Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

I thank Senator Cassidy for accommodating the extension of time. He gave a commitment to me earlier that he would ensure I had a chance to speak as during the last debate we were pressed for time. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach. Cuirim leis an méid atá ráite ag na Seanadóiri eile ó thaobh an buíochas agus an moladh atá tuillte ag an Aire féin, an Taoiseach agus an fhoireann a bhí acu i gCaisleán na Croimghlinne agus iad ansin ar feadh beagnach dhá seachtain ag déileáil le na cainteanna seo. Glacaim leis an moladh atá curtha chun tosaigh anseo ag Páirtí Fhianna Fáil.

I commend the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Michéal Martin, and the Taoiseach for their involvement in the recent talks at Hillsborough Castle. I accept the motion and the amendment tabled by Senator O'Toole and his colleagues which makes the motion much stronger. Perhaps in the future we should look again at its wording.

As I listened to the Minister's contribution and those of Senators I noted that each of them paid tribute to all involved. This is very important in the aftermath of an historic agreement reached between Sinn Féin and the DUP. It is the first time the DUP has signed up in full to an agreement. We are all aware it did not go into the talks on the Good Friday Agreement and objected to it. During the talks on the St Andrews Agreement it cherrypicked parts of it and signed up to them but it did not agree with others. This is the first time we have an agreement which has been signed up to and agreed by the DUP and Sinn Féin, of which the two Governments are guarantors, with the support of other political parties. It is important, therefore, that the motion commends all those involved who got us to this stage and are taking politics on the island of Ireland to a new and better level, one that recognises the diversity of political views and respects the different traditions and political positions.

I had the privilege of being involved in the talks as part of the team at Hillsborough where I met the Minister on occasion. I also had the opportunity to be involved in the team in the talks on the St. Andrews Agreement more than three years ago. During the talks I was very conscious of a negative attitude in many sections of the media and among some political commentators who expressed their frustration at the length of time it was taking to reach agreement and the fact that the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister were tied up in discussions for three days, as if the issues being discussed were minor parochial issues that should have been dealt within a matter of minutes. The reality is that the agreement reached at Hillsborough on 5 February is substantial. It ends British involvement in a great number of policing and justice issues on the island of Ireland, as well as in the issue of parading. It is an agreement between the DUP and Sinn Féin and the other parties on outstanding issues arising from the Good Friday Agreement.

Some parties representing obstructionist Unionism had refused to honour other commitments entered into in previous agreements, in particular to have an Acht na Gaeilge. The Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, will have a particular interest in the fact that the parties have agreed, in section 5 of the agreement, to look at outstanding issues. Gerry Adams announced at the weekend that the Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure, Nelson McCausland, was to bring an Irish language strategy to the Executive before the end of the month. Also concerning the Irish language, our negotiating team secured an extra £20 million from the British Government to support Irish language initiatives within the Six Counties. In addition, much work was done on behalf of the two Governments to ensure the future availability of RTE and TG4 as we changed over to digital broadcasting.

The issues were fundamental and very important. They have divided society for a long time. The issue of parading was very sensitive. Some thought they would be able to use it as a precondition in the talks. It was not and what was demanded by rejectionist Unionism was not achieved. I listened to those Members who said the solution lay in the use of the words "our roads" but that was not the solution. It is a matter of respect. The solution is that if a group wants to march down a street in a predominantly Nationalist community, it needs to have the consent of the residents of that community. In over 90% of the marches organised by the Loyal Orders, this is not an issue because there has been local agreement and respect. However, in a number of areas, including the Garvaghy Road and Ormeau Road, that has not been achievable until now. Marches have not gone down the Garvaghy Road for over a decade and will not do so until the issue of respect is dealt with. That is the new agreed formula, on which a working group set up during the past week and a half will report in the next ten days. It is looking for a framework to gain cross-party support and investigating how we can resolve the outstanding contentious issues. There are parades which are contentious and allow tensions to boil over during the summer, when the rights of paraders are placed above those of residents. The framework is to ensure rights will be balanced. It is not about taking away rights from anybody but about ensuring all sections of society will have rights.

I want to mention, as many others have, dissident groups and the threat they pose to the peace process. We in Sinn Féin are very conscious of this threat and, as a party, have taken risks for many years. We have shown true leadership in trying to find agreement and push forward on terms which we believe are achievable through the infrastructure of the St. Andrews and Good Friday Agreements and now the Hillsborough agreement towards the eventual outcome - Irish unity. Because of the leadership we have provided we have been subject to death threats. Again this week a number of my party colleagues have been subject to such threats. Some have suffered attempts to burn down their houses, while in the past some of my colleagues lost their lives when such threats were carried out. Gerry Kelly put it clearly and succinctly last night when he spoke about dissident groups. When people have no strategy, aims or objectives and when what they are doing does not move them one single step closer to their ultimate objective, all they are are gunmen. They should stand down because they are doing a disservice to the Republican cause and people who have identified themselves as Republicans for generations.

Although we may talk about the Hillsborough agreement and the opportunities provided within it, parties in the South should not be afraid of the issue of Irish unity. I sat in the throne room when Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson announced the agreement to the world. Standing beside Peter Robinson, Martin McGuinness described himself as an Irish republican committed to Irish unity. Like Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson knows exactly who he is negotiating with and the terms of the deal his party has reached. They know our objective is to achieve Irish unity. That is what we will continue to try to achieve. However, that does not scare them because we can find common ground on which we can work together to better the lives of the people we represent.

I challenge parties in the South to work towards Irish unity. The first step might be a Green Paper on the issue. When it was debated in the Dáil a number of years ago, the argument made was that we could not rock the boat, that we needed to be sensitive and careful not to upset Unionists. Unionists understand Fianna Fáil, as it states in every election programme or on every poster, is a republican party committed to the achievement of Irish unity, as are Fine Gael, Sinn Féin and the Labour Party. What we need to do is change this type of republicanism with a strap-line on a poster to active republicanism. There are a number of steps we can take in order to do this. We could consider publishing a Green Paper for discussion and in preparation for Irish unity. We could extend Oireachtas representation by extending the voting system for Seanad elections or the Presidential election to people living in the North. Many have worked and continue to work to expand on the work the Government is doing through the North-South Ministerial Council and on interventions to offer financial support to areas within the Six Counties.

I thank the Cathaoirleach for his indulgence.