Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to be speaking today to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. For a whole generation of young people in Ireland, the Troubles is a period of Ireland's history. It is a time to be remembered, studied and to learn from but it is a time of our past. Thanks to the historic agreement, there is now a whole new generation who have only ever known peace. That is an outcome that many signatories of the Good Friday Agreement could only have dreamed of at the height of the Troubles. For all the limitations of the Good Friday Agreement, we know we are all better off for the peace it has brought to our Ireland. I remember being a primary school student when the Good Friday Agreement was signed. Even at that young age, there was a huge sense of excitement among my generation and classmates. We probably did not fully grasp the gravity of what was happening but there was a palpable feeling of optimism and hope in the air. Even during the times when hope has waned over the past 25 years, the strength of the Good Friday Agreement has endured. Ultimately, peace has prevailed.

A 25-year anniversary was no doubt something that the key signatories of the Good Friday Agreement could only have dared to hope for. That is why the recent events in Belfast and in Queen's University have been so especially encouraging. They have been a moment to stop and take stock of how far we have come. It has generated a renewed sense of optimism for what is yet to come. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the political leaders, without whom the Northern Ireland peace process and the Good Friday Agreement could not have been achieved. Leaders like John Hume and David Trimble were key architects of the peace process. Others included Bertie Ahern, Tony Blair, Mo Mowlam, David Andrews, Bill Clinton and so many others. They are people who represented the epitome of leadership, mediation, compromise and honest sacrifice for the greater common good.

Of course, all of this recent celebration of the Good Friday Agreement only serves to highlight the fact that, today, Northern Ireland has no sitting Government. Power-sharing, which is a key hallmark of this agreement, is absent. I know no one feels the impact of an absent Government more than the people of Northern Ireland. They are people who now, more than ever, regardless of political affiliation, need their political representatives to advocate for them, legislate for them and take their seats in their parliament. It is vital that power-sharing is restored for the people of Northern Ireland. I cannot speak for the people of Northern Ireland or their political parties, nor should or would I. I know they are facing the same challenges that we are in the Republic with regard to cost of living, housing, healthcare and the climate crisis. In the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement, that same example of leadership, mediation, negotiation and sacrifice is needed right now from all sides of the political spectrum.

It is needed to get power-sharing back up and running and to restore the institutions to allow the work of the Good Friday Agreement to continue.

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