Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I reiterate the call for preparation for an orderly constitutional transition. Next year, we will mark a century of the partition of our island. My God, we know the heavy cost that has been carried by our people, North and South, for that disastrous, catastrophic event. We have an opportunity now to heal and rebuild and we need to plan for that.

I encourage the Taoiseach to raise again the issue of an all-island approach to Covid-19. Like everyone else, when I saw the ambulances lined up I was shocked and worried about the situation in the North. It was more reminiscent of times where we have seen ambulances lined up in hospitals in places such as Limerick. It is a reflection of the fact that we have under-resourced health services, North and South, and that this virus hits and when it hits, it hits hard. We are in real and imminent danger. I think we agree that the optimal approach is an all-island, harmonised approach. Deputy Alan Kelly might be interested to know the Executive is a five-party Executive. The decision-making is complex and politics can, and has, entered the equation but I would encourage the Taoiseach, as I have before, to encourage others to leave the politics at the door when we are dealing with this virus. This virus does not care about borders; it certainly does not care about green or orange. It is a real and imminent threat to all of us and the best way to keep everyone safe is to keep each other safe on an all-island basis.

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