Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

Shared literature and poetry on the curriculum, North and South, is also something we should do.

There are cross-Border benefits with taxation. Deputy Ó Murchú asked about this. The inter-sectoral ministerial meetings are dealing with those issues. The Minister for Finance, with his counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive, have had discussions. Taxation is a challenging and complex issue, as I am sure the Deputy is aware, but it is a pressing one for workers North and South. There are significant anomalies there.

Deputy Paul Murphy raised the issue of the demonisation of migrants. Migration is an issue now in a way that it was not a decade ago. It is a significant issue. It is a significant issue in the United Kingdom and in the Republic. We need to approach it with sensitivity and honesty. In my view, it is legitimate for countries to say that the cases of those who are not entitled to asylum should be dealt with in an accelerated way, with due process offered. Then, if someone is not entitled to asylum, he or she should not remain in the State. There is absolutely no doubt that migration is now impacting on the politics, the political narratives, and the electoral outcomes in a lot of societies and a lot of countries across Europe, including the United Kingdom and Ireland, and we cannot be blind to that reality either. Governments are adapting and changing in respect of that reality. There are limits to what governments can do and there are limits to how far governments can respond. That needs to be understood also.

Deputy Coppinger raised the issue of trans rights. The British Supreme Court decision in respect of British legislation and does not have application in the Republic. We need to approach that issue with the utmost sensitivity. Every young person going through a very difficult journey in life does feel very vulnerable. I heard recently of statistics on the higher numbers of self harm among LGBT people but particularly among the trans community. This is very worrying. That is why there is a responsibility on every public representative to speak in an informed way, but always having in one's mind the person and the individual who is going through that journey and not to be judgmental. People can have their positions and people can have their perspectives but it is very important that we retain the capacity to have a genuinely sensitive discussion about these matters in our political discourse. That is what we will do. I hope the Oireachtas can unite on such an approach as being appropriate to the values we have set out in our own legislative frameworks. This is something I would continue to pursue.

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