Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is essential and I do not want to see it deteriorating.

Deputy Haughey raised the issue of what transpired at the British-Irish Council. He made a very good point on Brexit. The First Minister of Wales was very clear on the negative impact of Brexit on Wales, in particular the decline in the volume of goods going through Welsh ports. The Welsh are very worried about the long-term impact on their ports, the consequent impact on local economies and the pattern of trade that is developing in the form of direct links between Ireland and the Continent. The Welsh Government is very aware of that. The First Minister of Scotland was also critical of the impact of Brexit. Importantly, both were very clear in their articulation to the British representative, the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, that they did not need any more disruption around Brexit. The last thing all of us on the council need is more disruption, such as triggering Article 16 and causing a further row with the European Union. The very clear message from all the others at the council to the British Government essentially is that it should resolve this within the framework between it and the European Union. It was quite useful from that perspective.

The British-Irish Council is a formal set-up but the informal side of it is better. The breakfast hosted by First Minister Drakeford was very useful, in particular on COP and climate and whether we could do more at a British-Irish level, for example, by having our own mini-COP26, which would be a proper conference on what all the administrations can do in respect of climate and energy, specifically wind energy, wave energy and so on.

On Deputy Boyd Barrett's question, I did not raise trade union rights with the British Prime Minister at my last meeting, a phone call with him, which was overwhelmingly about the protocol. However, I note the measures the Deputy's party is promoting in the Northern Ireland Assembly. I have not seen the exact details of the Bill. I favour the right of trade unions to assemble, work and advocate on behalf of their workers.

Deputy Brendan Smith again raised the issue of legacy. I met some relatives of victims of the Glennane gang recently at the request of Deputy Tóibín. I am totally opposed to the British Government's proposal for a number of reasons. Not only does it prevent the truth from getting out in respect of murder and killings by all groups, it potentially leaves the British Army off the hook in terms of some activities. There was collusion involving the Glennane gang and loyalist paramilitaries. There were Provisional IRA killings and murders for which there have been no closure and no accountability. Families are not getting enough information. Why the most heinous of crimes would be buried, if you like, by such an amnesty is something I cannot comprehend. I do not understand how those who perpetrated such crimes should be left off the hook like that without any obligation to be accountable to the families and give them some closure as to who murdered their loved ones. I say this genuinely. I saw last night's programme and it was particularly sad for the relatives of those who lost their lives. They have had absolutely no closure. No one has spoken to them and it has not been resolved.

Deputy Richmond raised the North-South Ministerial Council.

Reflecting on this, since the Good Friday Agreement, the institutions have not been working for close to ten years. There has too much stop-start with the institutions and, therefore, we are going through our current challenging period because of Northern Ireland protocol issues that remain to be resolved between the British Government and the European Union. That is affecting the operation of the institutions. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Simon Coveney, and I brought a joint memo to Cabinet today updating it on North-South co-operation. A lot of good stuff is happening with the shared island initiative, which is gathering great momentum. We will work at this and the best way is to resolve the issues.

See this speech in context