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

I thank the Taoiseach for that update and for the report sent to our offices. I was struck by the remarks of the Taoiseach at the engagement in December and by the pertinent remarks made by Patrick Kielty that went viral. We must be honest about the shared island initiative and unit having great potential but that, due to the impact of Covid-19 or a need for a wider buy-in, it may perhaps not be reaching that potential as much as it could be. I was very taken by the last comments made by the Taoiseach when he said the plans for the roll out of the series are already afoot, including the engagement last week on tourism. We must, however, be extremely ambitious this year to make up for lost time.

Let us be frank that politics in London are chaotic, while politics in Northern Ireland are getting sharper as every day that passes brings us closer to the assembly election. The shared island dialogue series has an important role to implement and show people across this island the benefit of closer co-operation in every aspect of life. I would like to know more about how we can supercharge that endeavour through 2022.

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