Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim mo bhuíochas leis an Aire as a bheith linn. Tá sé thar a bheith tábhachtach agus dearfach go bhfuil sé anseo linn inniu chun cúrsaí ó Thuaidh a phlé. Sílim gur cheart dúinn smaoineamh air sin agus é a dhéanamh níos minice.I thank the Minister for being here today to comment on the current political developments in the North. It is a welcome move and it is something that the Minister should consider doing more of in this House, given the current climate and the acute attention that is being paid by both Houses, and indeed by broader society across Ireland. We are all hoping for a swift, positive and resolute outcome to the current difficulties.

The Minister outlined his engagement with the British Secretary of State, James Brokenshire, MP. In his response to the debate will the Minister refer to the nature of this engagement? Was the Secretary of State aware that the institutions were in danger of hitting the rocks? Did the Minister articulate the concerns of the broader Nationalist, republican and other communities in the North who have reached the end of their tether when it comes to the disrespect being shown by the DUP, not just to elements and minorities within our society in the North, but also to the core components, as was eloquently outlined, of the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements?

We need to choose our language very carefully because we have all been around these corners before and we all know the sensitivities involved in various crises when they manifest themselves. The Minister made reference to both Governments pursuing all appropriate avenues to encourage the executive parties to find a way beyond their difficulties but that an agreement could not be found. That almost implies that there was a broad range of problems to be addressed. It is therefore important to set all of this within its context.

Regarding the alleged financial corruption around the renewable heating incentive, the RHI, details of that scandal are emerging on a daily basis with more allegations coming to light since it first found its way into the media. A climate of Tory austerity is being driven from London, where the Executive has had a cut of £4 billion from its block grant. There is now the potential for £500 million being lost to the public purse. This money could have been better spent in our schools, our hospitals, our infrastructure, or indeed preparing for the negative aspects of Brexit, as have been outlined by other speakers. I do not know of another Government that would allow for that to happen and not take what I consider to be the honourable and noble steps that Martin McGuinness took in order to bring that to a conclusion. The Minister will know that Martin McGuinness, privately initially and publically subsequently, offered the DUP the opportunity for Arlene Foster to step aside so an investigation could be carried out into the RHI scandal. That offer was not taken up, and now we are where we are.

It also sits very firmly in the context of a failure to deliver an Irish language Act, with regular disrespect and disregard to the Irish speaking population and those who have a grá for the Irish language, or indeed simply anyone who has an Irish sense of identity or sees their place within the Irish nation. This is a regular occurrence, and can be seen through the media in continuous base bigotry, hostility and sectarianism to anyone who differs from a DUP stereotype.

There is also the context in which the Minister's counterpart in the British Administration, Secretary of State James Brokenshire, MP, claims jurisdiction over the entirety of Lough Foyle. There is a failure to implement a bill of rights, which has been blocked by the DUP. Marriage equality has been blocked by the DUP through the misuse of the petition of concern mechanism in the institutions, which as the Minister knows was negotiated as a protection. There is a horrible irony that a mechanism that was put in place to guarantee protection and defence for minorities is actually being regularly and flagrantly abused and misused by the DUP to hinder progress, rights, equality and respect for all of our communities. Sometimes I think we should call a spade a spade. If there is an identifiable problem with something, whether a political institution or something else, we need to call a spade a spade and say, "That is the problem, that is what is holding us back". I will stand in this Chamber or anywhere else and defend the record of integrity and leadership shown by Martin McGuinness over ten years. Every one of us in political life have it easy compared to what Martin McGuinness was asked to do over the last ten years, as someone with a progressive mind and a progressive ideology in politics who wants to see this country, and indeed our community, move forward. Let us shine a light on where this problem lies.

The Minister said that he is encouraging the speedy resumption of the institutions. That is hopeful, positive and the correct approach but I would ask if the Minister would be of the same view, given everything that has been outlined, including the scandal around RHI, the alleged financial corruption, and the overt and clear corruption of the principles of the Good Friday Agreement, which are indisputable and undeniable. The Good Friday Agreement and its protections, its guarantees, its institutions and its structures have been warped and are in danger of further warping as a result of DUP manipulation and opposition to it. We would all love to see a speedy restoration of the institutions.This election will give people the opportunity to decide what kind of institutions they want. Do they want progressive, thoughtful focus on the institutions or do they want to return to corruption, sectarianism, the misuse of the petition of concern, and the type of politics that says, "We do not trust Muslims to go to the shop for us"? Do we want to return to the type of politics where we say, "Curry my yogurt" and abuse the Irish language? Or where we tell our LGBT citizens that they do not have the same rights and entitlements to marry and to express their love in the same way as everyone else? Or do we want something different?

We could ask for a speedy resolution and pat ourselves on the back if we get it. However, I think this Government should join with the rest of the Nationalist and republican constituency in the North, and also many from within the Unionist constituency who are saying that there can be no return to the status quoand no return to what prevailed in the past. There must be a fundamental change. We in Sinn Féin have laid out our stall under our new leader, Michelle O'Neill, and I thank members for their wishes to both Michelle O'Neill and indeed Martin McGuinness. The institutions failed despite the best efforts of those of us who tried to sustain them, tried to make them work, who did their best and who put in a huge amount of valiant effort, not least embodied by Martin McGuinness in recent years. The Irish and British Governments need to step up to the mark and send a very clear message that any resumption of the institutions has to be to the word, letter and spirit of the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements. We will accept no less than that and the Irish Government should be of the same view. As the Minister knows, the people, both North and South, decided democratically and with an overwhelming mandate that they are the structures they want to see. Not conditional, not half baked, not half cocked, but the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements, which were hard fought for and hard won, in their entirety.