Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)

I was in the North today. I travelled through four counties early in the morning. It is a grand place with grand people. Like Deputy Michael Collins, I thank the consultants and staff in Kingsbridge Private Hospital for the great care they have taken of all the patients we have sent up for cataract removals, hip and knee replacements and all the other things. They are very careful and have treated our people we have sent up with great respect.

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion. I have been here for a long time listening to the debate. It is great to have it because we think of all the battles and all the trials our people have gone through over the last couple of hundred years. What I remember most are the Troubles, which took place from 1968 to 1998. All of us can remember when certain things happened in our lives. When the twin towers were blown up, I can remember where I was. I can remember exactly where I was when the Good Friday Agreement was announced. I thank the people that took part in and secured that agreement because there was give and take on both sides and a lot of give on both sides. I thank everyone involved and I will name a few of them. I thank Ian Paisley, David Trimble, Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness, John Hume, Bertie Ahern, Albert Reynolds, Charlie Haughey, Garret FitzGerald, Bill Clinton, George Mitchell, John Major, Tony Blair and many more for giving such great attention and securing the move away from the bloodshed and awful times that people, mainly in the Six Counties, suffered over that period. It is grand to see that people can get up in the morning, go to work and live normal lives, as they do now. We do not want to go back to what was. When I went to the North today, there were no checkpoints.

Even before we started getting good prices for cattle, Northern buyers were coming down and they boosted the marts in Cahersiveen, Castleisland and Macroom. We appreciate that very much, and they are very welcome. We must ensure for all the people on the island that if we do merge - a united Ireland is as much my ambition as it anyone else's - that there will not be a reduction in living standards for anyone in any part of the country.

We need to have many debates. We must appreciate all of the people on each side. Whether unionists or hard republicans, all sides must be heard and all communities must be listened to. We cannot rush it. We must be fairly sure that what we are doing is going to work and that we do not antagonise anyone or push the thing back any further. What happened in Scotland was mentioned. We need to be sure about all of that. We all need to work together. I thank Sinn Féin and everyone else for this debate. If we are not united on this, we have no hope of going any further.

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