Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I say to Deputy Martin and to others that we need to be constructive. The DUP is calling for a return to direct rule, a form of direct rule that was ended a generation ago and cannot be allowed to return. Direct rule is destructive. Direct rule ended with the Good Friday Agreement, which is the people's agreement. The Irish Government, the Tánaiste's Government, is a co-equal guarantor of the people's agreement. The Government needs to be unequivocal that direct rule is over, that it is outside of the agreements and is not returning. However, we cannot allow a political vacuum to develop or tolerate the continued denial of rights of citizens. The two Governments must act now. The Good Friday Agreement provides for a British Irish Intergovernmental Conference to reflect the co-equal and co-guarantor status of the two Governments. The two Governments must initiate this conference as a matter of urgency and move to implement previous agreements. These include an Irish language Act, the release of funds for legacy inquests and progress on the legacy mechanisms as well as safeguarding the rights of citizens, including the right to marriage equality. The people, North and South, deserve no less.

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