Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful to the Taoiseach for his comprehensive response and his continued and vital enthusiasm for the shared island initiative that he established. Events in recent days and weeks have shown us the absolute need for that initiative to be successful and for engagement to take place at every level, political, societal and economic, across this island, without, as the Taoiseach said, there being any predestined constitutional outcome. I am very relieved that the North-South Ministerial Council meeting on enterprise and innovation has gone head today, although it was really disappointing that the council meeting on transport failed to proceed last week. The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference really needs to meet and I ask the Taoiseach to put that proposal directly to the British Prime Minister and to engage fully on it with both the First Minister and deputy First Minister.

With all the issues we are facing on this island, including the post-Brexit landscape and coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, co-operation between North and South, and east and west, has never been so important. I implore the Taoiseach to make sure the Government is constantly bringing forward that positive engagement. Even if some people are not necessarily up for conversations or working towards common solutions to practical problems, the Government must never be found lacking in that regard.

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