Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will pick up where Senator Richmond concluded. As somebody from Buncrana, my peninsula of Inishowen is intrinsically linked to Derry city. It is our city, and the difference between the way it was during my childhood and what it is today is absolutely incredible. Hearing Brexiteers in England, some of them senior politicians, talking about the Good Friday Agreement being dismantled is absolutely shocking in its ignorance of the reality of our lives.

On a positive note, what Brexit has done is unite political opinion on this island around the importance of the Good Friday Agreement. There is another point. I do not think I fully appreciated this either, and Senator Richmond touched on it. What underpinned the peace process was the fact that both jurisdictions and both of these islands were part of the European Union. That meant there was free movement of goods, capital, people and services on the island. That underpins the new sense of normality. It underpins the new peace process, and has underpinned it for all of the years since. Indeed what we have sought to do in Donegal, Derry and Tyrone is to further break down the Border by co-operating in health services and education. We try to see the north-west of Ireland without a border, but with access to 500 million people who need services. That is the positive progress that we have made. We cannot even contemplate that being undermined by the political desires of some in England, and a much smaller number in Northern Ireland, in the form of the DUP.

To comment on some of the issues that are blocking progress in re-establishing the institutions, I was part of a parliamentary delegation that went to Wales. I was the Chair of the Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions. We reviewed the Welsh Language Commissioner and compared their services to our own Coimisinéir Teanga. We were mightily impressed with their Commissioner and the resources they had to promote the Welsh language. We then went to the National Assembly for Wales, where one hears both Welsh and English being spoken not only in their Assembly chamber but in their committees. One has the ability as a visitor to listen to both languages. That was a beautiful thing, and right and proper and representative of all the people of Wales.

Similarly when one goes to the Scottish Parliament, one sees the equality of esteem for the languages. Is it too much to ask that we can be mature enough on this island to respect both the English language and the Irish language equally? Unionists in the North particularly, who I fully accept see themselves as British and intrinsically linked to the United Kingdom, must surely look at the practice in Wales and Scotland and understand that they must do the same in Northern Ireland. It has to happen.

Obviously the fact that the ten DUP MPs hold the balance of power in Britain has it difficult for the British Government to focus its mind on what has to be done. I ask the Minister to continue his good work and continue to defend the interests of the Irish people across this island, whether they are nationalists, unionists or whatever, as he has done. I ask him to continue on the path he is on. As long as he does that, he will have the support of the people in this House.