Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am very pleased to welcome the Lord Speaker to Ireland and to this Chamber on behalf of the Civil Engagement Group. In my capacity as a member of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, we are in regular contact with British and Northern Irish parliamentarians. I have found the engagement between our institutions to be stimulating and fruitful. I know that developing a relationship is a major concern of Lord McFall. I find his work in this area to be incredibly valuable. He knows himself, from his time as a Northern Ireland Minister in the late 1990s, how significant the Good Friday Agreement is to the future of the island and to relationships between our islands. I hope he will agree with me, as we approach the 25th anniversary of the agreement, that we all need to reaffirm our commitment to it.

When I first visited Westminster as part of a parliamentary delegation in the wake of Brexit, I found that it was sometimes difficult for people to understand the impact that Britain leaving the EU would have on the fragile institutions of Northern Ireland and the British-Irish relationship. However, we received a very warm welcome in the House of Lords. I found the Members there to be very knowledgeable and genuinely concerned about Ireland. Many of the people I talked to held Government positions during and immediately after the Good Friday Agreement and so understood its value and that it was the product of extensive negotiations based on mutual respect and a real effort to understand fundamentally different perspectives.

I note the comments from the Northern Ireland Office Minister, Steve Baker, who apologised to Ireland and the EU for some bad-faith behaviour on the part of Britain in its withdrawal negotiations. I echo the Taoiseach in welcoming these comments. It is brave to admit when one has done wrong, and it is an important gesture for those of us on both sides of the Irish Sea who are eager to begin the process of repairing our diplomatic relationship. Britain and Ireland's histories are inextricably linked. The migration between us means that there are many people with fluid, hybrid identities - people who are British and Irish. It is only right that as neighbours we have a strong and stable relationship, but that requires trust, respect and understanding. These are crucial but, unfortunately, they are being undermined by recent actions of the British Government. The attempts by Britain to unilaterally alter the terms of the Northern Ireland protocol are massively concerning. It threatens the stability and prosperity of Northern Ireland and the freedom of movement across the Border in Ireland.

I live in Dublin, but my father's family is from Rathlin Island, an island between Scotland and Ireland, which is just off the coast of Antrim. I have spent time there since childhood and I still do. I am one of the many people who regularly travel between the North and the Republic. My family history transcends the Border on this island and I, like every other Irish person, will not be impeded because Britain chose to leave the EU. Negotiations between the EU and Britain are resuming soon for the first time in several months. I hope that they generate a workable path forward. As the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill enters the House of Lords next week, I hope Lord McFall's colleagues can be voices of reason, moderation and foresight.

Another issue of concern to us that will soon be debated in the House of Lords is the British Government's legacy Bill, which provides a de facto amnesty for people who committed brutal crimes across this island, sometimes with state collusion. As I am sure everyone knows, this legislation has been rejected by every political party North and South as grievously insulting and clearly impermissible under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which mandates states to effectively investigate suspicious deaths. We look to the Westminster Parliament to uphold the rule of law and guarantee effective scrutiny and accountability. I very much hope the House of Lords can play a positive role in convincing the British Government to step back from this ledge. This crude attempt to whitewash history and impose impunity has no place in a democracy.

I thank Lord McFall for visiting us and for his willingness to have friendly but frank discussions about such important matters. There are many tasks ahead of us that require a strong diplomatic relationship between our countries. We must provide clarity and comfort to those impacted by legacy issues. We must support the return of power sharing in Northern Ireland, and we must come to a workable, final settlement on the Northern Ireland protocol. These are daunting challenges, but the legacy of the Good Friday Agreement demonstrates the transformative power of honesty, good faith and fair play.