Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It goes without saying there are many issues relating to the British Government at this time. There are the ongoing issues of the protocol, the amnesty legislation, the delivery of Acht na Gaeilge and the DUP's boycott of North-South meetings, the last of which presents legal questions. It is difficult to see how the cul-de-sac in which unionism finds itself will be exited without the British Government making a final decision. I welcome some of the positivity we are hearing from Maroš Šefčovič and that which we have heard from business interests and others in regard to trying to make the protocol work, but we need to progress the politics on this. It is not all right for a British Government to use the North as a pawn in its game with the EU. What concrete action does the Government intend to address and advance all these questions?

I welcome the publication of the bipartisan letter from leading US Congress members calling on the US Secretary of State to speak out against the British Government's proposal to end all judicial investigations and offer an unconditional amnesty. This is about the British Government covering over the part it played in its dirty war in the North. Families and virtually everyone else are of the opinion this is not okay, so we need to be very strong on this issue. It goes completely against the obligations of the British Government under the Stormont House Agreement and undermines the human rights commitments in the Good Friday Agreement.

The failures of the British Government are mounting, although that is hardly shocking. We need clarity from the Taoiseach on what the Government will do in the coming weeks and months in this regard.

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