Joe O'Toole (Independent)

Yes. I move amendment No. 1:

After "Northern Ireland." to add the following:

"Recognises the efforts of the Taoiseach to advance the establishment of the civic forum and determines that there be a report to the Seanad at least once each session on developments in the North South Ministerial Council."

The amendment proposes a minor addendum which I have discussed with the Minister, to the effect that there should be a report to the Seanad "at least once each session", rather than "at least once every two months". The Minister has said he is happy to accept the change, which means there will be a report three or four times a year. I understand that is acceptable.

I chair the ad hoc parliamentary group of Co-operation Ireland which has made a number of trips, North and South. We have been in contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs and seen formally at first hand the workings of the Middletown autism centre. In fact, we made strong representations to the Minister for Education and Science on the matter and I am glad to note the matter has been resolved. We also met Waterways Ireland and the Commissioners of Irish Lights to discuss other issues. That group should have a right of audience at the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, if this can be arranged. As it should be easy enough to have some people there informally, I ask the Minister to revert to me on the matter.

I was here in 1987 when a distraught John Hume was in the Members' bar. I did not know him that well at the time - I knew him through my involvement with the INTO and was friendly with his family. None of the parties was talking to him in 1987 or 1988 because, as he explained to me, he was talking to Gerry Adams. It is important to recognise this and remember that people did take chances and risks to move matters along. They did move from that point, although there was a lot of opposition. At the time significant media organs in the South challenged and took apart both of them for talking to each other. It is worth recognising, however, that those talks brought us to this point.

I am not making a party political point, but I have a simple rule which I have learned from my years in politics. If the people elect candidates to this House or the Dáil, that is it. I am delighted that Senator Doherty of Sinn Féin is present. I do not agree with his politics much of the time, but Sinn Féin voices both here and in the Dáil are important. There should be no middle line in terms of their involvement; although we can argue and disagree on points of policy, their commitment to the parliamentary system must be recognised.

I am delighted that the Minister can accept the amendment. It saddens me, however, that we do not receive reports on the North-South Ministerial Council. Before tabling the amendment yesterday, I checked what was going on this month at the Council. I would like to mention the issues I would like the House to discuss from now on. The two Finance Ministers, Deputy Brian Lenihan and Mr. Sammy Wilson, met today to discuss the implications of NAMA for the North. They also discussed related banking sector issues, matters affecting both the North and South, including the development of a special EU programme to be overseen by the two Ministers. That is the first anybody has heard of the matter either here or in the other House. On 5 March the two Enviroment Ministers, Deputy John Gormley and Mr. Edwin Poots, will meet to discuss the issue of illegal waste dumping in the North by Southern operators, as well as flooding and climate change. Also in the first week in March the two Transport Ministers, Deputy Noel Dempsey and Mr. Conor Murphy, will discuss the issue of road safety. There have been many road accidents in the Border counties, both north and south of the Border. They will also discuss the drink driving limits in both jurisdictions. All of this is hugely important.

One thing that kills debates in this House is that one has various spokespersons, but the North-South Ministerial Council cracks that nut. The Minister may come and explain what has been going on for the last month. In the past fortnight I have dealt with financial, environmental and transport issues. One should be able to get a lively debate going to ensure the people are fully informed. The Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs should be enthusiastic about this because it is a really important issue. The parliamentary group of Co-operation Ireland has met the North-South Ministerial Council secretariat on a number of occasions and I am flabbergasted at the amount of work being done. It is a pity, therefore, that we do not receive reports on the Council. Last month I suggested we should celebrate the first ten years of its operation, but we did not do so.

I am well aware of initiatives being taken by the Government, including by the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, on the advancement of the Civic Forum, a crucial link between political structures and the public and which gives a voice to ordinary people. I understand another meeting is planned to be held at Farmleigh House. It should be met with bells and whistles to let the people see what can be done because it is a win-win for everybody. The most important matter is how can the all-island parliamentary forum be advanced. This is a huge barrier to cross; therefore, we must take baby steps, but let us do so. It is proposed to meet on a conference or convention basis and the more we hear about this the better. We should move forward and make things happen.

One of the downsides of the peace process is that it has taken our eye off the ball as regards what is happening in communities. There is a lot of violence in communities in the North; meanwhile the two governments have pulled back from investing in local peace initiatives. They should reconsider because it is a major issue. Building bridges deep into the community is important, but it is not happening at parliamentary or community level. It is happening at the top level in the full glow of the cameras, but we need to provide support for communities in the Short Strand or at other flash-points. In that way people could work and deal with each other and make decisions together, which is very important. I know I am running out of time and I have only touched on a major topic. It bothers me when people feel that we are there. We are not. We have made major advances but there are significant problems.

I want to say one thing about the dissident republicans. It appals me when people who kill other people for a political objective are described as republicans. It is a complete undermining of the Tone republicanism which we grew up to believe in. I do not know what to call it. It is some kind of out of control nationalism or chauvinism. It is not republicanism. Words are important in this situation because republican was always intended to be where Catholic, Protestant, dissenter and all others could share their own space and engage positively with each other. That is what we hope to achieve.

I believe the Minister has done some service in that direction, as also have all the parties in the North. I was very impressed by the speech at a critical time made by the Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, MP, MLA, in which he outlined what he saw as his role in the North. It softened things and I would not take from the major input made by the SDLP over all those years also.