John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

I ask the Leader for a debate on the situation in the North, particularly on the issue of devolution. The hardliners in the DUP are holding up an agreement. The reality is that if they had prevailed on a previous occasion, there would have been no devolution. That devolution resulted in a fresh start being made by the communities in the North and also by Ireland and the United Kingdom. Even though it is called powersharing, we are all aware that in reality it is a division of power. However, it is infinitely better than the situation that prevailed beforehand. On this occasion too we can only hope the people who are right-minded and right-thinking will refuse to listen to the hardliners who will bring them back to a situation they had not envisaged, where, as outlined by the British Government, we in the Oireachtas will have a greater say in what happens in the North of Ireland if devolution does not continue in its current form.