Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The 3 February was an historic day. It was also a day full of hope. The restoration of the Assembly and the appointment of a new Executive truly marks an opportunity for a better and shared future.

I echo the words of the First Minister, Michelle O'Neill, that the restored Assembly and new Executive have an opportunity to commit themselves to an ambitious agenda for change and to work in a spirt of co-operation and common cause, despite differences, to build a better future for all. That is the First Minister's commitment. It is also Sinn Féin's commitment to work together and advance the solutions, hopes and aspirations that unite all of our people. We want to provide better jobs, decent pay and opportunities. We want to provide more affordable childcare to parents. We want to ensure equal and full access to healthcare. We also want to tackle the scourge of poverty, improve public services and deliver critical infrastructure that improves living standards and supports development.

No one in this House should ignore the fact that a long shadow has been cast by a decade of Tory austerity and the devastating impact it has had on public services and the welfare of people in the North. Now, however, we have a restored Assembly and new Executive to stand up for the people of the North and to work for them.

As has been mentioned, 3 February was also a day of great historic weight. When this island was cruelly partitioned, it was done in a way to prop up a sectarian state that was constructed on the basis of discrimination and inequality. This was a state designed to suppress the nationalist minority. In the decades that followed, that design was made manifest through the discrimination and violent suppression of the nationalist community. Those days are over. Today, we see a nationalist First Minister in the North. It points to something that many people of a different generation thought would be impossible. However, others continued to believe that change was possible and we see the results of that in recent weeks.

I was in the gallery and I was able to witness that historic moment of change. Earlier, members of all political parties and none, paid tribute to Alex Maskey, who stood down from elected office as Ceann Comhairle of the Northern Assembly. His political life probably marks the change that is happening in the North. He was elected to Belfast City Council in 1983 as the only Sinn Féin councillor at that time when it was a unionist-dominated city council. Alex was the first republican mayor in 2002. Sinn Féin is now the largest political party on Belfast City Council. He was elected as Speaker of the Assembly and he stood down on the day that a nationalist woman from Tyrone took her place as the First Minister in the North.

I say that because the Tánaiste and the Government must recognise what everybody else sees, namely, the shifting sands, and the change that is taking place. We need to prepare for it. What happened on 3 February was another signpost in regard to the trajectory of where we are going and the constitutional change that will happen on this island. It is important that the Governments and all parties prepare for the change that is before us.

As a result of our peace process, we now have full equality and mutual respect is guaranteed. We know that the job of the restored Assembly and the new Executive is to work now and to deliver for everyone. The importance of that work is not restricted to the North but extends right across the island of Ireland. We must strengthen our all-Ireland economy, enhance North-South co-operation in important areas such as healthcare and education and deliver key infrastructure projects that benefit communities and businesses North and South. One such critical infrastructure project is the one that has previously been mentioned, namely, the upgrade of the A5 and the roads adjoining it in Donegal and Monaghan. It is a key priority for Sinn Féin, as the First Minister, Michelle O'Neill, has made clear on her appointment. The A5 road upgrade was agreed by the British and Irish Governments in the St. Andrews Agreement back in 2006, more than 17 years ago. As we left St. Andrews 17 years ago, those of us on the Sinn Féin delegation knew that this project was key to unlocking the economic potential of the north west, which is a region that repeatedly records the highest levels of deprivation on the island and which bore the brunt of partition. This road project is about much more than economic development as it is also about saving lives. It is one of the most dangerous roads on the island of Ireland. Since 2006, more than 50 people have lost their lives on the road. Lives have been cut short and lives have been changed forever.

I attended the recent public inquiry in Omagh and heard the testimony from people who lost family members on that road. The message was clear: enough is enough. We need the Government to recommit to what was in the St. Andrews Agreement – nothing more and nothing less. That was a joint commitment from the Irish and British Governments at the time. The Irish Government committed to fund this project on a 50:50 basis.

That commitment was scaled down in 2014 to £75 million. I understand there is a willingness now to increase the level of funding for the A5 but I ask the Minister to live by the commitment given in the international agreement struck in St. Andrews to fund that project on a 50:50 basis. It is key to unlocking the potential of the north west and to saving lives for many people who use that road daily.

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