Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On Deputy Burke's point, the economic situation and the public finances dimension to it are both very serious. The fact that so many people participated in the strike action is an illustration of the frustration on the ground in Northern Ireland at the absence of an Executive and an assembly. People want action on health services, public service pay, education and so forth. This really is a crisis of governance in Northern Ireland. The strike, and the full participation in it, is a manifestation of people's anger and frustration at what is going on.

I agree with Deputy Howlin. That has been my view for a while. However, the election that took place should be validated insofar as the First Minister and deputy First Minister should be appointed in accordance with the outcome. After the restoration of the Executive and the assembly, if that happens, we have to look at reforming the situation. In the future, no one party, no matter how large, should have a veto on the formation of an assembly. I know that both parties involved have reservations about going down that road. However, if we look at the 25 years during which the Good Friday Agreement has been in place, we can see that the assembly and the Executive have been down for too long. That has resulted in lower levels of public esteem for both because it illustrates that politics is not working for people. That is a worry. We have to make politics work in Northern Ireland. The Alliance Party has put forward reform proposals in that regard, and I am very open to them.

See this speech in context