Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The summation by Deputy Jim O'Callaghan is a good chronology of what happened during the Brexit process. We must look back at what has happened in the peace process in order to understand where we are. I was particularly pleased, as the co-convenor of the Irish-US parliamentary friendship group, to welcome, along with Senator Malcolm Byrne, the Cathaoirleach and the Ceann Comhairle, US Congressman Richie Neal and his delegation this week because it allows us to reflect on the peace process.

The peace process is built on three fundamental principles. The first was the statement by the British Government in 1990 that it had no selfish or strategic economic interest in the North. That was hugely important because it allowed the communities in the North to deal with the British Government and for the Irish Government to deal with the British Government. It allowed the second principle, the principle of consent, to emerge. This is the idea that we in the South were willing to understand that there was a majority in favour of the Union in the North. The principle of consent was one of the developments that allowed us to replace Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution and to believe in that principle. The third principle was the principle of parity of esteem, the idea that both communities should be seen and respected, and that there should be no tyranny of the majority, as exercised by the previous Stormont regime. The three principles were the ideas of no selfish or strategic interest, consent and parity of esteem.

Unfortunately, the Brexit process and the actions of the British Government have torn up many of those principles. Throughout the Brexit process, it has used its selfish and strategic interest and the North to negotiate. The Irish Government has been good at calling that out but we need to continue to do so. The principle of consent was clearly breached when the majority of people in the North voted against Brexit, yet their constitutional arrangements will change as a result of it.

The last issue is the idea of parity of esteem. The reason I raise it is that it brings us to the current impasse. There was no majority cross-community consent for Brexit and there is no cross-community consent for the protocol but both came about because of the failure of the British Government to do the hard work, have a long-term plan and engage with the issues in the North in a meaningful, as previous British administrations had.

Other Deputies may have been critical of or may have demonised the unionist response. Let me take a different action because I believe the two large parties in the North should have done far more in the past 15 years to build greater community consent. I will not demonise the unionist community. I will do something else. I will invite it to work with us in the South on how we share this island. I may want that process to end in a united Ireland, whereas unionists may want to protect their traditions and remain in the United Kingdom. In the meantime, we can work together to share this island, protect unionist traditions and ensure we can control our own destiny.

Unionists are in an abusive relationship with the British Government, which has let them down repeatedly. This week, the British Government, in tearing up another principle, has taken unilateral action in order to govern Northern Ireland from Westminster, which nobody on this island wants to see. It has taken unacceptable action on victims and on the Protocol and while I welcome the Irish language Act, it is another unilateral action by the British Government. The unionist community is open to work with us and I encourage it to do that through the shared island initiative.

See this speech in context