Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I too want to send my solidarity to the Fullerton family. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue here today, on the protocol, on legacy issues and the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. It is important to name exactly what is happening here. The British Government is attempting unilaterally to smash an international legally binding agreement. The Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements are the architecture that hold the peace on this island and that set the pathway for true reconciliation and transformation. Most people on this island are horrified by the recent actions of the British Prime Minister, but most British people are embarrassed and deeply concerned about the implications for Britain's global reputation.

The mechanism for dealing with any issues arising from the protocol is the joint committee, as we have said time and time again. Already, problems with medicines and with sanitary and phytosanitary, SPS, goods have been dealt with. Other issues can be dealt with in the same way. The truth is that the protocol made necessary by Brexit is being used and abused by the Democratic Unionist Party, DUP, ably abetted by the British Government in an attempt to hold back the tide of equity and change within the North of Ireland. They just cannot accept the democratic outcome of the recent election. They cannot accept that the days of the sectarian mantra that no nationalist need apply are over.

The inclusive vision of the First Minister-designate, Ms Michelle O'Neill MLA, and her team of Sinn Féin MLAs is a threat to no one's identity. Those who are secure in their own identity, be they Irish, British, both or other, just want to live on a prosperous, thriving and progressive island where everybody can fulfil their true potential.

A quarter of a century later, we are still awaiting the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and the subsequent agreements. It is unconscionable that the bill of rights is still being resisted.

I welcome that Acht na Gaeilge has been finally introduced at Westminster today, 16 years after it was committed to in the St. Andrews Agreement. I commend those who have relentlessly pursued the right to their own language, including the thousands of people who took to the streets of Belfast last Saturday.

I will turn to the recent legacy and reconciliation Bill. I commend the work done by the Committee on the Administration of Justice and its partners. They consider the Bill unworkable, and in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Good Friday Agreement. They indicate it is incapable of delivering for victims and survivors and it is a unilateral solo run by the British Government, which is seeking to sideline the devolved institutions. They rightly query the timing of the introduction of this Bill. It is hard to argue against the analysis that the existing mechanisms are working too well in exposing past human rights abuses, with the citing of the historical clarification and information recovery achieved by the recent legacy inquest and the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland reports.

The Stormont House Agreement gave victims and their families access to truth, justice and reconciliation. The visit of Congressman Richard Neal and his delegation from the US Administration here yesterday was welcomed by all parties and none in this House. The chairperson of the House Ways and Means Committee, supported by President Biden, has made clear the consequences for Britain of unilaterally damaging the Good Friday Agreement. The Irish Government must step firmly up to the mark and adopt an unequivocal position against the destructive behaviour of both the Democratic Unionist Party, DUP, and the Tories.

The cost-of-living crisis and issues with the health service are severely affecting workers and families across this island. People in the North can no longer afford to wait to have the institutions back up and running. They deserve better and they need better. Stagnation is not an option. Being held to ransom by the DUP, aided by the British Government, is likewise not an option and it is downright cruel, particularly for those most severely affected by the highest inflation we have had for decades and those ground down by poverty and exclusion.

I know the Minister gets this and he knows what is happening. My colleague, Deputy Mac Lochlainn outlined the case of Mr. Eddie Fullerton, which is just one case in the uncovering of truth. It is often bandied about that we must not rewrite history but it is not about rewriting history but telling the truth. This is about getting to the truth and the attempts being made to cover up the truth are absolutely despicable. They are recognised right around the world, including in the deepest parts of Britain. People are beginning to wake up to what really happened and why. We must stop the cover-ups and the protection of the people involved.

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