Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh fhoilsiú na tuairisce faoi institiúidí ó Thuaidh. I want to begin today by welcoming the publication today of the report Mother and Baby Institutions, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses in Northern Ireland. The work was carried out by Ms Deirdre Mahon, Dr. Maeve O'Rourke and Professor Phil Scraton for the North's Executive. We are aware that the impact of the institutions is still felt in many instances across all of our country. We know that, very often, women and girls from the North were sent to institutions in the South, and vice versa. As I am sure colleagues do, I look forward to reading and absorbing the findings of that report and understanding how we might assist colleagues and, most important, survivors and their families in the North in ensuring they have access to the full truth, justice and support moving forward.

The Leader will recall that I called last week for a series of statements on the roll-out of the protocol. Today it is important that I reiterate that call to the Leader and colleagues, not least after remarks made at a Brexit panel discussion run by the Policy Exchange think tank at the Tory Party conference yesterday.What we heard during that panel meeting was a disgraceful display of backward-looking Brexit ideology taking precedence over the economic success and prosperity of the North and our people there. David Frost, who negotiated the protocol on behalf of the Tory Government, described growing all-Ireland trade as a problem to be solved. As we know, understand and appreciate fully, the protocol was put in place to mitigate Brexit and its negative and unwanted impacts on Ireland, north and south. At a time of empty shelves and unmitigated chaos in Britain, we are seeing the protocol insulating Ireland from those problems. I wanted to take the opportunity to make those points again today.

Without getting into an unnecessary ding-dong or going down in the dirt, I remember being at an event in Waterfront Hall in Belfast and listening to a talk by the late Tony Benn. He said that you should never wrestle the chimney sweep because you will both end up dirty. I am not advocating for that. I am advocating for an opportunity for us to cut through some of the noise to ensure that the Irish Government is articulating on any platform it can the real, factual benefits of the protocol and what it is doing for people on the ground.