Alex White (Labour)

I welcome this opportunity for a discussion on developments in Northern Ireland and welcome the Minister. Much of his speech could not be disagreed with. It was a reasonable summary of what has happened to date, the position on the institutions, policing and justice, and other areas of controversy that are slowly but surely winding their way towards resolution. I agree with the Minister's comments welcoming the progress on policing and justice within the last couple of weeks. The so-called Gordon Brown package seems to represent considerable progress. I welcome the fact that the position of the Irish Government is as strong and robust as ever in demanding an inquiry into the death of Pat Finucane. I am glad to see the Minister is maintaining the pressure in so far as it can have any effect and can bring about the outcome we all want to see in that regard.

Like other speakers, I would like to see Members of both Houses engaging on a more practical, everyday level with our counterparts in the North on the issues that preoccupy people both here and in the northern part of the country. This debate is important, but I hope a time will come reasonably soon in which we can move on from the set-piece speeches we make, although I am not denigrating those in any sense, and engage on a practical level with the political and economic questions facing people both North and South. We also need to engage with the possibilities and challenges involved in genuinely working together towards an all-Ireland economy and similar aspirations.

Senator Boyle and others mentioned the need for closer parliamentary co-operation. The only opportunity I have had to travel since I was elected to this position has been to the North. I was delighted to be part of a delegation to Stormont, along with the Leader and the other members of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, to meet members of the corresponding committee of the Assembly. It was an extremely useful day. We in the Labour Party also have our political affinities and connections in the North. We and the SDLP are both members of the Party of European Socialists and we engage with it in this regard. I am aware that members of Fianna Fáil also have aspirations with regard to the SDLP. We are all engaging with politicians in the North, but we need much more of this.

Senator Quinn is right. There still remains an extraordinary psychological barrier for many people, including those who should know better, when it comes to Northern Ireland. Even on a basic, practical level, people need to travel more to the North. I know people are already travelling to the North for reasons that may upset some from an economic point of view, but we need to know the North better by being in it more. We need to engage on a political, cultural and linguistic level. We need to go there and invite people from the North to this part of the island far more frequently than we do.