Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for being with us this afternoon to discuss this important subject. I want to begin by paying tribute to my colleague, Mr. Martin McGuinness. I wish him and his wife, Bernie, well and hope he enjoys a speedy recovery. I want to thank him for the wonderful work he has done for peace on this island. I also want to thank Senators for their acknowledgement of his work. I hope that he will be able to work in another capacity in the future. I know he will spend all of this days working for peace in this country, as many of us do. I completely agree with his final act as deputy First Minister in terms of him stepping down. Let us be clear about it - we did not want an election in the North. I know there are some in the Dáil who would have advocated the collapse of the institutions, even as late as a number of months ago. That was never what we wanted. We understand the importance of the institutions and have participated fully in them but we were left with absolutely no choice.

A Fianna Fáil Senator asked what Sinn Féin did about the scheme. As soon as we became aware of the scandal of the renewable heat initiative, RHI, the Sinn Féin Minister for Finance, Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, suggested that the First Minister should step aside because of her key role in the scheme.We also advocated for a full public inquiry with compellability into the issue. That was our response. I could never be part of a party which did not stand up against corruption and cronyism, least of all because I have seen what it has done in this State when it has not been addressed. As I have said before, my 15-year-old son will be 54 when he has finished paying for the cronyism and corruption that was allowed to happen and facilitated under a Fianna Fáil Government in this State. We were not prepared to let that happen. I commend Martin McGuinness.