Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

First, I want to condemn the sectarian abuse of a young mother in Lurgan on Sunday, which we know about because a camera captured the footage of what happened. The report highlights how much more we have to do to achieve a lasting peace.

I was unable to attend statements in the Dáil last week to mark 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement because I was in Brussels, but my colleague Deputy Howlin articulated our Labour Party views. As he said, we must recognise that the institutions created by the Agreement have not functioned as they should and that political silos have grown, emphasising difference and division, with the middle ground parties squeezed and with a great deal of stagnation in terms of the functioning of the institutions.

I look forward to being in Belfast over the coming weeks to canvass with the SDLP in advance of the local elections on 18 May. What is the view of the Taoiseach and the Government on how we can ensure that one party cannot veto the wishes of the vast majority for a functioning devolved government in the North? What are the next steps for restoring the institutions? What approach will the Irish Government take? After the local elections have concluded on 18 May, what is the next step for the restoration of the institutions in the North and the restoration of functioning democratic procedures and processes through Stormont, the Assembly and the Executive?

See this speech in context