensure that we will have this safeguard measure on an all-island basis?

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