Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This month marks 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement was concluded. Life on this island has been transformed over the past 25 years as a result of the agreement and the leadership, vision and capacity for compromise shown by those who made it possible at the time. On this anniversary, we recognise how far we have come in the quarter of a century since 10 April 1998, followed by the historic referendum afterwards, North and South.

For my part, I am of the view that the three principal achievements of the agreement were the acceptance on all sides that politics should only be pursued through peaceful means, the principle of democratic consent regarding the constitutional future being enshrined and parity of esteem for all communities. As we know, this has allowed people to identify as Irish or British, both or neither and be accepted as such. In time, I think allowing people to escape from binary identities will be the greatest and longest-lasting gift of the Good Friday Agreement.

The idea of celebrating peace while keeping a focus on the future permeated the recent visit of President Biden. At every opportunity during his trip, he reaffirmed ongoing US commitment to Northern Ireland and to Ireland as a whole. For more than three decades, the US has been a consistent champion of peace and prosperity on the island of Ireland. That support continues to be solid across the political spectrum in the US. The welcome appointment of Joe Kennedy III as special economic envoy demonstrates that this commitment remains steadfast. Our international partners at the highest levels remain deeply invested and engaged in the continued success of the Good Friday Agreement. It was noteworthy that the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, travelled to Belfast last week, where they were joined by Prime Minister Sunak, former US President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, among others.

Peace cannot be understood without acknowledging the role of the most successful peace project of all, the European Union. As the Windsor Framework is implemented, it is important to acknowledge the ways in which our EU partners have prioritised and continue to safeguard the Good Friday Agreement. The Windsor Framework provides a new opportunity for relationships on these islands and an improved British-Irish partnership. Although there are issues on which we disagree, this 25th anniversary is a timely reminder of our shared responsibility as co-guarantors of the agreement. The agreement is fundamentally about both Governments working in partnership. I look forward to continuing that work with the Prime Minister and advancing our shared priorities. The agreement is built on delicate balances, which we must ensure continue to be respected in the months and years ahead.

Northern Ireland cannot move forward without a functioning assembly and Executive, and effective, practical North-South co-operation requires a functioning North-South Ministerial Council. That was the clear message last week at Queen's University. As John Bruton said, if a political vacuum is not filled by elected politicians, it leaves space for those with undemocratic and violent agendas. We all have a responsibility to make sure that does not happen.

The people of Northern Ireland face challenges in many areas, including housing, the health service, the cost of living, jobs and enterprise and the budget deficit. Almost all the problems we face here are faced in Northern Ireland too, and often they are much worse. Through the shared island fund, we stand ready to help with some of those challenges, should an Executive be established. Local leadership by those chosen by the people of Northern Ireland is required to respond to those challenges. I hope we see all parties stepping up to assume their responsibilities as early as possible.

The stop-start operation of the Northern Ireland Executive in recent years has prompted some to question whether the time has come for reform of the way in which the institutions operate. Review and reform are provided for in the agreement, and there must always be space for us to have those conversations. I am absolutely clear, however, that those discussions are best placed to succeed when the power-sharing institutions are operational and there is some measure of stability and shared responsibility. Let us therefore get the institutions up and running and working for the people of Northern Ireland now.

As we mark 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement, we remember the sacrifices and the groundbreaking political leadership shown by those who signed it. Let us remember what they had to overcome: the scale of differences and distrust they had to bridge and the difficulties they had in leading their own parties and their own communities with them. Let us take inspiration from their leadership and get beyond the lesser challenges of today.

The Good Friday Agreement put an end to physical conflict, but violence leaves a long shadow. As President Biden said in Belfast: "Every person killed in the Troubles left an empty chair at that dining-room table and a hole in the heart that was never filled for the ones they lost." As we mark 25 years of peace, we must also remember those who lost their lives during the Troubles, as well as the survivors, the family members and the communities who suffer from this legacy still.

In celebrating the achievements of the agreement, we also remember why it was necessary, and we must remind ourselves that peace and democracy are not things we should ever take for granted. The agreement sets out a vision for the future based on cross-community connections. We who currently hold the responsibility of political leadership have an obligation to play our part in safeguarding the future of the agreement by continuing to build connections among communities. We owe it to those who came before us and who made peace possible, we owe it to those born since 1998 and we owe it to those generations yet to come. The Good Friday Agreement, or Belfast Agreement, gave us the blueprint for a functioning, shared society to be built in place of a failed, fractured one. I also look forward to better and more integrated co-operation across our island and on those areas of mutual interest and mutual benefit. Most of all, however, I look forward to a sustained economic future for our young people and to reconciliation. It is for leaders North and South and east and west to take up their responsibilities and to make securing that peace and deepening reconciliation part of the background to everything we do. We will continue to engage with all communities and traditions to build a vision of our shared future, in an inclusive, constructive approach, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement.

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