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

First of all, we want the institutions restored, and I make that plea to the DUP. The Good Friday Agreement provides for meetings of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference to promote bilateral co-operation on matters of mutual interest and to consider non-devolved Northern Ireland matters. It makes provision for the Irish Government to put forward views and proposals, recognising the Irish Government's special interest in Northern Ireland. That is in recognition of that special interest we have. In the event there is a sustained period with no functioning of the Northern Ireland Executive or the assembly, there cannot be a return to the direct rule arrangements of the past. The Government will fully pursue its consultative role under the Good Friday Agreement. That is the position, and we will exhaust every possibility within that framework if there is a sustained period of absence of the Executive or the assembly.

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