Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)

Partition has been a failure. It has a been failure for those communities, North and South. It has been a failure for unionists, nationalists and others. The Minister of State would agree with me in relation to that. Let us be absolutely clear, there has been an abject failure by this Government in relation to the necessary work as regards planning. Even for people who do not believe Irish unity is good idea, the fact that it is a possibility means logic would dictate that planning should occur. I accept a lot of what the Minister of State has said, but to be a clear, a referendum is a right that we need. There will never be pressure on a British Government when there is an Irish Government that does not in any way push it in relation to there being a referendum. What we are asking is that preparatory work be done. We have the Oireachtas committee. Let us also have what could be called a forum. It does not have to be a citizens' assembly. We do not need ownership of it. We just need a facility where the full conversation happens on what a new Ireland can look like.

This partition was forced upon us under the threat of imminent and terrible war by a British Government that wanted to continue its occupation and oppression. The Northern orange state is gone. We have an opportunity to build something real, to build something better, to build an Irish republic of thirty-two counties that delivers for all the people. What is wrong with that? Where we have a failure is on the part of the Fianna Fáil leader - Micheál Martin, the Taoiseach - in being the biggest obstacle to Irish unity at this point in time. We need the Minister of State to go back to the Government and request that it change its direction. Éire aontaithe - ar aghaidh linn le chéile.

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