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

I welcome the Taoiseach's visits to Belfast in August and September. The launch of the PEACEPLUS programme is a great development. I know it has been worked on for a number of years by the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and the Minister for Finance. The very substantive funding that is available from the European Commission, the British Government and the Irish Government will be put to good use in communities North and South. It is a worthy successor to the various PEACE and INTERREG programmes, which made a real difference in communities that suffered disadvantage due to the decades of trouble in the province of Ulster and other Border areas.

I also welcome the appointment of Hilary Benn MP as the UK Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. He visited Belfast yesterday. In his capacity as chair of the House of Commons Brexit committee from 2016 to 2019, he had regular engagement with us at committee level in this House and he understands very well Ireland, Northern Ireland, North-South relations and the need for improved British-Irish relations. I wish him well in his work in the future.

We are all very well aware, and I get the message from my neighbours in Fermanagh and Tyrone, that prolonged periods of instability in Northern Ireland and the absence of a government are causing real difficulties in the delivery of public services, be they in health, education or social services, as well as the lack of investment in public infrastructure. It goes without saying that Northern Ireland needs stable and sustainable government. In all the discussions that take place, we must always be mindful of the principles of power sharing, parity of esteem and consent. They are the principles underpinning the Good Friday Agreement and they must be protected in all discussions.

We have been told for some time, and the Taoiseach referred to it again regarding his talks in August and September, that the institutions will be reconstituted in early autumn. When we talk about institutions, we are obviously talking about the Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive but also, very importantly, the North-South Ministerial Council, at which excellent work was done over the years in sector format as well.

We are told the British Government is in talks with the DUP and we read various reports of the talks moving forward. The plea I am asked to relay to the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and other members of the Government is from people who may not be actively involved in politics in Northern Ireland, for example, people in business, people who see their local school not having the services it needs or families suffering delays in accessing health services. They want to see the institutions back up and running as quickly as possible, working in the best interests of the people of Northern Ireland and working along with our Government and political institutions here.

One of the institutions that was established subsequent to the Good Friday Agreement was the North-South Inter-Parliamentary Association, which the Ceann Comhairle co-chaired. Deputy Durkan and I have been in that association for some time. Unfortunately, it has not been able to meet. I remember some of the excellent discussions that took place at it, whether on Brexit, the food industry or farming on an-Ireland basis. At parliamentary level, we are lacking that association working to represent the views of constituents and communities North and South.

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