Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This week we celebrate the first anniversary of the setting up of the shared island unit. This is at a time when we are celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It is 23 years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. Society and Members of both Houses have an opportunity to finally put to rest grievances and differences in this country and have a final peace settlement. It behoves us all to work in that direction and to avail of what is a fantastic opportunity under the Taoiseach's model of a shared island. Given the funds that will be behind the unit over the next five to ten years — €500 million between now and 2025 and another €500 million beyond that — in conjunction with other cross-Border funds, totalling €3.5 billion to 2030, it behoves us as politicians to finally grasp the model of peace, say "No" to sectarian division, and create trust and a way forward to ensure that future generations will recall the difficult times in this country over the past century and that the next century will be one that we all desire.