Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Senator Gavan and acknowledge the work of the late Martin McGuinness. One year past his death, we are in a different space. It is a hundred years since the first MP was elected to the House of Commons in my home town of Boyle, in the election of the snows in 1917. He was George Noble Plunkett, who was elected as an Independent and joined Sinn Féin. He was the first abstentionist from Westminster.

I recently spent a week in the United Kingdom. I was in the two hams, namely, Cheltenham and Twickenham, but I was in Westminster many times too. There is a sense of resignation that we need a nationalist voice in Westminster. I have talked to people on the Exiting the European Union Committee, which is chaired by Hilary Benn. We are missing that republican voice. Most of the MPs elected in the North of Ireland effectively backed Brexit. We are missing that SDLP voice. That is nothing against Sinn Féin.I understand that people are concerned that parliamentary work would compromise republicanism. However, we are in a unique situation now and perhaps it is time for Sinn Féin - I acknowledge to Senator Gavan that it is an issue for that party - to reconsider in the context of fighting for nationalism. I have met Sinn Féin MPs who are doing great work in Westminster but that voice is not on these very important committees. Instead, we are relying on mainly Labour Party MPs to fight for the island of Ireland. They have their own constituencies and they are not going to say it in the UK. I believe the Border in Ireland will be the Achilles heel for Brexit. The issue of the Border will do the United Kingdom a huge favour. Sinn Féin has benefitted politically from its participation in the parliaments in Dublin and Belfast. I do not like to tell other parties what to do and I am not doing that. However, it has been highlighted by people who represent the Irish caucus and diaspora that they need nationalist representation of MPs on important committees such as the Exiting the European Union Committee. In the coming months there could well be a vote in Parliament on Brexit and that could be an opportune time for Sinn Féin to exercise its rights on behalf of nationalism on the island of Ireland.