Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Now that the local elections are over, I have no doubt there will be a renewed focus on restoring the power-sharing institutions in Northern Ireland. We need to see the Assembly and the Executive, the North-South Ministerial Council, the cross-Border bodies, as well as the east-west institutions, functioning as originally envisaged. It seems the parties in Northern Ireland have been meeting in recent days to renew their efforts in this regard. We are told the DUP is seeking legislation to give legal assurances in respect of sovereignty and post-Brexit trade following the announcement of the Windsor Framework. Does the Taoiseach know whether the British Government will publish this legislation soon? Is legislation expected in this regard as requested by the DUP? It has been suggested that the parties in Northern Ireland are seeking a financial support package of more than £1 billion in the context of a return to Stormont. It is clear there is a little momentum in the process. How does the Taoiseach see things unfolding in this regard in the coming weeks?

With regard to the legacy Bill proposed by the British Government, anybody who watched the five-part series on the BBC, "Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland", which concluded last night, will be in no doubt that the legacy Bill cannot be allowed to succeed. Many victims and their families were interviewed for the series. It really shows how unnecessary and how bad the proposed legacy Bill is for all those concerned. I hope the Government will step up its efforts to oppose the Bill.

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