Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

I want to add my voice to the condolences that have been expressed for Deputies Verona Murphy and Mitchell on the loss of their parents. It is a hard time for both families, and our thoughts and prayers are with them.

The British King set out the priorities of the British Government in the House of Commons today. In that speech there was no mention at all of the mothballing of the democratic institutions of the North of Ireland. That is a disgrace. Despite months of discussions between the British Government and the DUP, it appears that the DUP is still holding the democracy of the North to ransom until it gets its way on the protocol. It was reported on RTÉ today that a senior DUP member stated that "To end that boycott ... would be electoral madness." There we have it. The democratic institutions of the North of Ireland and the ability to administer health, housing, education, transport and even flooding are all being mothballed because of the narrow electoral interests of the DUP. How long are we going to allow this to happen? How long are we going to stand idly by as a State and allow for the democratic, educational, housing and economic rights of 2 million people, living 50 or 60 miles away from here, to be held to ransom? Is it not time now that the Government should pressure on for a reopening of Stormont and a change in the rules of how Stormont functions?

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