Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chair for the clarification. To clarify further, I was being barracked and not vice versa.

The Taoiseach is aware that since Michelle O'Neill was elected First Minister designate in May, the DUP has refused to re-enter the Executive and appoint a deputy First Minister. The DUP cites concerns around the protocol but the reality is it is holding democracy to ransom. There is no justification for keeping Stormont on ice while these talks continue. The DUP should be at the Executive table working to deliver for workers and families hit by a cost-of-living crisis. People want to see their political leaders working together to tackle the big issues, such as investing in the health system and ensuring that people can pay their energy bills, and not the type of brinkmanship the DUP is currently engaged in. I am sure the Taoiseach's message to the DUP when he visited the North recently was that it must get back into the Executive without any further delay.

The implementation issues around the protocol, and God knows they have been well rehearsed, can be resolved through dialogue, partnership and a genuine commitment to ensuring the needs of the people in the North and across the island are front and centre. Our European partners are determined to resolve these issues. It is imperative at this stage that this determination does not wain. The determination from Europe must be matched with similar resolve from the British Government to reach agreement on any outstanding issues. Therefore, it is crucial that the British Government, whoever might lead it, engages in good faith and constructive negotiations with the European Union. It should not need repeating that the protocol exists because Brexiteers, including the Tories and the DUP, pursued Brexit despite warnings from far and wide on the effect of Brexit. The protocol protects all-island trade, the Good Friday Agreement, communities and business in the North from the damage caused by Brexit. Many businesses have spoken consistently of the effect of the protocol allowing continuing access to the EU market and the value of this.

The protocol must be built upon and protected. As the Taoiseach heads off to meet his European colleagues, I ask that he makes clear the ongoing need for the protocol to be protected and implemented in full, and that he encourages continued and steadfast engagement, such as we have seen from our European partners, so that no one is left with any misunderstanding that constructive, positive dialogue is the only way forward.

See this speech in context