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

The Good Friday Agreement is an achievement which the people of this island have every right to be proud of. It was a triumph for constitutionalism, for dialogue and for setting out a new vision for our future. It involved acts of great generosity and bravery, particularly from those who had always believed in and practised the values of peace, democracy and anti-sectarianism.

In recent weeks there have been many occasions to retell the events of 25 years ago and to reflect on the tremendous hurdles that were overcome. The truly remarkable examples of political leadership that made it possible remain an example to us all. In Belfast last week, at our celebration in the Abbey Theatre and at other events, we have had an opportunity to honour all those who made a critical contribution. We talked about the deep co-operation of the two Governments and the support they received from leaders in Washington and Brussels. Of course, we also paid tribute to those who are no longer with us and were so important in securing the agreement.

The leaders of the two largest parties in Northern Ireland at the time, John Hume and David Trimble, left us recently, but their personal bravery in charting a way to politics for others has earned them a lasting place of honour in our history. For nationalist Ireland, John Hume will always remain one of our greatest and most inspiring leaders. At the very foundation of the process which led to the agreement was his success in persuading first Dublin and then London to set out a blueprint for inclusive talks that could end the terrible violence. The incredibly close working relationships of, first, Albert Reynolds and John Major and, then, Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair showed democratic politics and leadership at its best. Their commitment to overcoming historic barriers to progress on this island was relentless, and without it almost nothing could have been achieved.

In all the events remembering 1998, two consistent themes emerged. The first was the resilience of the people of Northern Ireland, which both endured a terrible conflict and never lost faith in finding a democratic way forward. The second was that we must work to renew the spirit of the agreement and understand that we have much more work to do. The agreement was, to use the wonderful words of Seamus Mallon, a new dispensation for this island. It was not a final destination. Unfortunately, far too often that has been lost sight of, and the great potential to deliver sustained progress for the people of Northern Ireland has too often been missed. The spirit of partisanship and the ongoing cycle of collapse and restoration caused by various parties have often undermined public faith and have blocked urgently needed work on social and economic issues.

The genius of the agreement, as ratified by the Irish people in free referendums, is that it provides a basis for respecting different constitutional objectives while working to prevent them from defining every issue. The principle of consent is the core DNA of the agreement, and it is a challenge to everyone to move beyond peace and to work actively for reconciliation. I welcome in particular last week's clear statement on the principle of consent in the Good Friday Agreement by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris. Everyone in this House understands the principle of consent, and the delicate balance inherent in it. Using the instability created by Brexit, some voices have sought to amend or to undermine it. Speaking at Queen's University in Belfast, however, describing the principle of consent as "an important and hard won guarantee", the Secretary of State made clear that those voices will not succeed.

As President Biden so passionately said, "Peace was not inevitable. We can't ever forget that; there was nothing inevitable about it." Peace is not inevitable. It requires hard work. It also requires ongoing commitment. The current absence of a functioning Executive and Assembly is having a very real impact on the people of Northern Ireland. It is vital that all parties respect the decisions made by the people of Northern Ireland last May and allow the democratically elected representatives to take their seats. We have seen in recent weeks challenges arise which affect some of Northern Ireland's most vulnerable. At such difficult times, the people of Northern Ireland need and deserve effective local leadership. Just as those who blocked the assembly and the Executive in the past were wrong, the same applies today. Parliaments are established and perform core functions after elections. That is a core democratic principle and it needs to be respected.

Once the results of the latest assembly elections are respected, we then need to discuss reforming the mechanisms applied in the future. Reform is clearly necessary. We have to address the workings of the institutions and how many voices are marginalised and key information withheld. We have to address the refusal of parties to allow the civic forum to be established, for example. We also need to overcome the barriers to the effective workings of the ministerial councils and the all-island bodies.

The principle of consent, and the good faith which the Irish Government has shown in respecting agreements, means that no one has anything to fear from these bodies. It is quite the opposite. When allowed to work to a constructive agenda, they have delivered real benefits to communities in terms of public health, tourism, trade promotion, language support and other areas. The Nordic Council, for example, has shown how, for decades, countries can share tasks without infringing on each other's identity or sovereignty.

The Good Friday Agreement speaks of the necessity of acknowledging the suffering of victims. Too little has been done on this, and too many are focused only on their own victims. When parties are capable of showing a real concern for the victims of those they honour, then and only then will we have made a true breakthrough towards reconciliation. As I said before, the British Government's legacy Bill, which would benefit many different groups, is a unilateral and unacceptable departure from the collective approach we have agreed to. We have made clear to the British Government, at all levels and at every opportunity, that we do not believe its legacy Bill to be fit for purpose. If enacted, it will set back the essential work of reconciliation. We in this Chamber have responsibilities to the victims of the Troubles, North and South, to do everything possible to ensure their access to justice and to information.

To have a real chance at a new Ireland, to have a real chance to live up to the aspirations of our constitution "to unite all the people who share the territory of the island of Ireland, in all the diversity of their identities and traditions", we have to make an effort to create an Ireland in which everyone feels welcome. This is not the work of other people; it is the work of each of us. Nothing will be achieved by an often toxic public sphere which focuses on finding ways to define and dismiss others. We must, however, reach out beyond our comfort zones, we must face down the aggression of the keyboard warriors, if we are to bring about true reconciliation on this island. This is what lies at the heart of the shared island initiative. It is about harnessing the full potential of the Good Friday Agreement. It offers a way of building genuine understanding between communities - and an investment plan for building connections which goes far beyond anything ever before envisaged.

Research already undertaken on education, to take just one example of the work that has been done through the shared island initiative, has shown differences and challenges on both sides of the Border. It has reinforced the urgent need to be far more ambitious in tackling early school leaving and the social and economic benefits which this would bring. If we are to embrace the "opportunity for a new beginning" promised in the agreement, then all young people on this island need to have the capacity to build a prosperous future.

A brighter future is what the architects of the peace process were reaching for in 1998. We have made great strides since then, but still have a distance to go to realise their vision of a truly reconciled and peaceful island where all communities and individuals can look to the future with hope. To achieve this, we must work together. Some 25 years after the Good Friday Agreement was reached, I assure the House that the Government remains absolutely committed to realising this vision.

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