Sean Barrett (Independent)

I welcome the imminent constitutional convention. It is gratifying to see the extent of the restoration of democracy at Stormont. During a recent visit there, I listened to the Minister for Education, Mr. John O'Dowd, answering questions in the Chamber. It recalled for me the hope expressed by George Mitchell that he would one day bring his son to the Visitors Gallery in Stormont and hear parliamentarians discussing not Northern Ireland's constitutional position, but education and health issues. How well that Parliament is working is a credit to the First Minister and Deputy First Minister. It has opened up possibilities of further developments, as in the constitutional convention.

The constituency I represent, the University of Dublin, includes a substantial number of Northern Ireland voters who identify themselves as citizens of the United Kingdom but who nevertheless are happy to vote in the Seanad election because of the historical connection between this House and Trinity College. The Irish rugby team is another institution which is able to command dual loyalty from people who are Unionist in their day-to-day lives but staunch Ireland supporters at the weekend. We must develop more institutions where that dual loyalty is possible and encouraged. We all admire the Irish Rugby Football Union for the way in which it has managed to achieve this through all the difficulties we have had in this country. I would like to see Trinity College, as an institution which commands strong loyalty from both communities on this island, to do more in this regard. We have let some of that slip in recent times.

Dublin Castle is another valuable institution in the loyalties of the Unionist community. For the leaders of the Unionist community who attended the recent reception for the Queen in that building, it was a reminder of a different type of Ireland which they may perhaps have realised was available under the fifth Home Rule Bill but which they decided not to accept. There are many people of the Unionist tradition who are as strongly of the view as their republican counterparts that the partition of this island was a disaster for their respective communities. The constitutional convention should seek a substantial membership from within the Unionist community and from the Alliance Party. These are the people with whom we must engage if we are to redefine relationships between both of the traditions on this island.

It is a contradiction we must live with that there are people who are simultaneously proud to be Irish and have a loyalty to the United Kingdom. We must devise political institutions which reflect that. The motion put forward by Senators Reilly, Cullinane and Ó Clochartaigh would be improved by proposing that eligibility to vote in presidential elections be extended not only to Irish citizens in Northern Ireland but also to members of the Unionist community who might like to have a say in who is the next President of Ireland. The reference to "Irish citizens"might present a difficulty, although many Unionists I have encountered seem willing to overcome concerns in this regard when it comes to voting in the University of Dublin Seanad constituency. However, there are some who would be somewhat reluctant to sign up to documents which would be based in this State. Nevertheless, the success of Northern Ireland's restored Parliament is most encouraging as we look to devise new forms of governance. It may be that as we evolve such forms of governance for the entire island, representation in the Seanad for those who might not yet be attracted to the Dáil will become a possibility. The great Gordon Wilson comes to mind in this regard.

I commend the motion before the House. It is up to all Members, and to our colleagues in Stormont, to work out new constitutional arrangements for the island of Ireland and to build on the progress of recent years. It is a tragedy that after 1922, it was not until the 1960s that people like Whitaker and Lemass began to question why the two parts of Ireland did not talk to each other. This was in contrast with how quickly the European Union began to mend fences in Europe after the Second World War. We ignored each other for too long. Bringing people together, as this motion proposes and as the Minister intends, is the way forward. The momentum has to be maintained and should be on the agenda, as the motion suggests, for the forthcoming constitutional convention.