Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Teachta Chambers. Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Aire Stáit as a cheapachán. Táim ag dúil go mór le bheith ag obair leis as seo amach, go háirithe i dtaca le cúrsaí Gaeilge agus cúrsaí Gaeltachta de. I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, Deputy Jack Chambers, and thank him for coming here this morning.

The questions, as laid out in this Commencement matter, are very clear and succinct in terms of what they ask. They reflect a sense of urgency and anticipation most acutely, but not exclusively, felt by Irish citizens and, more broadly, by people in the North given the very live political climate. Members of this institution and, indeed, other institutions are very keen and anxious to see this unit begin its work, to help enable and assist in that work and to see what the shared island unit is about and what it can do to help assist people within this very difficult and fraught political climate.

How will the shared island unit give effect to Article 2 of the Constitution? Article 2 refers to the birthright and entitlement of everyone born on this island to be part of the Irish nation. In welcoming the shared island unit and understanding some of its work remit, as laid out thus far, my party and I have argued for more, of which the Minister of State will be aware. There is a very real need to plan for constitutional change, demographic change and the change in political realities across this island.

It is important that when we talk about a shared island sometimes people understand that in terms of a great historical divide in the North and that is it.However, this State needs to tell people how it plans to share this island, that is, how it will give effect to that Article 2 of the Constitution. For example, will the shared island unit talk about how this institution can give effect to speaking rights for MPs in the North which has been a long-standing promise of Fianna Fáil? That would be a great way to show people that we are also serious in this institution about sharing the island.

Will we engage the media about the more recent phenomenon of amputating the Six Counties off maps and of placing bars on audiences in the North from entering competitions, some of which, ironically enough, are for tickets to the all-Ireland final? Will we look at the full-frontal assault on the Good Friday Agreement and Article 2 of the Constitution that is manifest in cases, such as the Emma De Souza case, where people who seek to simply assert their constitutional and Good Friday Agreement, GFA, right to be accepted as Irish citizens are being taken through the courts.

I want to work with colleagues right across Government and the Seanad and the Dáil, on how we plan for constitutional change in a positive, inclusive, informed and engaged way. In the interim I am keen to hear from the Government what it can do in the here and now, that it does not need to wait a long period of time and it need not exhaust all kinds of fora, assemblies and dialogues. There are merely three or four that I have outlined. There are many more that are within the gift of the Government to resolve. Through the shared island unit beginning its work urgently and actively, I hope we can resolve some of those issues.