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

In the spirit of how this legislation has progressed, I would like to respond to the issues outlined. There is a difference of approach in the context of calls for a Border poll between the Government and a number of parties in this House, and the approach that Sinn Féin has taken. We need to recognise that people's aspirations for the future, for this island, for relationships North and South and for constitutional change are all legitimate. That is politics and it is catered for comprehensively in the Good Friday Agreement with regard to how decisions may be made in the future and the process that would trigger that.

I have spoken on many occasions, as have the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, the Taoiseach, and others, about the enormity of the issues we are trying to deal with and that we are trying to protect and maintain the status quoas well as we can with regard to rebuilding institutions linked to the Good Friday Agreement, functioning devolved government and functioning North-South co-operation. Brexit has had an extraordinary polarising effect on political parties and communities in Northern Ireland. I attended a reconciliation conference in the national convention centre yesterday and we were reminded of that. To put the setting up of a forum on national unity into the mix at this time as a response to Brexit moves us away from where we need to be, which is to try to find accommodation of each other and to reassure people of all backgrounds and identity in Northern Ireland that what we are trying to do through Brexit is to protect the peace agreement and what has been hard-won over the last 21 years, and to find a way to get functioning government and political decision-making in Northern Ireland. That is not to dismiss people's legitimate aspirations for the future, whether unionists, nationalists or something else.

I do not think introducing a legal requirement for the Government to set up an all-Ireland forum to prepare for Irish unity in the context of the challenges we are facing this week, next week and for the next number of months is either helpful or sensible. While this amendment has been ruled out, which is nothing to do with me, if it had not been ruled out, I could not have recommended accepting it.

With regard to representation in the European Parliament, one reason why my party has asked Mark Durkan to stand for us is to try to ensure that there is a perspective from Northern Ireland in the European Parliament.

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