Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is worthy to congratulate all those elected to parliament. People are pointing out that Sinn Féin did not get as many votes in this election as in previous elections. The reality, however, is that we stood back and did not run in three constituencies, South Belfast, East Belfast and North Down, because we had an agreement with other parties to have, insofar as possible, pro-Remain candidates elected. That had an impact but we are where we are. Sinn Féin still has seven MPs, as we had going into this election. It is still the prominent voice of Irish republicans and nationalists in the North and that should not be forgotten.

Support for the union has fallen and I do not say that out of a sense of triumph. This is the fifth election in a row where unionists have been a minority in the North. This points us to the kind of future Ireland we are going to have. We need to come back to that question once again and see how we can resolve these issues. The talks in the next week or two aimed at getting the Stormont Assembly back up and running are vital to that process. It is to be remembered that the red lines that people talk about have already been agreed. The St. Andrews Agreement, Stormont House Agreement and Good Friday Agreement will provide the answers to all of this if they are implemented. We are going into these talks primarily to try to hold the DUP, in particular, to task. It must implement the agreements to which it and both Governments have signed up. We understand that this is a difficult place for the DUP and we are prepared to work with it to try to find a solution. At the end of the day, both Governments also have a role to play and I know and expect that both Governments will play that role. However, as we move into the future, we need to look at what this election means. It means that support for the union is on the wane. Sinn Féin is an all-Ireland party and organisation.

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