Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

At the outset I wish to clarify something. The Fianna Fáil leader said that he did not specifically ask for statements on Northern Ireland and Brexit at the same time; the debate was to be split. There was a misunderstanding on that, but I do not want to cast aspersions on anybody.

I will respond on Northern Ireland first. I repeat what has been said by many. All political leaders need to stand together in condemning the violence we have seen in east Belfast and Derry in recent days. We do not want to get used to hearing news of pipe bombs and automatic weapons in Northern Ireland again. I thank the emergency services, the PSNI and the Northern Ireland fire service. They have come under significant pressure in recent days. That there has been no loss of life and no serious injury to date is testament to their professionalism.

I also thank the political and community leaders who have shown courage and bravery in the face of some intimidation, particularly in the Bogside interface area and the Fountain estate. I recognise and thank those in this House who have played a role in that. I hope to be able to visit Derry in the next ten days or so to express solidarity with those who are continuing to work and have achieved great things in community relations in recent years to ensure that Derry can fulfil its full potential as a vibrant and safe city in which communities interact with each other with maturity and a sense of honesty and togetherness. We need to be firm, clear and totally unambiguous on the need to support non-sectarian co-operation to ensure that those who are small in number but are causing mayhem get a very clear message that they do not have the support of broader communities within which they are living.

While the meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, BIIGC, is important, we should not expect miracles from it. We have agreed that David Lidington and I will chair the BIIGC. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley, will also attend. People will want to discuss some east-west issues of interest. While we recognise this is not a decision-making body in terms of devolved issues for Northern Ireland, it is certainly a body where both Governments need to come together in consultation and discussion to ensure an agreement of which we are co-guarantors can be protected and implemented in the future.

Northern Ireland without devolved government simply does not function. It would be wrong to blame what we are seeing at the moment entirely on the absence of an Executive. Those who think that the absence of government and the maintenance of the status quoin Northern Ireland is a safe strategy and that it will not result in an absence of certainty, momentum and progress on many issues, from legacy and reconciliation to basic decision making for Northern Ireland on healthcare, education, housing, homelessness and many other areas, are very mistaken. Those of us who have got to know Northern Ireland well are right to be concerned at the political stagnation that has taken place in Stormont resulting in the lack of a functioning Executive and therefore the lack of leadership coming from the top to match the kind of community leadership we are now seeing on the ground to try to keep communities safe.

We - the Irish and UK Governments - will work together to do all we can to help the political parties find a way of accommodating each other. I encourage people to think about the language they use in order to create an atmosphere that manages the tensions we are currently seeing through the summer months so that we can create a context in early September where we can get back to a proper political negotiation that can result in an Executive being formed again.

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