Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome and strongly support the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly at Stormont. The people of Ireland, North and South, have been adversely affected by the behaviour of the DUP and its boycott of the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement. The political institutions of the agreement have not been fully functioning since February 2022. Since October 2022, the all-island institutions of the agreement have not met. I applaud the political leaders of Northern Ireland for taking the necessary steps to restore those core institutions. I look forward to seeing the renewed stability of a power-sharing government that strengthens the peace dividend, restores public services and continues building on the immense progress of the past decades. I am confident that through ongoing co-operation and consistent dialogue with both the United Kingdom and Ireland, Stormont’s restoration will facilitate the North-South and east-west relationships that are critical to the Good Friday Agreement.

Five years without government have left Stormont’s finances in a perilous state and public services have suffered, above all, health. The Minister for Health first needs to sort out the public sector pay dispute which has seen healthcare workers, from nurses and ambulance drivers to physiotherapists and midwives, go on strike. In the longer term, workforce planning comes under the health portfolio and needs to improve in order to attract new blood while incentivising current staff to stay on in both hospital and community settings. The Irish Government investment in the North, co-ordinated by the shared island unit, is a positive and foresighted development. Investments like the one to increase places for nursing students will benefit everybody on the island.

All communities have been affected by the outworking of Brexit and all must deal with a new reality and new requirements that fall far short of the arrangements that were possible while the United Kingdom was part of the European Union. Workers and families carry the burden of a cost-of-living nightmare. Inflation and higher mortgage interest payments are badly stressing household budgets. Energy costs and food prices all remain alarmingly high. Public services are in crisis and the sick, elderly and young wait for basic treatments and surgery on ever-lengthening waiting lists. Stormont’s revival will come with a lot to tackle, which requires cross-party agreement on the big decisions, and unfortunately the lack of funding is a common problem for all Stormont departments. Now that the parties in the North have restored the institutions, we need to work together. I believe that DUP concerns were heard, resulting in an ambitious agreement reached between the EU and the UK in the Windsor Framework.

Northern Ireland is now in an enviable, unique economic position whereby it is able to trade with both the EU Single Market and the British internal market. Economic attraction, business and jobs that will flow into Northern Ireland as a result of the Windsor Framework. This will be beneficial to everyone living in Border areas on either side of the Border. I am from Dundalk and this will be beneficial to my area because businesses will be attracted to south Armagh, Newry and Down, which should spill over the Border to Dundalk and the surrounding area. We want to see Northern Ireland take full advantage of these economic opportunities to bring in much-needed investment and drive increased economic prosperity. When we deliver stability, we will deliver enterprise.

London has promised to unlock a £3.3 billion aid package to address the region’s public finances and services crises, which have spiralled during the two years of political limbo. Approximately £600 million to resolve this dispute is included in the £3.3 billion offered by the UK Government to a restored Stormont, but the assessment of the new Minister of Finance, Sinn Féin’s Caoimhe Archibald, is that it only provides funding for one year and falls short of what is required. It is vital that we look ahead to the future and drive forward a positive agenda, make the most of opportunities for North-South co-operation and work to deepen connections and overcome challenges across the island of Ireland. Developing the all-island economy will be an important part of this. It has already delivered so much and still has so much potential that we can unlock. Cross-Border trade in goods and services is now worth about €10 billion per annum and supports thousands of jobs across sectors from agrifood to tourism. Behind these figures are real people, jobs and lives.

One of the big lessons from the past 25 years of progress is that progress could not have been achieved without the joint approach by the Irish and British Governments. The problems of recent years arise primarily because there is no joint approach by both Governments. Last year marked the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. The democratic institutions the agreement established remain critical for the future of Northern Ireland, and governments that find ways through hard problems together will draw even greater opportunity to the island of Ireland.

The growth of an all-island economy is a real dividend of the peace process and one that the Government would like to see grow larger still. Protecting and growing an all-island economy is a core priority for the Government. There are many intersecting crises in terms of public finances, the cost of living and health and education. The best way to address them is to have a functioning Executive and cross-Border co-operation. Political stability, maturity and a pragmatic approach are required. As politicians in the South, we need to do everything we can to work at a greater level with politicians in Northern Ireland. It is only by doing so that we can break down the barriers. It is about building trust and relationships. Organisations such as the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly are there to build these relationships and they have helped to do so. It is a measure of the important economic relationship and vision that we have and of our intent to work in partnership in a proactive way to the benefit of all the people on the island of Ireland. Our relationship with our closest neighbours will always be one of our most important, and this is a relationship in which it is in all of our interests to invest.

I welcome the restoration of the Assembly in Northern Ireland. Coming from the Border area of Dundalk, I remember the Troubles and everything else in the past. I would not wish it on anybody. I wish everybody the best of luck and, as I have said, it is important that the Irish Government, British Government and all of us work together to make sure Northern Ireland gets to where it needs to get.

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