Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to reflect on the number of people who lost their lives during the conflict, or Troubles, in Northern Ireland. More than 3,700 people died and 47,541 were injured. The majority of those who died were actually innocent civilians, and 68% of those injured were also innocent civilians. Therefore, the Troubles cast considerable shame on all those involved. The Good Friday Agreement is bringing to an end the awful, terrible killing, murder and violence. It has built on the peace and we have hopes for the future.

I attended the events last week in Queen's University, Belfast, where more than 1,000 delegates, mainly from Northern Ireland, had gathered. The vast majority were young people and they spoke about their hope and belief that the future would be brighter and better. That the British Prime Minister, Mr. Rishi Sunak, was there was very important. The improving relationships on which members of the Irish Cabinet, including the Taoiseach, the current Minister for Foreign Affairs and the former Minister for Foreign Affairs, namely, Deputy Coveney, have worked have made a big difference to the outlook, having regard to the goodwill that now exists between the British and Irish Governments and the improved relationships I hope can result from that. We must remember the presence of the US President, Mr. Biden, and we must not forget the importance of having Ms Ursula von der Leyen and other EU delegates all present in the one room talking about the same business and trying to get peace restored and the political institutions up and running.

At my committee, the Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, of which Deputies Tully and Conway-Walsh are very much a part, our job as Members of Parliament is to determine what we can do to improve North-South relationships and put on the table to help in the debate as people want to grapple with the future and the changed situation in Northern Ireland. We have had very good engagement with the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of the British Parliament, in particular. Its Chairman, Mr. Simon Hoare, was present last week in Belfast. We have had several meetings with the British parliamentarians and I believe they have been very positive. Working with those parliamentarians is one way in which we have been able to communicate directly with Members of Parliament from the unionist community who will not attend our committee meetings.

Our Oireachtas committee has 15 members, including Deputies and Senators. Of the 18 MPs elected in Northern Ireland to the House of Commons, ten attend our meetings regularly. Therefore, I believe we have good impetus, but we need to go further. We need to reach out and engage with unionism. If there is one thing I could not stress enough, it is the importance of that engagement. On the one hand, there is a legitimate and appropriate reference in the Good Friday Agreement to having a border poll at some stage in the future. However, on the other hand, it is incumbent on those of us who believe in a united Ireland to engage with unionists and reassure them of their Britishness in talking about how we can we have an Executive in the North that would work with a Government in the South and increase co-operation on economic, social, political, education and health affairs. One good thing happening in this regard is engagement with our committee on the all-Ireland cancer strategy. No matter where people live in Ireland, they should be in a position to get the best care available in the North or South and the attention they need for their cancer type. These are the practical, realistic points we have to address in the future. To talk about a border poll is right and legitimate, but if we do not flesh it out and assure and reassure those concerned, particularly unionists, we will not succeed in this area.

Members of the Opposition rightly outlined things the Irish Government has to do, but there are also things that Sinn Féin has to do, along with people who were previously in the IRA. When I visit WAVE Trauma Centre in Belfast and meet the families of those disappeared by the IRA, I feel very disappointed that the families of people like Columba McVeigh, Joe Lynskey, Robert Nairac, Lisa Dorrian and Seamus Maguire have not had closure on foot of the evil deeds done to them. It is incumbent on all of us to recognise that to have true peace, there must be true closure. Everybody is entitled to the honour of being buried among their family, and nobody ever has a right to kill anyone. To have disappeared people forever was absolutely abhorrent and totally unacceptable.

Our committee has been to the Houses of Parliament in London and to Belfast, Derry and Washington. We are happy to engage with all the parties because, at the end of the day, there is great goodwill and momentum, but we need to persuade unionists to step forward and take their place in the Executive. That is the task that faces us now.

See this speech in context