Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Taoiseach. We are very proud to have him here as our Taoiseach. I was equally as proud on the day he asked me to be his spokesperson on Northern Ireland. Considering what he has done and the republican approach he has taken in the context of the shared island unit and what he is trying to do there, he is setting up an approach to deal with issues in this country in an inclusive way, because far too much of what has happened since the advent of the Good Friday Agreement has been along sectarian lines and has caused more division.

As someone who comes from a strong republican background, it would be great to come into the Chamber and beat my chest about a united Ireland - we would all love to have it - but the reality is, and history has shown in the context of the Good Friday Agreement, that an approach of inclusiveness has worked and those foundations are laid and that is where we need to go back to in order to move forward. The Government's shared island unit is very much in that vein. We welcome the opportunity to be involved with the work of the unit and the funding relating to it, because this is as much about people as it is about territory. Through the Good Friday Agreement committee and visits we have made to Belfast and elsewhere, we have realised the real difficulties that lie within the Six Counties and the Border area. Over time, the work the Taoiseach is doing will hopefully bear fruit. I believe, ultimately, it will create trust. We, as politicians and elected representatives, have to do a lot of work on the ground to recreate the trust that existed around the time of the of Good Friday Agreement. We can do that collectively and move to a shared future that is built on respect and trust, and make the economy work throughout all 32 counties for the good of all our people and children and their futures.