Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The news from the talks in Belfast is very bad and it appears there will be at least another two months before the Executive might be re-established and the Assembly might start to work. The only details we have are the usual wholly partisan accounts from both Sinn Féin and the DUP that they have done nothing wrong and the other lot are being inflexible. Although there is an anti-Brexit majority in the Assembly and the DUP has lost the ability to table solo petitions of concern, Northern Ireland continues to be voiceless in Brexit discussions that are fundamental to the future welfare of all parts of this island. It is incredible that at a time of the worst potential threat to our economic model, there is no Executive or Assembly in Northern Ireland.

Neither Government appears to be more than passive bystanders to these negotiations and certainly the active involvement critical to past agreements does not appear to be present.

After two Assembly elections, a collapse of the Executive and an ongoing failure to re-establish the Executive, I believe that represents a crisis. It is a simple fact that the British Prime Minister has so far not attended any all-party discussions. She has been more even-handed than the Taoiseach at least in that she has met all of the parties, and not just the largest two.

This is extremely damaging. I said it to the Taoiseach earlier and I agree with his comments that the Good Friday Agreement has to be restored as the central template through which these issues get resolved. The introduction of Border poll discussions and all of that-----

See this speech in context