Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as a bheith linn ar maidin. Tá a fhios agam gur tréimhse thar a bheith gnóthach é don Tánaiste agus don Rialtas so táim buíoch go bhfuil seal againn chun cás Emma DeSouza a phlé. I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to be here. I understand that it is an unprecedented period for the Tánaiste and his Department, so I am glad we are able to address this case in the Seanad in any way. The wording of the commencement matter is very clear in its aim. I want to take this opportunity, in the time afforded to me, to commend Emma and Jake DeSouza for the stand they have taken in upholding the Good Friday Agreement and our rights and entitlements as Irish citizens. While Ms DeSouza has found herself on her own in being taken through the courts by the Home Office - an action I contest is unnecessary - she is representative of so many of us. We are her and she is us in this instance. The Good Friday Agreement, agreed 21 years ago, was very clear. To be fair to the Irish Government, it has been very clear - I noted the Taoiseach's remarks on this case in the Dáil yesterday - that we are Irish and Irish citizens. While we do not derive our Irishness from the Good Friday Agreement - it runs much deeper than that - as part of a peace accord and peace settlement, much of which rotated around issues of identity and contested allegiance, the agreement did declare to the world that we are Irish citizens. Some 21 years later, it is simply not good enough that Ms DeSouza finds herself having to go through this judicial process to uphold a basic right - the right to her citizenship.

Irish citizens in the North will have watched what the Government said in the other House yesterday, and will watch what it says in the Seanad this morning and what it says in the coming days and weeks, very carefully, particularly given the context of Brexit and the potential threats arising from it. Crucially, they will also watch what the Government will do over the next short while to ensure that our rights are defended and, by extension, what it will do, as co-guarantor, to defend the Good Friday Agreement. This is a crucial period. There is a lot of anger and deep frustration because of what has happened. Brexit has exposed this weakness and this problem. We need to see the British Government moving on from words. We were told in February of this year that there would be a review but we subsequently found out that no terms of reference or timeframe have been agreed and that no one has been appointed to conduct it. It is, therefore, little wonder that Michel Barnier wants a legally binding text from the British Government in the context of Brexit, because this is what happens when that is not secured. I hope that Irish citizens with skin in the game will hear something positive from the Minister of State this morning and will see the follow-up action that is required.

It is an important point that the Good Friday Agreement is quite unique. It conferred upon us the right to be British, Irish, or both. This does not, therefore, only impact on those of us who identify solely as Irish. Quite a substantial section of society in the North cherishes the fact that they are able to be both British and Irish. They now have to deal with the reality that one identity and one citizenship outweighs the other. That will be of great concern to them, as well as to those of us who identify as, and are, solely Irish.