Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this important issue. The Minister is welcome to the House. As a member of Fianna Fáil, I can say we are proud of our role in the history of the State, especially of our involvement in the negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement. I again offer my gratitude to former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, for his tireless work on that agreement. At a time of huge personal difficulty and loss for him, he put the peace and prosperity of the island first. I acknowledge the voices of women that were hugely important to that agreement, particularly Liz O'Donnell, Pearl Sagar, Monica McWilliams, Mo Mowlam and all the women who encouraged their men to take the step. I remember being incredibly struck at the site of the Battle of the Boyne in Oldbridge listening to Baroness Eileen Paisley speaking about the importance of peace and of the generations that had been handed the gift of peace to work on. She spoke of the role women played in the background encouraging and supporting those on every side of the political divide to take this step.We fully support the Good Friday Agreement in its absolute entirety. Since the conclusion of the agreement in 1998, the Irish State, regardless of political leadership, has defended and supported the continuing peace we have seen on the island.

We have seen huge advancements on both sides of the Border, socially, politically and economically. There is no doubt the Good Friday Agreement has played a key role in this regard. All we have to do is go to Belfast and see the prosperity. I was speaking to a lady from Northern Ireland who works for the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. She went to Queens University and spoke about the difference she sees now. It is a completely different city. The agreement is not perfect but it is the best we have. It is all we have. We have to make sure it works for all of the people of the island of Ireland.

I take this opportunity to congratulate all of the MLAs elected to Stormont last week. I was disappointed that good, strong leaders such as Nichola Mallon and Clare Bailey were not re-elected, but these are the vagaries of politics. I acknowledge the achievements of Sinn Féin in the election and I wish it well. We may not be cut from the same cloth but as a proud republican I am pleased to see a nationalist majority elected to the assembly. As chair of the Oireachtas women's caucus and a steadfast advocate of increased female participation in politics, I congratulate Northern Ireland's next First Minister, Michelle O'Neill, on her historic election. I also congratulate Naomi Long and the Alliance Party. What it achieved was incredible. It shows that there is a need and desire for another way and that people want to get on with their lives. For themselves and their families, they want to see a progressive and prosperous community with no conflict.

Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, the institutions in Northern Ireland can deliver for the people there. We all look forward to engaging with MLAs from across the political spectrum in the term ahead. If I may, I take this opportunity to call on Jeffrey Donaldson in particular to do what he and his colleagues in the DUP were elected to do, which is to govern, make decisions, sign up to what they agreed in the Good Friday Agreement and get to work for the citizens in the North. Democracy must prevail over political posturing.

With regard to the specifics of the motion, a number of weeks ago, I raised on the Order of Business the ridiculous proposal of an imposition of an electronic travel waiver for non-Irish and non-British citizens going from the South to the North of Ireland. I said then what I will reiterate now. This is a nonsensical and unnecessary step by the United Kingdom. There is absolutely no need to go down this route. What is the purpose of it? What is trying to achieve? Will it make the Border a more secure place for citizens of either jurisdiction? I do not believe so. Will it benefit either side in any way? I do not believe so. It is completely and utterly unnecessary. We need to protect the peace and prosperity for which we have fought for many years. We need to ensure we maintain a frictionless border on this island. Anything less is unacceptable.

I welcome the strong position of the Irish diplomatic corps on this issue. I welcome the strong position the Minister is taking. I appeal to him to hold the line on this. We need to maintain openness and accessibility for workers, families and businesses. While the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 received royal assent in the UK on 28 April, how it will actually be implemented still needs to be set out. We must continue to work to encourage the British Government to apply exceptions to its ETA scheme. A core commitment in the programme for Government is to strengthen bilateral relations with the UK. If introduced as proposed, the scheme would create many challenges in the relationship. Our objective must be to work in partnership with our closest neighbour to address these challenges and further deepen our relationship.