Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the breakdown in talks in Northern Ireland; if he has spoken to the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, regarding same; if this deadlock will be overcome; his views on the fact that emergency powers are now allowing senior civil servants take control over Stormont's finances; and the way he envisages that concerns for Northern Ireland following the instigation of Article 50 will be addressed. [16401/17]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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2. To ask the Taoiseach if he has spoken to party leaders in Northern Ireland in relation to the restoration of political institutions there since the deadline for the nomination of First and Deputy First Ministers on 27 March 2017. [16410/17]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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3. To ask the Taoiseach if the absence of the Northern Ireland Assembly will have an impact on the Brexit negotiations. [16724/17]

Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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4. To ask the Taoiseach if he has spoken to Northern Ireland leaders since the Northern Ireland Assembly elections and since the deadline was extended. [17827/17]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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5. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his engagements with political leaders in Northern Ireland and the UK on plans to restore the political institutions following the Northern Ireland Assembly elections. [17851/17]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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6. To ask the Taoiseach if he has spoken with Prime Minister May regarding the ongoing talks on the Northern Ireland Assembly and the way in which legacy issues will be addressed. [18285/17]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, together.

I discussed the political situation in Northern Ireland with Prime Minister May when I spoke to her by phone on 29 March. The main political parties in Northern Ireland have been invited to participate in political talks which started on Monday, 3 April in Belfast. The Irish and British Governments are agreed that this phase of talks will be best supported by an intensive process to drive progress here.

The talks have two objectives, first, to allow the political parties to reach an agreement on the formation of a new Executive, and second, to address the implementation of outstanding issues from previous agreements. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan, is representing the Government during this phase of discussions and is keeping me continually informed.

It is critically important to see devolved government restored and working effectively in the interests of the people of Northern Ireland, in particular in the context of Brexit. As a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, the Government is determined to uphold its principles and protect its institutions. We will continue to work to this end with the British Government and with all of the parties in the discussions that are under way in Belfast. I and the Government will continue to advocate very strongly for Northern Ireland's interests to be protected in the Brexit negotiations. There is, however, no substitute for an Executive speaking with one voice on these critical issues. All concerned must, therefore, redouble efforts to achieve the re-establishment of power-sharing government in Northern Ireland.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As the Taoiseach knows, it is my view that the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Executive should never have collapsed in the first instance. I believe that it was an engineered decision for electoral purposes. The result is that Northern Ireland now lacks a coherent voice, especially on Brexit, which is the single, greatest, once in a generation challenge to the island of Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement and the institutions of the Agreement, particularly the North-South Ministerial Council, could have been very useful mechanisms in facilitating a proper coherent response by Northern Ireland and Ireland to the challenges of Brexit.

I ask that the Taoiseach reports on the progress of the talks.

Yesterday, I believe, Sinn Féin started demanding an election if there is no agreement by Friday. For its part, the DUP appears still to be refusing to give an unambiguous commitment to implementing past agreements. The other parties have been pushed to the margins by the two largest parties. This is a trend we have seen happening time and time again.

It is clear to me that the policy of disengagement from the process that was developed over the last six years by the two Governments has to end as it simply does not work. It has failed miserably. Time and again, the DUP and Sinn Féin have proven that they cannot just be left to get on with it. Each party is blaming the other for not moving forward. While Sinn Féin will argue that it has done nothing wrong in government, the smaller parties find that very difficult to comprehend, given that they were excluded from receiving even basic information when they were in the Executive. That was one of the reasons they left. The current negotiating dynamic does not appear to be working. I ask the Taoiseach to indicate whether he has spoken to Prime Minister May about this and if he and the Prime Minister have agreed to hold any further meetings specifically to discuss the impasse in these talks.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The last time I spoke to the Prime Minister, I expressed the hope that the politicians elected to the assembly would accept their responsibility and get on with putting together an Executive. I think everybody can agree that this is absolutely essential if the issues that affect the people of Northern Ireland, which were voiced on two occasions at the all-island forum and on many more besides, are to be addressed effectively. We all know that in the previous Executive, the then First Minister and deputy First Minister, now deceased, were able to write a letter to the British Prime Minister setting out what were their common objectives. That is needed now more than ever. I agree with the Deputy that if the North-South Ministerial Council were now in operation, it could be convened on a regular basis to discuss the issues in the different sectors that are important here.

I also spoke to the Secretary of State, Mr. Brokenshire, in Derry at the funeral of the late Martin McGuinness. Although I do not speak for the Prime Minister in this, from my conversations with her and for my part, if it comes to it that we have to engage at prime ministerial and Taoiseach level, then we will do that. The important issue here is that, at the level that it is now being discussed, the politicians have to be able to put together an Executive. The DUP and Sinn Féin, as the two largest parties, hold a really responsible position and have a decision to make here. I saw the comment from the leader of the Sinn Féin group saying that if an Executive is not put together by the end of the week, they want another election. I am not sure what that is about, whether it is putting it up to the Secretary of State or a clear position of wanting to have another election. The fact of the matter is that people have been elected from a range of parties to the Assembly. The two largest parties have a duty and a responsibility to sit down in the interests of the people they represent and form an Executive. Northern Ireland should have a clear voice in order that we can get on with the business of discussing the issues of Brexit. If that is not going to happen - I will be speaking again to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade this evening - I am quite happy to engage as necessary with the British Prime Minister, as Deputy Martin is aware.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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For the information of the House, the Taoiseach and the leader of Fianna Fáil, a fresh election is envisaged because that is what the legislation provides for. I am sure both gentlemen are aware of that.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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It also provides for an Executive to be set up.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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It is extremely alarming that the Taoiseach continues to entirely misunderstand his role in these matters. The Taoiseach needs to lift the phone to Theresa May. It is quite disgraceful that he has not done so at this stage as we are five and a half weeks at this. It is the political equivalent of a slow bicycle race.

We are speaking into a vacuum, it seems, as regards the DUP. We have come not with a Sinn Féin shopping list but with an audit of outstanding issues that have to be implemented. People in the North expect a very basic thing. They expect that when two Governments and political parties sign up to sworn agreements on issues that might be contentious, those matters will be implemented. That is what good government means. Yes, we want to get the Executive back up and running but it has to be credible. Credible means delivering.

The Taoiseach shakes his head benignly at me and I very much welcome that.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I am nodding my head.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Governments have also defaulted on their obligations. It is a matter of all parties implementing - that is what we want. Why is that such a contentious thing to ask for? How could the Taoiseach imagine that we could reestablish an Executive or institutions on any other basis?

Deputy Micheál Martin believes that the institutions should not have been collapsed. Of course, Deputy Micheál Martin does not represent anybody in the North of Ireland. He struggles with the notion that institutions come down because corruption has been discovered.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Sinn Féin's leader in the North promoted the ash scheme.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Is this not very interesting? Fianna Fáil struggles with the idea of a political system reacting to allegations of corruption, coming from within the DUP in respect of advisers and so on. I must stress they are only allegations but they are very serious. Here is the newsflash for the leader of Fianna Fáil: people in the North do not just want credible institutions, they want clean ones.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Your time is up, Deputy.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Sinn Féin's leader in the North promoted it.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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When they are found not to be clean, the people respond in a very negative way. That is how Nationalists, republicans and others in the North of Ireland actually roll, Deputy Martin.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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You have exceeded your time, Deputy.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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No one is more corrupt than your gang.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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The party of corruption is speaking now.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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No one is more corrupt than Deputy Doherty's gang --- Sinn Féin and its colleagues.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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How many went before the tribunal? How many brown envelopes were handed over?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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No one could be more corrupt in terms of the destruction of Ireland politically than Sinn Féin-IRA.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Deputy Martin's party wrote the guide book on corruption.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is a very touchy subject for Sinn Féin.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputies can have their one-to-one outside. In here they cannot do that. I call Deputy Haughey, without interruption.

Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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I think we all need to calm down a bit. Brexit will have major implications for the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the all-island economy. It has major consequences also for the peace process and, in particular, the Good Friday Agreement. These implications will have to be teased out as the negotiations continue. It is vital that the institutions in Northern Ireland be established as soon as possible.

There is a Conservative Government in the UK. Conservative Governments traditionally do not have much time for devolved administrations. It is therefore really important that the Irish Government be proactive on this issue and actively engage with the British Prime Minister, the British Government and the Secretary of State to ensure that agreement is reached on time. The Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in particular have to be proactive on this, given the circumstances. The whole peace process is fragile and could unravel very easily.

As regards the all-island economy and the promotion of tourism and the economic development on this island generally, the free travel scheme was announced on this day 50 years ago. It was a simple measure but it had a profound impact. As I am on my feet, I ask the Taoiseach to give an assurance that the Government has no plans to restrict its use or to scrap the scheme altogether. All of us will agree that it was a revolutionary measure with a profound impact, particularly for the elderly and the disabled.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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We will take Deputy Howlin's one and then the Taoiseach will respond.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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While I do not want to get involved in everybody else's scrap-----

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach is taking note.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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-----one should be allowed to ask one's parliamentary questions if other people eat up the time. I am really worried on a number of fronts. I am worried that Northern Ireland is not properly represented in respect of the ongoing Brexit talks now they have formally started. I do not believe the people of Northern Ireland will be adequately represented by the Theresa May Government, no more than will be the people of, or the implications for, the whole island of Ireland. I am also worried - I know we will hear protests about this - that there is at least a strong prevailing view within both the largest parties in Northern Ireland that another election might actually be in their interests. I would be interested in the Taoiseach's view on this. In the case of Sinn Féin, it may well become the largest party.

For the DUP, bluntly, there could hardly be a worse election than the last one and those from that party might be able to cannibalise UUP votes. It is concerning if this is driving the lack of progress that seems to have materialised in the past five and a half weeks.

What additional initiative will the Taoiseach take to ensure that no stone is left unturned to try to end the current impasse before we are plunged into another set of elections? I do not believe that in the aftermath of another divisive political campaign, anything will be resolved other than a deeper entrenchment of fixed views. Is there anything further the Taoiseach can do? Perhaps Deputy McDonald is right. Could the Taoiseach sit down with the British Prime Minister to and make the case that this is sufficiently important to warrant a joint initiative?

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach may respond to all of the questions.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I recognise what Deputy Haughey has been talking about. When free travel was introduced by his late father 50 years ago, the move was revolutionary. It was always seen as something that was very good for a Minister to be able to do. Millions of people have availed of it once they passed the particular age. I assure Deputy Haughey that there is no intention whatsoever to scrap the free travel scheme. There is an important social dimension relating to connection for people throughout the country, as well as for those who travel from abroad but who are Irish and who come back here. They have that facility as well. There is no intention along the lines suggested.

Deputy Haughey asked a question on Brexit and Deputy Howlin made another comment. I am unsure as to whether those involved are playing games now. It is a serious matter. However, let us follow Deputy McDonald's logic. I recall Sinn Féin comments after the election to the effect that the Northern Ireland Executive was more important than the personality of the First Minister to be appointed. If that is the case and if those in the Sinn Féin party are serious about putting together an Executive, then they should not be contemplating the end of the line in the legislation or another election. Perhaps that is what they are contemplating. However, if those in the party are serious, then the new leader should be sitting down with a view to-----

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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She is meeting all the parties.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I hear different things.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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She is meeting extensively-----

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Please, the Taoiseach without interruption.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Why then are we having ultimatums?

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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We cannot have this.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Why then are we having ultimatums about another election?

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Can we move on to the next question?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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If it is possible to do it, then let it happen. The traditional thing was always that the British Prime Minister and the Taoiseach of the day would arrive in Belfast at the last minute. There would always be a demand for more money and yet more money. That has always been the case over the past 30 years. If the DUP and Sinn Féin are serious, they can sort this out quickly if they want. If they do not want to do so, then other options have to be considered.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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We are all serious about delivering on these matters

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach to speak, please. The Taoiseach did not interrupt Deputy McDonald.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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As far as I am concerned, we have co-guarantorship responsibility for the Good Friday Agreement.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Sinn Féin appointed a spin doctor one month before the collapse-----

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Please, the Taoiseach to speak without interruption from any Deputy.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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We will continue to see that this happens.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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That is disgraceful. Martin McGuinness tried to keep the Northern Executive going. Deputy Micheál Martin's little snide comments are of no help.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach, without interruption. Deputy Pearse Doherty should be aware that there are rules to which we must adhere.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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It was not possible to get agreement on how one to deal with the legacy issues of Northern Ireland. These are very serious and sensitive on both sides. It was not possible to deal with the question of the Irish language, which I favour strongly.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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We had agreement on that.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Taoiseach. He has exceeded his time.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Taoiseach has not challenged them on that matter.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The essential point is-----

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy McDonald, if we are going to have a debate-----

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The essential point is that two major parties have the biggest responsibility to sit down.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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We have agreed to the mechanism for that.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach, without interruption.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I hear a great deal of talk about the willingness of Sinn Féin to form an Executive. I accept that. Is Deputy McDonald telling me that the DUP does not want to form an Executive? That is the corollary of what she is saying.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Hold on.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Can I be of help to help to the Chair?

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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No. The questions are to the Taoiseach. Time is running down. Do Deputies want another round of one-minute questions? Next is Deputy Micheál Martin.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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My question was bundled together for lack of time. Yet, other people can seem to banter about whatever they like.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I have no interest in bantering. These are serious issues and the clock is ticking.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I will give the Taoiseach extra time to answer Deputy Howlin. A supplementary answer for Deputy Howlin.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I can answer the question for Deputy Howlin. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Flanagan, has been up there all day. He has been up there for several weeks now, off and on, working with the parties and representing the Government. He is there again today. I will be talking to him later. Deputy Howlin asked me what else I can do. The Deputy should note that if the two parties do not want to form an Executive, they will not form one.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Is that the Taoiseach's view?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Is Deputy Howlin suggesting that we go down the old road of incentives and offer a sweet?

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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No, that is a cop-out.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The people have voted. They voted for the parties. Their representatives are in Stormont. There is a requirement to put an Executive together so that we can have leadership from Northern Ireland on the issues that are going to impact on thousands of people arising from Brexit. We know what those issues are because they have been articulated by Northern Ireland businesses, trade unions, farmers, students and people in general from both sides of the community. They want leadership in the Northern Ireland Assembly that they have elected, but it is not materialising.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Taoiseach should get his skates on.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Am I supposed to go up there with the UK Prime Minister, Ms May, take the hands of the leaders and tell them to sit down and put this together? Surely, the Sinn Féin programme and the DUP programme should be meshed in some way? There may be areas where they cannot agree but they should have a common set of objectives.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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That is nonsense.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Howlin asked what else we can do. We will continue to be very active in this regard. As I said earlier to Deputy Micheál Martin, if it means that-----

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I have not-----

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I am doing the best I can. The Taoiseach will get to the Deputy.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I have not got to put a second question yet.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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If I have to go up there with the UK Prime Minister, then I will do that.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Micheál Martin has one minute for a supplementary question. One minute will be one minute only.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I want to make a point through the Chair. The Northern Ireland Executive and the Assembly were deliberately scuttled on an issue that everyone knew about six months in advance, namely, the renewable heat scandal. Sinn Féin has no monopoly in the context of objecting to corruption, no more than anyone else. Tonight's "Panorama" programme might be revealing in that regard.

I want to make the point that what we got in the last all-island Brexit forum was a clear message from the civil dialogue people from Northern Ireland. It was simply this: there is an absence of a coherent voice on Brexit at the table in Northern Ireland because of the collapse of the Northern Executive and the Assembly. The overriding imperative has to be to restore the Northern Executive and Assembly rather than seeking election after election, as if the whole purpose of the Good Friday Agreement was electoral advantage and appealing to the base all the time. Let us remember that a month before the collapse of the Northern Executive, both parties appointed a joint spin doctor on the grounds that they had a good story to tell. One month later, it collapsed. People can make up their own minds about that. In any event, the Brexit issue demands that the parties come together, put aside their squabbles and organise the restoration of the Executive and the Assembly. They both now have a mandate to do that. The others do too of course.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I strongly object to anyone describing issues around dealing with the legacy of the past, matters relating to a bill of rights, marriage equality or dealing with Irish language rights as petty squabbles. They are not one bit petty. They go to the heart of people's basic civic rights in Northern society.

As it happens, I was in Belfast last night. There is a clear voice from civic society looking for leadership. That same voice is telling us clearly that we should not back down on these basics. We are not doing another ten years of going around in circles and having the same endless debate and argument. We have agreed on these matters. We want the agreement relating to them implemented. In that regard, the Taoiseach should be on the blower to Theresa May. The Taoiseach should be asserting himself as co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement and the subsequent agreements. That is the expectation of the Taoiseach in his role.

Reference was made to the issue of a single voice on Brexit. The DUP took a pro-Brexit line. Arguably, that was the prerogative of the party. There is no single view between Sinn Féin and the DUP. That is the reality. Furthermore, Theresa May has made clear that she is not interested in affording to the North of Ireland or Scotland or anywhere else a significant role at the table in respect of Brexit. Consequently, people in the North rely on the Taoiseach to do his job and to represent them.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Deputy McDonald was right when she said that there is no single view in respect of whether the United Kingdom should have stayed in the European Union. However, there is surely a commonality of interest in respect of what is good for the people of Northern Ireland and the people of the island of Ireland as a whole such that we can build a consensus view.

Unfortunately, there is nobody at the table with the authority to speak for Northern Ireland as long as there is no Executive. That is the issue.

I know that Sinn Féin representatives have a view that none of us can speak with authority on Northern Ireland, only themselves. I believe that is a partitionist view and a wrong view. Sinn Féin should not shout down people and ask who people represent and all the rest of it. All of us with an interest in this island and the peoples of this island have something to say. We should be respected and at least listened to when we say that.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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On the basis of fact, yes.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The very real question the Taoiseach asks is whether I or the House want Theresa May to arrive up and hold hands as Taoiseach and Prime Minister have done on every occasion and ride into it. I know from talking to people, including the American facilitators of peace over the time, that the question is about when they will actually stand on their own two feet. Will it be in a decade, two decades or three decades? When will the devolved administration be its own creature? That is not to say that we will not have something to say or that the British Government will not be co-guarantors and have a right to overview solemn international agreements, but ultimately responsibility must reside with the people elected in Northern Ireland and others must not constantly be blamed. I believe that matters are of such a pass now that some sort of intervention from the Taoiseach is justified.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Martin made the point very clearly that following the collapse of the Executive, the situation is now that there is no leadership at Executive level in Northern Ireland. The Ulster farmers want to know what subsidy the British taxpayer is going to have to put out when Brexit takes effect and the CAP is no longer there. What is the situation for the Erasmus programmes and the collaborations between universities here, in Northern Ireland and in Britain? What is the situation for the corporate tax rate, for which authority was devolved to the devolved Assembly? Why is it that in Scotland there is a devolved assembly and it is the same in Wales? They do not agree on everything, but they have a voice. Deputy McDonald said-----

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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They do not have D'Hondt. It is a completely different system of governance.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----there is no singular voice. I am not asking for a singular voice. As Deputy Howlin rightly pointed out, there are a whole range of issues that are important to-----

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The level of ignorance is astonishing.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----the DUP and to the Sinn Féin Party. There may not be a singular voice, but there must be an agenda that they want reflected in the actions taken for the people that they represent.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Scottish have a singular position.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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It is true to say that Sinn Féin cannot continue not to accept that responsibility and to wait for somebody else to put the Executive together for it. It is time for parties to focus-----

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Taoiseach is a co-guarantor-----

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----on the real issues and say that these are the things we can agree on, this is what we do not agree on, but here is the complete agenda. In so far as my job is concerned-----

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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So that we can see people's------

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Park the Irish language, park Brexit, park dealing with the past-----

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Deputies, please. The Taoiseach to conclude.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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We will continue with our co-guarantorship of the Good Friday Agreement and help them where we can.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Taoiseach is a waste of space, God bless him.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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One can bring a horse to water but one cannot make it drink.