Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Chathaoirleach. Táim breá sásta go bhfuil an seal seo agam freagra a thabhairt ar an díospóireacht anocht. I thank the Minister for his contribution, and all my colleagues who support or will not oppose this motion. Both stances are appreciated. It would be remiss of me not to mention the legitimate and understandable concerns around racial profiling, because they have featured several times in this debate. It is right for this issue to be raised. There are live concerns the other way about the racial profiling of people travelling from the North into the South. People are being stopped on buses and this issue has been raised by groups such as the Committee on the Administration of Justice, CAJ, the North West Migrants Forum, NWMF, and End Deportations Belfast. I raised this matter with the Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner. This is a live issue of concern and one equally worth mentioning and drawing to the attention of the Government.

I welcome the Minister's remarks about the need for the institutions in the North to return. I thank my colleagues across the Chamber who congratulated Sinn Féin, all the other parties and all the MLAs elected to the Assembly. I also take this opportunity to encourage all parties to heed the clearly-expressed will of the majority of people who want the Assembly and the Executive to be re-established. They want the DUP to nominate a deputy First Minister to serve alongside Michelle O'Neill, whom the people have elected to be their First Minister. People also want to see the more than £330 million that is available invested in order those funds can reach people and help to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, as well as commencing the process of investing more than £1 billion into the health service over the next three years.

Regarding this motion, and I say this not to be contentious but merely to acknowledge that the Minister will continue to engage with the British Government on this issue, the Minister in his contribution outlined a litany of issues where the British Government has not kept its word. These include the protocol and legacy issues. I add the matter of Acht na Gaeilge, and we could cite many more such examples. Respectfully, therefore, as the proposer of this motion, I am genuinely concerned that if this has been our experience to date, how can we and, indeed, why should we trust the British Government to act in good faith regarding resolving our concerns about this legislation?

I do, however, welcome the Government's engagement on this issue, be that at political or official level. The reality remains, however, that this Act is now on the books. This is the political and legal reality in which we are all operating. It is why the passing of this motion is so important. We will have sent a clear and unified message. We have work to do together to ensure this legislation cannot have, and will not have, the negative impact on life here that we all know it could. All the examples have been cited here tonight.

I also wish to hone in on the question put to the Minister by Senator Warfield regarding the part of this motion that deals with mobilising international pressure and support and solidarity, as the Minister has done effectively and exemplarily on the issue of Brexit. We will need to do that again to ensure international attention is focused on the implications of this legislation for life in Ireland. I appreciate that the Minister has referred to some potential moves forward. Tourism, however, cannot be left behind. For all the reasons the Minister knows and has outlined, and all the reasons outlined by colleagues across the Chamber, we cannot say: "That will do". I want to see this issue resolved in the fullest and most comprehensive and conclusive way possible to genuinely and sincerely ensure that the negative impact of this legislation is not felt in the way that it could be here, North and South. I again thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach, my colleagues and the Minister for taking part in this debate and for supporting this motion.