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

However, the Northern institutions are quite different. At a moment when the radical Brexiteers are trying to undermine the Good Friday Agreement, the failure to have a working assembly and Executive makes Ireland even more vulnerable. Given that Deputy Adams said Brexit is the defining challenge of this age, allowing the institutions to be re-established should surely be the priority.

The Governments can surely come up with a mechanism for delivering the language legislation, which was in any event originally due to be legislated for in London. The same applies for marriage equality, with both the British Labour Party and the Scottish National Party willing to ensure non-government time is provided if needed. A unilateral decision by Sinn Féin to return to the assembly and the Executive, even for a limited period, could dramatically change the dynamic of Brexit discussions. It would allow the anti-Brexit majority in Northern Ireland to have a voice and to provide the practical mechanisms which would be essential for any special economic zone or customs zone to function. This is the hard reality. No backstop or special zone can work without a devolved government in Northern Ireland. What we cannot do is to keep pushing ahead with the same strategy and hope things turn out differently.

My party believes that the Governments should take direct charge. They should revert to the independently chaired all-party process and stop leaving everything in the hands of the two main parties. Whatever is wrong with the relations between the Governments, there is a problem and they should acknowledge it. The enormous agenda which is ahead of us is becoming more urgent by the day. Whatever Brexit scenario becomes the final one will require huge work, ranging from a special economic zone to the chaotic Brexit to which the increasingly frantic hypernationalists in England appear attracted. The path of peace has involved overcoming enormous hurdles. The spirit of co-operation and common objectives, built in hundreds of contacts away from the media, delivered for this country. We urgently need a return to that spirit.

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