Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste says the solution is the backstop, but the backstop cannot be implemented by the British Government. Let us stop the pretence. Let us not delude ourselves that the backstop is available when all else fails.

The hardline position being taken by the EU 27 may be understandable because they have been extraordinarily helpful in giving space to a British Prime Minister under a lot of pressure. However, reality has to come home some time.

For too long, the people of Northern Ireland have been left without a say in the critical Brexit talks that have been under way over the last year. Unfortunately, the two main parties have diametrically opposed positions on the issue of Brexit itself, but a functioning executive and devolution would at least provide a political structure to begin to address these issues. At precisely the time when the island of Ireland most badly needed to make its voice to be heard in these critical discussions, that is not happening and it is not going to happen, and no blame game changes that hard reality.

We are a long way from the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement when, as touched on by Deputy Micheál Martin, intractable, generationally difficult challenges were overcome by people who set out to overcome those issues. The middle ground has been demoralised and sidelined while hard-liners exploit issues for sectarian electoral advantage. Both Governments have responsibilities in this regard. We have all known that the pending disaster that is Brexit would crowd out other issues, and so it is with Northern Ireland. Bluntly, the sight of the Taoiseach and the Prime Minister rushing to Belfast, to be joined in an outcome in which they were not sufficiently involved to know that it was still in jeopardy, would be comic if it was not so tragic, if it did not have such deep and disturbing social and economic consequences for all of us.

The backlash and recriminations that followed from the most recent failure to secure a deal makes it less likely that a compromise will be reached in the coming days, weeks or even months. We are on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement that the Tánaiste says will be celebrated in Washington, here and everywhere else. I remember so well the joy it brought to the people of this island, the relief after the real physical and emotional pressure on people across the island, but particularly in Northern Ireland. Given that, the lack of progress towards restoring the fundamentals of that agreement - a power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland - is enormously disappointing on this 20th anniversary. It appears Northern Ireland will remain without devolved government for the foreseeable future.

The breakdown also has implications for the Republic of Ireland. Ultimately, these are people's livelihoods and well-being we are talking about. What has been lacking in Northern Ireland is political will, and a significant cause of that is the confidence and supply deal and the enhanced role of the DUP in Westminster. It may be time for a new approach to ensure the institutions are set up again. If republicans believe they cannot have faith in London because of inter-party Westminster arrangements, then we must be imaginative. None of us says other than that those fears are well-founded - how can one have trust in the impartiality of a government that is dependent on one side in the North? How are we going to address these issues? Direct rule cannot be countenanced. However, there have been calls for a British-Irish intergovernmental conference, most vocally by the SDLP. It has not been convened since 2007, principally because the institutions were working for those years. Nonetheless, it is clear that the bones of a deal between the two parties had the potential to be agreed a fortnight ago. That deal should be put on the table at such a conference. It should be agreed between the Governments that the most difficult parts of it, namely, the Irish language, legacy issues and the issue of marriage equality, should be implemented through a package of legislation in Westminster. By removing these road blocks, it would create the space for a devolved administration to return.

The two Governments, as guardians and guarantors of the agreement, have the responsibility to forge forward a new path. We must get parties back to the table under the umbrella of getting back to work for all the people in Northern Ireland. Unionist fears and Nationalist concerns are well founded and they always have been, but each of them took a step of courage in the past. Another step, with a new generation of political and civil leaders, must be taken now.

See this speech in context