Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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25. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his visit to Belfast last month; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4238/25]

Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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29. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on any recent engagement with political leaders in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4361/25]

Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle. I dtosach, is mian liom gach rath a ghuí ar an Tánaiste agus é ag toiseacht amach mar Aire Gnóthaí Eachtracha. I look forward to working with the Tánaiste and to many engagements in the House.

My question is on the Tánaiste's recent engagement with political leaders in Northern Ireland. I note his optimism about the first meetings of the new North-South Ministerial Council. A particular issue I would love for the Tánaiste to make sure is on the agenda for the North-South Ministerial Council is the need to finalise the funding arrangements for Foras na Gaeilge. The Tánaiste will be aware that there is some dispute about them at Executive level in Northern Ireland.

In the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement, the all-island bodies should be enacted and protected. In particular, Foras na Gaeilge's funding should be protected and its approach to the Irish language should be an all-island one. I welcome any interventions the Tánaiste and his Government colleagues can make on this matter to ensure we get a resolution to it.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 25 and 29 together.

Chomhghairdeas and congratulations to Deputy Moynihan on his election to the Dáil. I look forward to working with him constructively. I will undertake to pursue the issue of Foras na Gaeilge and revert to him directly on it, as I share his views on the importance of it having funding certainty.

I was delighted to make an early visit in my role as Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs to Belfast on 28 January. While there, I met First Minister Michelle O'Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, building on my initial calls with them on the weekend of 25 February shortly after receiving my seal of office.

I also met with the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Edwin Poots; with the leader of the Alliance Party, Naomi Long, and a delegation from that party; and with the leader of the SDLP, Claire Hanna, and a delegation from that party. Finally, I had phone calls with both Gavin Robinson, leader of the DUP, and Mike Nesbitt, leader of the UUP. The tone of these engagements, coming close to the first anniversary of the restoration of the institutions, was positive and forward-looking. Throughout, I stressed that this Government fulfilling its role as co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement and continuing to invest in reconciliation will be a priority for us. Effective North-South co-operation is a vital part of that commitment. The immediate backdrop of Storm Éowyn provided a vivid illustration of some of the shared challenges we face and of the need to do more together across the island. Like the Deputy, I emphasised the essential role of the North-South Ministerial Council. I also highlighted the renewed commitment to the shared island initiative in the programme for Government, with pledges to strengthen human and financial resources, including a further €1 billion, up to 2035.

Addressing the legacy of the Troubles came up in a number of my meetings and is going to be a major priority for me during my time in office. I made clear in my engagements the Government's commitment to develop a fit-for-purpose mechanism to seek truth and justice for victims and for their families. My first visit took place on the day that the commemorative hearings of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry began. In that context I underlined our commitment to facilitating and supporting the inquiry in full. I have also in recent days met with Northern Ireland victims and survivors groups on the issue of legacy. The implementation of the Windsor Framework also featured in my conversation. While this was my first visit, I visited on a number of occasions as Taoiseach and will be a regular visitor in the period ahead.

Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Tánaiste for that reply. I am very encouraged by the commitment he has made to follow up on the funding for Foras na Gaeilge and indeed all the all-island bodies established under the Good Friday Agreement. I am particularly optimistic now that we have the restoration of the institutions in Northern Ireland that we will see the full mechanisms of the Good Friday Agreement, and subsequent agreements, come into their own. This is necessary in realising the many challenges we face between Britain and Ireland but also with respect to the issues the Tánaiste rightly raised, including the legacy issues that need to be dealt with and the truth and justice that is necessary for survivors of the Troubles. I am particularly enthused by the strong focus on the shared island initiative as part of the programme for Government. That pursues a very practical approach to co-operation, as we saw in the co-operation that followed Storm Éowyn as well. I look forward to further updates from the Tánaiste on this and thank him for his answer.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Moynihan. As he knows, the Taoiseach and I are really committed to the shared island initiative. The good news is we are now seeing what was a concept now delivering very practical results on the ground with so many projects progressing. I could mention the restoration of the Ulster Canal, as one example I visited recently, or the transformative education project at the Magee College campus of the Ulster University in Derry. There are all-island research projects and so many others. We need to continue to invest in that initiative. We need to make sure the North-South Ministerial Council is now continuing to function on a very regular and frequent basis. We lost a bit of time in the scheduling due to our own general election and we are very eager to make sure we catch up on that lost time.

We really need to work together on the issue of legacy. I look forward to meeting the Northern Ireland Secretary of State this month to see if we can find a common way forward. The Irish Government's position is clear. It has to be able to bring victims, families and survivors with us and it has to be compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Tánaiste. I re-emphasise the very practical examples he has shown from the shared island unit. These initiatives will set the foundations that were originally envisaged by the Good Friday Agreement all those years ago. I am particularly encouraged by the strong approach the Government is taking with regard to victims and legacy issues and ensuring that those things are compliant with international law. As the Tánaiste has said, it is most important for these initiatives to bring victims' families with them so they actually address the hurt and division caused by the Troubles. I look forward to further updates.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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We have a supplemental question from Deputy McGuinness before the Tánaiste completes his reply.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Sular toghadh mé anseo go dtí Dáil Éireann, bhí onóir orm a bheith mar chomhalta boird ar Fhoras na Gaeilge. Prior to my election to this House, I was vice-chairperson of the board of Foras na Gaeilge so I share the concerns raised by Deputy Moynihan regarding the crisis of funding that is threatening €800,000 of cuts to community language projects all across this island. During my time as vice-chair of Foras na Gaeilge, I had occasion to meet and engage with the Tánaiste's predecessor, the current Taoiseach when he was Minister for Foreign Affairs, alongside board members and chief executives of the various all-Ireland bodies set up under the Good Friday Agreement. As a supplementary to Deputy Moynihan's question, will the Tánaiste continue that engagement? It was a very worthwhile one. I raise the Foras na Gaeilge ceist-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Thanks Deputy.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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-----because the Irish language is enjoying a moment at present. It is crucially important that we address this crisis.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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In answer to both Deputies' questions, I absolutely will. I congratulate Deputy McGuinness on his election too. He can take it as read that I am very happy to continue that engagement and to work with him on a cross-party basis on this issue.

In the brief time available to me, I will return to the issue of the Omagh inquiry because I want to be very clear on this. When I was in Belfast - this was on the first day of the commemorative hearings of the Omagh inquiry - I noted that the Government took a very clear decision to assist the Omagh inquiry when we communicated publicly at the preliminary hearing last July. I further note on the record of the House that the programme for Government repeats that commitment, stating explicitly that we will play our full part in the legacy process including facilitating and supporting the Omagh inquiry. The cross-Border nature of the assistance which is being provided to the inquiry requires some work but I wish to be very clear that we will not be found wanting. We will assist the inquiry and will make sure the people get access to truth and information.