Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

It is good that Stormont is functional again. It is certainly historic in that it breaks the long lineage of unionist dominance for over 100 years in the northern part of Ireland. I would argue that, for the last two years, there has been a democratic veto by the DUP on spurious grounds in regard to the protocol. There are many factors relating to that protocol. As a result of that veto, working people of the North of Ireland have been greatly damaged with regard to public services. That has only been compounded by Tory austerity. We only have to look at waiting lists for the NHS in the North. Hundreds of thousands of people are waiting for ordinary medical treatment.

One of the inspirational developments in the past two years has been trade unions and workers coming together, regardless of their religion, on the picket line and breaking the horrible sectarianism of the past. It just shows that when working people come together via their trade unions, strikes and their workplace, there is a potential for a different Ireland, other than a partitionist Ireland.

What has happened is important. Working people are hopefully seeing a different constitutional aspiration with regard to the North of Ireland. Can it happen? Yes, it can. Working people, regardless of what their religion is and where they are living in this State, have a bond of solidarity and support regarding who we are and what our economic interests are. There are other economic interests in this State that do not have regard for economic interests of working people. That has become more profound and has been compounded by the partitionist nature of the State. The glimmer of hope is not only there in Stormont but also the power of working people, North and South.

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