Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach for the update on the activities of the shared island unit. It is important to note on the record of the House that he and his Government failed to take an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to creating an all-Ireland civil debate by ensuring there would be a unionist voice in the Seanad, when he stitched up yet another back-room deal between his party and Fine Gael. There was an opportunity to put a unionist in the Seanad who would contribute to the ongoing debate, but the Taoiseach failed to take it up.

It strikes me very evidently in my conversations on these issues with organisations, including many farming organisations and bodies that operate on a North-South and all-Ireland basis, many within the Border region specifically, that the debate around the constitutional question, as the Taoiseach framed it, is already happening apace. People are having the discussions around dinner tables and in community centres. Obviously, a lot of it is taking place in online Zoom and MS Teams meetings at the moment.

The debate is happening everywhere except in the Department of the Taoiseach because the Taoiseach seems to be absolutely resistant to having a conversation on what a united Ireland might look like. Many people are asking that simple question. It does not have a simple answer but it is a question that people want to participate in. The Taoiseach is doing a huge disservice to his position and office by refusing to create the space for that conversation to take place and I call on him to rethink it. I also call on the Taoiseach to rethink some of what I would describe as the reckless language he has been using. To describe as explosive the notion of having the implementation of one aspect of the Good Friday Agreement is, in my view, utterly reckless. I ask the Taoiseach to move away from that and from yesterday's language.

Let us start talking about the future of our country. Those of us who want to see a united Ireland do not just have some notion of putting right the historical wrongs or some romantic fantasy or anything like that. The reason we want to see a united Ireland is because we believe it will be a better Ireland for all who live here. We believe it will create the capacity for us to address the inefficiencies within our healthcare system and other public services. We believe it will allow us to develop a vibrant all-Ireland economy that serves all communities. That is legitimate and positive in my view. If we believe a united Ireland will be better for all the people in the country, then we not only have a right but an obligation to work towards it. I ask the Taoiseach once again to be part of that process.

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