Dáil debates

Wednesday, 28 March 2018

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions

Northern Ireland

11:15 am

Photo of Michael MoynihanMichael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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49. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has discussed the possibility of appointing an independent chair to facilitate talks in Northern Ireland. [13947/18]

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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56. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the comments by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Ms Karen Bradley, that bringing forward a joint view by the UK and Irish Governments for power sharing would not be helpful; if the role of both Irish and UK Government is to facilitate and not impose a solution for the establishment of an assembly and that the DUP and Sinn Féin must reach their own agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14213/18]

Photo of Seán HaugheySeán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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58. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the basis of an agreement in Northern Ireland was nearly finalised when he visited on 12 February 2018; the areas in which the progress stumbled; the reason for the breakdown; and the efforts being made to allow all of the parties in Northern Ireland to allow the Assembly to be reconvened. [8700/18]

Photo of Michael MoynihanMichael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Appointing an independent chair could allow the talks and, consequently, the Assembly to get back up and running.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 49, 56 and 58 together.

That conversation has taken place at various times, including last summer when the all-party talks were in play and later when there was a focus on what were essentially two-party talks that both Governments were trying to facilitate. We have had conversations with the parties at different times about whether an independent chair would be helpful.

One gets different feedback from different parties. There was certainly a view from the two larger parties that they wanted to try to do this on their own, together. There was a view from some of the other parties that there was a need to bring in an independent chair and broaden this out to make sure that all the parties were involved in the discussions. I have an open mind on it. If it would help, of course we will do it, but Northern Ireland is in a different place now from where it was 20 years ago when there was a need for high profile involvement and intervention to try to encourage people to make this huge step, which was the Good Friday Agreement. Parties have worked together for many years since then, in devolved government and outside devolved government, and there is a sense that the parties know each other very well and that we should be able to try to find accommodation for each other without having to bring in an independent chair. That being said, we are looking at all options now and anything that will help progress conversations that can lead to an Executive being re-established is something to which we are very open.

11:25 am

Photo of Michael MoynihanMichael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I hear what the Tánaiste is saying about how matters have advanced during the past 20 years but the Assembly has not been sitting in the North of Ireland since January 2017 and there is no prospect of that happening, at least in the short term. In view of all the complicating factors, such as the attempts to get the Assembly up and running and have self-governance in the North of Ireland, and the challenges, of which the Tánaiste is well aware, with which he is dealing on a daily basis in terms of Brexit and how that will impact on the island of Ireland, and in particular on the North of Ireland, we may need to consider, given that it is almost 18 month since the Assembly sat, the need to move the process onto a another level. I hear what the Tánaiste is saying about the way matters have worked during the past 20 years, but we have reached a juncture where I believe an independent chair is required. How long more can matters drift without action being taken to try to bring the parties together in the interests of all of us on the island, and particularly those in the North of Ireland, as we go deeper into the Brexit negotiations to make sure an Assembly is up and running in the North?

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I do not disagree with any of that. The question is what new structures would be helpful in terms of bringing this process forward and is an independent chair part of that. I do not think the two Governments are in any way precious about that. What we want is to try to respond in a way that helps the parties - by that I mean all parties, not only the big two - to come together to accommodate each other to form a fully inclusive Executive, and currently it is a big challenge to do that. Often before agreements were made there was a lot of pessimism. The job of the two Governments is to work together, to trust each other and to try to bring about a situation whereby the political environment changes. That is what we have to do in the coming weeks and months. There may well be a role for an independent chair as part of a new process but we need to determine how that process will work for us. Simply naming a new chair on its own certainly will not take this process forward.

Photo of Michael MoynihanMichael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The easiest thing to do would be to name a new chair. The two Governments trust each other and are involved in the negotiations, and the Brexit negotiations are taking place at another table. Decisions regarding the North of Ireland, the Border and all of that are crucial for the island of Ireland. In light of the discussions the Tánaiste is having with all the parties in the North, does he believe that an independent chair would move the process forward in attempt to get a resolution and secure self-governance? I understand the point the Tánaiste made that the easiest thing to do would be to name a chair, but does he believe there is a willingness among the parties to accept an independent chair at this juncture?

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I think different parties have different views; that is the straight answer to the Deputy's question. I think some parties would need some persuasion that introducing an independent chair at this stage would be helpful because I am not sure that it is right now. What the Governments need to do, and what we will be doing, is discussing how the two Governments, working together, can help to create a context and, in time, put a structure in place that can allow for a political negotiation to result in a willingness to set up devolved government and an Assembly again. There is work to do in that area, and I have to say I am concerned about the polarisation in Northern Ireland right now. Some of that is linked to Brexit and some of it is linked to a frustration about a lack of progress in terms of devolved government. That impacts on the capacity of many community projects and so on that rely on political decision making for support and they are very uncertain about their future and future funding models and so on. There was a need for a budget to be passed in Westminster to try to provide financial certainty at least for the moment, and we support that. There is a need for political structures to be in place to ensure that political decisions can be made in Northern Ireland which cannot be made at the moment.