Seanad debates

Wednesday, 8 March 2023

Good Friday Agreement and Windsor Framework: Motion

 

10:30 am

Photo of Victor BoyhanVictor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for coming to deal with this Private Members' business. I thank Sinn Féin for what I believe is a very constructive but important motion. It gives us all in this House an opportunity to debate the issue.

I want to start by acknowledging the significance of the European Union and the President of the European Commission, Ms Ursula von der Leyen, a great friend of Ireland. I am referring to one of the great benefits of being in the club – call it what you like – that is the European Union. Ms von der Leyen was skilful in her negotiations with the British Prime Minister. We should be fair to the Prime Minister and acknowledge his considerable work and that of the Government of the United Kingdom on brokering the very cleverly named Windsor Framework. A lot of thought went into that. These things do not just happen by accident. I am conscious that the Irish and British Governments are the co-guarantors of the agreement. I would have expected nothing less. We have not had this leadership and stewardship all the time. On this occasion, we have had a breakthrough. Much of this has to do with the personalities and the genuine acknowledgement that nothing would change unless they came up with an imaginative framework. The Windsor Framework addresses that.

The British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly is a very important group, and many Senators were at its meeting at the weekend. I was mindful that although members of the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly were sitting in the Chamber in Stormont, the people elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly could not take their seats. That was a terrible democratic deficit. This is a particularly important point and we were all very conscious of it.

In our deliberations over recent days in Stormont, I was very taken by the references to the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition. It made the very important point that while we may have peace in Northern Ireland, we do not have reconciliation. There is a hell of a lot of work to be done on reconciliation. Peace, involving the absence of violence at a public level, is one thing but there are many things happening that we do not see. We must always remain vigilant and concerned about this. The words of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition – that while we may have peace, we do not have reconciliation – are very poignant. There is a call from all sides to work on that.

I thank Sinn Féin for this very constructive motion. It calls on us to determine how we can maximise the benefits of an all-Ireland economy to citizens, workers and businesses. That is important. It is also important, with the upcoming 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, that we do all we can to continue to ensure its full implementation and success. The Windsor Framework will help to ensure the good work done by those of all parties and none will not be undone. I share Sinn Féin's wish that the Executive and other democratic institutions of the Good Friday Agreement be restored.

The Windsor Framework, especially the new system involving green lanes, is a welcome development. It is essential for all-Ireland economic co-operation. We know how important that is but I would like to highlight that the framework does not resolve certain issues, especially in the agriculture sector. As a member of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine I am always very conscious of the enormous potential of agriculture for the island of Ireland. The Ulster Farmers' Union stated on Tuesday that the framework will now allow seeds to be brought into Northern Ireland from Great Britain but that other issues will require technical solutions, particularly concerning livestock movement, veterinary medicine, plant-protection products and grain for livestock feed. All these areas have been identified as ones that may present problems, so we must be vigilant regarding them.

It would be remiss of me if I did not talk about the Stormont brake, which has the potential to cause issues for Irish farmers. Our membership of the European Union means we have quality assurance that enables us to partake in the European Single Market. If the Stormont brake were to result in the movement of goods and services that did not meet EU standards, it would present new problems and challenges. We must be mindful that there will be challenges, particularly in agriculture. We must be mindful of them in addition to being mindful of the need to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, which would be against the Good Friday Agreement.

I thank the proposers of this important motion. We would all benefit from prosperity and peace on the island of Ireland. I thank the European Union for standing in solidarity with us and the Irish Government. I thank the British Government for coming up with this imaginative framework, which I believe will reopen dialogue, particularly political dialogue, and hopefully result in people taking their seats in Stormont. Stormont is where they should be and where they are elected to be. The problems have not gone away, you know. The sooner that parliamentary democracy is fully restored in Stormont, the better for all of this island.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.