Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Deputy Leader to write to An Taoiseach and ask him to join us for a debate on a shared island. Next week, Assembly elections will take place in Northern Ireland and we are all too well aware of how long the parliament in Stormont has not been working. I know from being in Northern Ireland canvassing that people are sick of politics not working there. I believe that it is important that Stormont does work for the coming term. In the context of a shared island, what happens there is very much in the interests of the people in southern Ireland because if we really are to have a shared future then it is important that we work collectively on the basis of democracy that works and on the basis of respect. With that in mind it is timely that we ask the Taoiseach to come in here for this debate. Let us hope that next week's election results in politics starting to work for the people of Northern Ireland, thus ensuring that their economy works, health services work and the cost-of-living difficulties that they all face can be tackled by parties that wish to do so.