Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Lá stairiúil a bhí ann, an 3 Feabhra, nuair a toghadh Michelle O’Neill ina Céad-Aire. We have all overused the term “historic” before but I think we need to look at what happened when Michelle O'Neill became First Minister. I congratulate her on that. She is the first nationalist First Minister in the North. It has been a long journey from Basil Brooke, James Craig and a Protestant parliament for a Protestant people. We are delighted that we have an Executive up and running. I also congratulate Emma Little-Pengelly on becoming deputy First Minister, and my colleagues in Sinn Féin, Conor Murphy, Caoimhe Archibald, John O’Dowd and Aisling Reilly. I also add my words of congratulations, not only on his retirement but also on his life of activism, to Alex Maskey, who stood down as Ceann Comhairle of that particular institution.

I agree with what Deputy Tully said in following on from Deputy Lahart. We do need to have these conversations. Brexit has changed everything in that it has put Irish unity front and centre, but we need the Government to lead out. The Government has said before, and I have heard it from both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, that they do not believe a citizens’ assembly is one of the mechanisms that are necessary. If so, it is up to them to come up with an alternative that works. We need a forum or facility where everyone who shares this land can have a conversation on what might happen. We all know it is a possibility, so even those who are against it should prepare. There is a wider piece of work that needs to be done. I know the shared island unit has started some pieces of research but that needs to be done at a far greater level so we do not end up in a Brexit scenario.

To me, a united Ireland is a new Ireland. It is something new. It is where we can deal with the issues that exist with regard to health, housing or any crisis that we are dealing with, such as the drugs scourge. We all have to work together as we are a small island. It would be remiss of me not to say that we need to see continuity in regard to governmental interest. We have seen the shared island funding and the promises that have been made on the A5 and the Narrow Water bridge. These projects need to be seen through alongside the co-operative projects in regard to third level education and mobility. We can definitely do better than what came before. We might not all agree on the past but we can all agree that we can build a better future. This is a very good start. It is one of the more positive news stories we have had in the last while.

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