Results 16,501-16,520 of 18,851 for speaker:Fergus O'Dowd

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: Apologies have been received from Senator Black, who is speaking in the Seanad. Please note that to limit the spread of Covid-19, people are encouraged to wear masks. Everybody is aware of that. We rotate the rota at every meeting so that every party gets an opportunity to contribute. Sinn Féin will have the first slot, followed by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the SDLP, Alliance,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank Mr. O'Connor. It has been very enlightening. His integrity and hard work is outstanding, as was the work of his Department. He acknowledged all his peers in the Department. What struck me most in those comments is the relationship between the two Prime Ministers of the time, Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern. It was critical and once it gelled, peace flowed from it. There is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: I drove him to Belfast as well. I cannot leave out my brother-in-law, Mr. Ciaran Staunton, either, who was involved in a different capacity.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: It all worked. I agree with the emphasis Mr. O'Connor placed on Mr. George Mitchell and on how it all gelled. Everybody got together. It worked and it is still working, although like the patient, it is beginning to show issues that need to be addressed, but surgery is not necessarily required.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: Yes, we are on the right track. We have the right formula. We agreed earlier that the rotation for speakers would be Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, SDLP, Alliance, the Green Party, Sinn Féin, the Labour Party and then Independents. Each party nominates a speaker. Ms Gildernew is first.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: That is a very important contribution and I am learning a lot from what Mr. O'Connor is saying. There is much we can learn and apply now, and we agree fundamentally it is up to the two Governments to get together. If Boris Johnson wants to go down in history, he could embrace a new relationship with the Irish Government on the North.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: We will do a second round so that everybody can get the benefit of Mr. O'Connor's knowledge.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: I have a time problem. I want to be generous to everybody but I stopped the Sinn Féin group after its 15 minutes and I have let the Fianna Fáil group go on. I do not mean that in a rude sense. I have predicted what will be said so I will make sure to balance that later.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: The next speaker will be Dr. Stephen Farry, who was here earlier this morning. I do not know if he is online. He is not; that is no problem. The next slot is for the Green Party but there is no representative present. We will now move on to Sinn Féin slot, which will be 20 minutes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: Is there anybody else from Sinn Féin who wishes to speak? The party has a few minutes left.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: That is fine. On the photograph, I was a Minister of State and I was at a North-South meeting in my constituency of the Loughs Agency. It was during the Carlingford festival. There was a Democratic Unionist Party, DUP, Minister there who was great. Everything went grand but unfortunately - to spare him the blushes I will not name him - he would not stand in for a photograph with a plate...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: I suppose we should have cleared that with him beforehand.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: That was it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: What else are they worried about. I agree.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: The only thing about those meeting - former Minister, Deputy Brendan Smith, would have been in the same position - is that the pre-meeting official briefing was very clear. Everything was laid out, you went into the meeting and it was done. As Mr. O'Connor says, everything was clear before going in. There was the consent of all parties.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: That was definitely there.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Fergus O'Dowd: Who has not spoken? There is no Labour Party spokesperson - I do not mean that rudely - online. As we have nobody else online, we will go back to the Carlingford area. I call Senator McGreehan.