Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste. I fully agree with and support the measures taken by the Government and by the Tánaiste in particular. There now emerges a possibility for looking again, while recognising the great input of people like Michel Barnier in Europe when the threat was Brexit. That threat still remains. A period of inertia has developed. The focus has shifted from one issue to another, including the Northern Ireland protocol and the Windsor Framework, so that there is not the focus there was. Also emerging in Northern Ireland is the clear necessity for serious focus to be placed on the principles of the Good Friday Agreement, given that the institutions in Ireland are not working or have not worked to the extent needed. However, there are opportunities for all of the co-signatories to now fill that void.

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