Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Civil Engagement group, I thank the Scottish First Minister for her visit to the House and for her inspiring speech. There is a long and interwoven history between Scotland and Ireland - in the migrations of our people, in the constant crossing of our seas and in the overlapping of our myths, stories, music and language. The vibrant exchange of ideas has always been part of this, from the journeys of Colmcille, through to the great debates of the Enlightenment when Scottish and Irish thinkers sent new ideas across Europe. Of course, at another revolutionary time, 100 years ago, Scottish migrants, James Connolly and Margaret Skinnedar brought their ideas and commitment to Ireland's cause, from their founding roles within the trade union movement to the part they both played in our Rising, which we commemorate this year. Certainly, Ireland must thank Scotland for the inspiration each new generation draws from Connolly's ideas, his internationalism and his ambition for humanity.

To quote from one of the great Scottish contemporary writers, Alasdair Gray, "A good life means fighting to be human under growing difficulties." Something similar might be said of the good society, for there is such a thing as society. Scotland has always shown, and continues to show, its willingness to fight for progressive social policies even in the face of the greatest challenges.

The Scottish First Minister demonstrated this in the clarity and leadership of her statement on the morning after the Brexit referendum, when she spoke to migrants living in Scotland to assure them of their welcome and the value placed on their contribution. That message of inclusion is ever more important at a time of increasingly divisive language of hate and racism across the world.

Scotland has also inspired through a deep and innovative public service commitment. Its investment in social housing, its access to education at all levels and its determination to tackle alcohol-related harm are deeply resonant in this Chamber. Measures such as those put forward by the Scottish Dementia Working Group, have been of keen interest to my colleague, Senator Kelleher, and others across the Oireachtas, who plan to visit Scotland to learn about those policies. I also note the practical solidarity which Scotland has offered to women from Northern Ireland in supporting their access to reproductive health services.

Underpinning all of this is Scotland's fundamental recognition that equality is the foundation on which social and economic progress must be grounded. As might be expected from a nation of great engineers, the Scottish have sought to put in place real structures and mechanisms to deliver that equality, including the statutory public duty, gender and equality budgeting, and annual equality statement.This is an area we in Ireland are now starting to explore and one I hope we will embrace still further. I would greatly appreciate it if the First Minister would comment on the importance of Scotland's annual equality statement and the message it sends. I ask this because, as the First Minister has observed, disaffection with the political system is felt in too many communities and there is, right across Europe, a need to rebuild connections between public and parliaments and between democracy and decision-making. I commend the young and vibrant Scottish Parliament at Holyrood which has stepped up with very active campaigns of engagement and enfranchisement. I know the First Minister is determined to keep faith with that enfranchisement by ensuring that the votes which so many Scottish citizens cast against Brexit are recognised and respected in any new process or roadmap which emerges.

There is a friendship and a solidarity which runs deep between our countries from the letter of Bruce who urged our peoples, free in ancient times, to come together more eagerly and joyfully in friendship. Alongside that friendship and solidarity is a creativity and ingenuity which Ireland and Scotland share. This can be a powerful force in business, science and the arts. There are opportunities there which I hope we will seize together, but we must also employ these and other skills together to face up to the great global challenges of our times, which the First Minister correctly described as unprecedented. These include the ticking clock of climate change, with its immense moral, social and environmental implications, and the work of peace. The First Minister began her own political career in the anti-nuclear movement and appreciates the fragility and importance of peace right across the world, including the importance of the Good Friday Agreement, an importance that must be underscored and understood by everyone at European level. At this crucial juncture for our nations and, indeed, Europe as a whole, it is important that Ireland and Scotland support each other's voices. We must make not only our concerns but our ideas heard on the importance of a social Europe grounded in peace, participation and inclusion by, as the First Minister put it so eloquently, equals in a partnership of many.

I thank the First Minister for the true leadership she has personally shown in stepping up to the important debates of our time on the national and international stages. I look forward to ever-deepening, more complex and constructive co-operation in the important years ahead.