Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the Minister. This is my first opportunity to congratulate her on her new role. She did good work in her previous portfolio and I welcome her appointment to her new one.
Like Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin will oppose the legislation, as it did in the other House. When the merger of these bodies was originally proposed, Deputy Eamon Gilmore, now Tánaiste, described it as an attempt to turn back the clock on the equality agenda. The legislation will undermine the human rights provisions of the Good Friday Agreement and may lead to a loss of focus and expertise. For that reason, we oppose the Bill.
The Bill dissolves some of the bedrock of the Good Friday Agreement, of which both Governments are co-equal guarantors and which was endorsed by the vast majority of people across the island. The Bill undermines the Agreement as a whole by sending the message to any party to it that there is the possibility to hollow it out one component at a time and that there is flexibility around its foundations. That is not acceptable. It could be seen as a betrayal of the vote of the people and undermining the political, democratic peace process. Sinn Féin wonders why the Government would seek to undermine or in any form unravel the very fabric of peace on the island or to give any signal that the Agreement is open for dismemberment or àla carteimplementation. In that regard, I ask the Minister to say what consultation was engaged in on the implications for the Agreement.
The British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly has acknowledged that the potential of the Good Friday Agreement has not been fully realised. Some elements have not been implemented. With so much left to do under the Agreement, why would we take a step that might be seen as undermining it? It may cause the Government to lose the moral authority to challenge those who want to unpick the Agreement in the context of other aspects of society and what is happening in the peace process. We cannot afford to let that happen. Monumental work has taken place to get us to where we are today. As a co-guarantor of the Agreement, the Government has a duty to take it seriously. Rather than to send this signal with the Bill, it should be seen to promote and progress the Agreement. We should not be removing parts of it that need to be changed.
While we acknowledge that savings could be made by implementing the Bill, such savings could be realised elsewhere.

We must question whether any savings could be lost down the line should peace on the island be jeopardised in any way from any potential ramifications. The proposal is counterproductive. Like my colleagues in the Dáil, I am calling on the Government not to proceed with it.

Since 2011, my party has called on the Government to ensure that the bodies continue to benefit from the equivalency of human rights provisions set out in the Good Friday Agreement. As was mentioned by other Senators here this afternoon, under the UN Paris Principles, the Irish and Northern Ireland human rights commissions hold an "A" status rating, meaning that they must be appropriately mandated and financially secure so they are able to conduct their work effectively. It is imperative that the human rights and equality body is resourced and mandated adequately in order to carry out the work.

My colleague, Deputy Jonathan O'Brien, introduced a Bill in the Dáil to strengthen the Irish Human Rights Commission following the Government's proposal of a merger with the Equality Authority. This Bill would have the effect of increasing the commission's remit and would have given it the protection it deserves as a crucial element of the human rights provisions of the Good Friday Agreement. My party and I stand by the Human Rights Commission (Amendment) Bill 2011.

If the Government is to live up to the commitments under the Good Friday Agreement, which is an internationally recognised agreement, we need to make sure that these institutions are protected. It is for those reasons that we are opposing this legislation.