Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is very disappointing and dispiriting to learn of a yet another collapse in the talks in Northern Ireland on the formation of an Executive on foot of the Good Friday Agreement. Unless wiser heads prevail, we are looking at a third election in the North in the space of a year or so or, even worse, the reimposition of direct rule from Britain. This is at a time when the North faces major questions, not least of a budgetary nature and specifically in the context of the overarching worry of Brexit now and into the future.

The people of this island endorsed the Good Friday Agreement and in doing so created a number of expectations on an awful lot of people. In the main, those expectations rest on the shoulders of the political parties in the North. When we were negotiating peace, in which, thankfully, we succeeded, the politicians in the North received fantastic support and goodwill from various Taoisigh, Prime Ministers and US Presidents. Is it expecting too much of them now to step into the breach themselves and do what politicians are meant to do, namely, work things out? I ask the Leader to keep the House briefed on developments in the North and, if he can, have the Taoiseach to attend to brief Members. We are all politicians and I will not point the finger of blame at any particular party. When it comes to it, however, the national interest, in this case in the formation of a Government in the North, is far more important than the preoccupations or vanities of any particular party.