Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Of course, the shared island initiative is very welcome in many strata of society both North and South, and I have been very glad over recent months to attend a number of events both North and South to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. At a British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly commemoration held at Stormont in early March, a number of speakers from the former women's coalition took part in our discussions. Those contributions were excellent and reminded us in stark terms of the hostility they had endured from some participants of the multiparty talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement. The women's coalition was a strong and clear voice on reconciliation and the concerns of victims and their families. Their input is clear in the text of the Good Friday Agreement. It has been heartening to listen to Professor Monica McWilliams and other members of the women's coalition give their views on the talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement and also on what needs to be done. There are ongoing issues for victims and their families and there are legacy issues, and the voices of women are so important in dealing with those issues. As we know, the UK legacy Bill will put things back very far if it ever gets onto the statute book.

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