Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

90. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to ensure outstanding issues in relation to the Stormont House Agreement and previous multi-party agreements are implemented; and the measures his Department is taking to ensure the devolution of fiscal powers to Stormont to ensure sustainable and workable budgets may be agreed. [28659/15]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In my question I ask the Government about its plans to deal with the outstanding issues arising from the Stormont House Agreement and previous agreements and call on it to ensure fiscal powers are transferred in order that there can be a sustainable and workable budget in the North in the future. In the most recent budget we saw the scale of the cuts imposed by the Tory Government which did not win a single seat in the North.

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The full implementation of the Stormont House Agreement remains a priority of the Government and continues to be a key focus in contacts with the Northern Ireland Executive and the British Government. The Taoiseach and the Prime Minister, Mr. Cameron, discussed implementation of the Agreement at their meeting in London on 18 June, underlining the collective benefit of full implementation. To continue to take forward this work, the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Sherlock, and I attended an implementation and review meeting on the Stormont House Agreement in Belfast on 25 June. This was an important opportunity to take stock of progress, including in the context of the ongoing political impasse in relation to welfare reform and wider budgetary issues. The meeting considered and approved for publication a progress report which outlined overall implementation of the agreement, including work towards establishing new mechanisms to deal with the legacy of the past. In addition to the new mechanisms, the Northern Ireland Executive has undertaken to take appropriate steps to improve the way the legacy inquest function is conducted to comply with the requirements of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

While good progress has been made across many of the Agreement's work streams, a way forward needs to be found in relation to the ongoing impasse on welfare reform and wider budgetary issues. There is a limited window of opportunity to resolve these issues. It is essential that the political leaders in Northern Ireland face up to their responsibility to find a sustainable solution to the issues at hand and intensify their efforts in delivering the Agreement as a whole. The Irish Government will continue to support this collective effort.

With regard to the devolution of fiscal powers from Westminster to the Northern Ireland Assembly, this matter has been progressed by the British Government and the necessary Westminster legislation to allow for devolution of corporation tax was completed in March. The commencement of the legislation will be a matter for the British Government in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Mention was made of the new mechanisms for dealing with the legacy of the past and it is to be welcomed that there is progress on that issue. I do not know whether the Minister has had any contact with his counterparts since the Tories announced their budget, in which they cut the block grant to the Assembly by €1.5 billion. Based on the trajectory from the budget, there will be further cuts of €2.4 billion in the North, which will undermine any possibility of achieving a sustainable economy in the future and undermines the stability of one of the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement and other agreements in the Stormont Assembly. What steps has the Minister taken to specifically ensure the transfer of fiscal powers to the Assembly to allow it to deal in the future with crises of the type we have seen in recent months as a result of not having control over its own income or the ability to change welfare rates, which is done by diktat from Westminster?

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Deputy will be aware that the Agreement also provides for the Northern Ireland Executive to consider whether devolution of other fiscal powers, including the aggregates levy, stamp duty and the landfill tax, would result in a clear economic or social benefit for Northern Ireland.

The recently published Stormont House implementation progress report notes that the options have been prepared to enable the finance Minister in Northern Ireland to bring a paper on the matter to the Executive. In this regard, the Deputy will be aware that these are primarily strand one issues. It is clear Northern Ireland faces a most challenging budgetary situation. However, regardless of the contents of the UK budget which was published last week, the immediate task remains to find workable solutions to the immediate challenges under the constraints which currently apply and I beg the assistance of the Deputy's party at leadership level in this regard.

It is important we have stability, sustainable finance and effective power sharing in Belfast. This is an important backdrop to any serious concerted approach over the coming years to address what is a most challenging budgetary situation within Northern Ireland. I stress, as I have already done so in this House, that I recognise the special and unique status of Northern Ireland in the context of its being a society emerging from conflict. If we are to move forward towards repairing the divisions of the past and building a prosperous future for all the people on this island, the matters of finances, budget and economic development are crucial to achieving that pursuit.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Minister mentioned sustainable finance again. Has he asked his counterparts not to cut further the Northern Ireland Stormont Assembly block grant? If that is to continue, all the agreements will be undermined, because the funding is not available to go ahead with the changes required. It is a post-conflict situation. There is, as the Minister mentioned, a different society in the Six Counties which is more reliant in many ways on state investment than the rest of the island. The Minister, Westminster and all those who took part in all the agreements recognise the post-conflict situation in the North, yet the key part, the funding to the Assembly to carry out its duties, is being cut. The question remains. Has the Minister specifically asked his counterparts, when he met them, or has the Taoiseach specifically asked David Cameron, when he met him, not to cut the block grant to the Northern Ireland Stormont Assembly any further?

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In all my contacts with the Northern Ireland parties over recent months, I have underlined, and will continue to underline, the importance of finding workable solutions to the crucial issues, with particular reference, as stated by the Deputy, to budgetary and welfare issues. I point to the Stormont House Agreement as having the potential to benefit Northern Ireland across a wide range of issues and it must be implemented in its totality. I have already stated that, in my view, which is a view I have made clear on a number of occasions, there needs to be a recognition of the post-conflict society that is Northern Ireland. We need an element of creative thinking and resolute leadership, which elements are needed to overcome the challenges we now face. While we are heading towards the summer months and parliamentary recess, this small window of opportunity of the next few weeks must be used to ensure the political leaders in Northern Ireland, across all parties, face up to the responsibility, find a sustainable resolution to the issues at hand and intensify their efforts on advancing and progressing the Stormont House Agreement as a whole.