Elisha McCallion (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to begin by echoing some comments made by fellow Members on the extension of maternity leave and putting it on record that I fully support the campaign as well.

I want to discuss an issue of serious concern to me. It should be of serious concern to all Members in this Chamber. Since the establishment of the institutions in the North, we have yet to see the convening of the North-South Ministerial Council. At a time when one would imagine co-operation between both jurisdictions should be heightened, we have not had one formal sitting of the North-South Ministerial Council. It is my understanding that it is the responsibility of the Irish Government to convene the next meeting of the council. I am asking for that to be done with the utmost emergency.

I am aware that many people have spoken in the Chamber today about coming out of the current pandemic and the Covid-19 crisis we all face. Of course, businesses and people throughout the world are trying to get through those problems, but they do not face the reality the people of this island face, which is the possibility of a no-deal Brexit in six months' time. Businesses and people across this island are in abeyance at the moment. They have little understanding of what could potentially happen. The technical details that are needed across the entire island are lacking at this point.

I call on the Irish Government, as the co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, to implement all aspects of the agreement. The days of cherry-picking the particular aspects or parts of the Good Friday Agreement that are liked by one or both guarantors - the British and Irish Governments - need to be gone. The people of the island need to see the full implementation of the entire agreement, not least in the current context. I have already outlined that we have the potential for a no-deal Brexit within the next six months, but for some unknown reason - of course, we are dealing with the pandemic and all that goes with it - the voices on Brexit seem to have been silenced. I do not know why that is the case because we hear clearly, particularly from within Europe, that the British Government is acting in bad faith at the minute. There is a need for a national response. There is a need for a response from the Irish Government and the institutions in the North. I ask the Irish Government to call a meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council as a matter of urgency.