Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach for those comments. I look forward to seeing how this evolves along the lines he suggested. In the first instance, we should start with those bigger parties. When I say that the centre has a role to play, it is not a threat, it is not a power grab and it is not me outlining a nationalist position. I am not declaring it that way. What I am doing is recognising that the system was not working and that there is a chance for us to change it for the better. Obviously, that will be difficult. It would be helped by the fact that even if there is a deal this week or in the coming weeks, the talks will not end there. There are still probably years of negotiations ahead in respect of trade and other arrangements. My case is that it should not only be about trade. We should, as the Taoiseach stated, be looking at the evolving process. My party had suggested the establishment of a constitutional convention as a way of doing that up North. I was thinking earlier that another way of proceeding might be to use the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. We should start examining that matter in order that we might start thinking, not only about the current fix and the difficulties that exist but also about how we can bring all parties in the North on board in the context of a different and better assembly.

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