Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In that context, we have had disagreements about welfare cuts, to which Sinn Féin will not sign up. It knows full well that if it were to do so, it would be attacked politically in this part of the country for signing up to something in the North it would not sign up to in the South.While I have a great deal of sympathy for Sinn Féin in that regard, the SDLP which is sometimes forgotten whenever we talk about the Northern parties also has a mandate from the electorate. It has consistently and persistently supported a non-violent way forward for the North and the South. The party and its voters are to be given credit for adopting this position. Its voters have alternatives, but they have stuck rigidly to the view that the way forward is through constitutional politics. In the light of the position Sinn Féin has taken on the North, I have a great deal of sympathy for the party. Anybody watching what happens and is happening in the United Kingdom will see that the Tory Government, a very right-wing government, wants to cut public expenditure on social welfare by €12 billion, which is more than half of the total social welfare budget in this country. The most recent BBC report I saw indicated the Tory Government was to reduce tax credits for those in low paid employment, which will push them over the edge and into the poverty trap again. I understand where Sinn Féin is coming from politically. However, what is the alternative? The party is relying on the bloc grant from Westminster and it appears the Tory Government is not for turning in that regard. Not only is Northern Ireland being affected by its social welfare policies; all of the other constituent parts of the United Kingdom are being affected also. I hope what is happening will not ultimately be a deal breaker and that there will be some light at the end of the tunnel in that regard.

The DUP obviously wants to maintain the institutions. I know from talking to DUP members that they do not want the administration to collapse either. The mere fact that it ensured Arlene Foster remained as acting First Minister sent a very strong message that it to wanted to have some resolution of the issue. I hope the two Governments will be a little more proactive in this regard. After all, the Government of the Republic, with that of the United Kingdom, is a guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement. This is sometimes forgotten. Perhaps it is not something Unionists want to hear about Southern Irish involvement, but the treaty is an international one that was voted on freely in a democratic fashion by people on all sides on the island. It was the first time it had happened since 1918. Therefore, the DUP cannot run away from its responsibilities in this regard. The Irish Government should be playing a more proactive part and it is about time heads were banged together.

I agree fully with what was said about the so-called peace walls. It is an absolute disgrace that in this day and age, at a time when we are talking about peace and moving forward, there are walls dividing communities in Belfast and that one, in particular, is a tourist attraction. I am glad to note that there have been some moves in recent weeks towards dismantling some of these peace walls. There is no way society in the North, or communities there that are divided physically, apart from psychologically or historically, can have any hope for the future until these walls disappear.