Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to represent the Government in the debate on this Sinn Féin Private Members’ motion. I thank and acknowledge all Senators for their contributions on this important matter.

The Government will not be opposing this motion. The Good Friday Agreement, signed almost 25 years ago in Belfast, remains a remarkable achievement. The agreement brought peace and transformed this island. It is right that we celebrate it. The agreement effectively marked the end of 30 years of bloody violence, which claimed more than 3,500 lives and injured and traumatised many more. The agreement committed all parties to settling political and constitutional disputes solely through democratic and peaceful means.

There are people alive today because 25 years ago we came together for peace. With support from our international partners, particularly in the US and the EU, a whole generation has grown to adulthood outside of the shadow of widespread violence in their communities. While the peace we have achieved is not perfect, nonetheless, Northern Ireland today is a place of immense opportunity. For this, we owe a great debt of gratitude to the brave men and women who took risks to achieve a deal.People such as John Hume, Seamus Mallon, David Trimble and Mo Mowlam, all sadly no longer with us, together with many others, sold difficult compromises to their own supporters. We also say thanks for the support from the US, the EU, South Africa, Finland and Canada.

Perhaps most fundamentally, the Good Friday Agreement explicitly addresses constitutional issues related to Northern Ireland. The agreement commits both governments to recognise the legitimacy of whatever choice is freely exercised by a majority of the people of Northern Ireland with regard to its status, whether they prefer to continue to support the union with Great Britain or a sovereign united Ireland. In doing so, the agreement recognised the delicate balance agreed by both governments and the parties in respect of the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. Crucially, it provided a peaceful means by which this could be changed if the majority of people in Northern Ireland vote for it. Part of achieving that delicate balance was changing our own Constitution, which, of course, required the people to endorse the Good Friday Agreement in a referendum on the same day that the people of Northern Ireland endorsed the agreement by referendum. Together the people of Ireland voted overwhelmingly for peace.

In the negotiation and implementation of the agreement, strong partnership between the British and Irish Governments has been essential. That was also the case for the subsequent implementing agreements, such as those reached at St. Andrews and Stormont House. Any future arrangements must continue to be built through partnership.

The Good Friday Agreement recast relationships on these islands. It created interlocking institutions within Northern Ireland, as well as North-South and east-west, which underpin and implement the commitments made in 1998. The assembly and executive established under strand 1 of the agreement must return to work. The people of Northern Ireland need a functioning government. Access to healthcare, levels of educational attainment and funding for policing and justice are just some of the many real issues facing communities and families across Northern Ireland. In May of last year, the people of Northern Ireland voted for their politicians to lead. It is time they have the opportunity to play their full part in helping Northern Ireland achieve its potential. The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs continues to work with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and the political parties elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly to encourage the early restoration of the assembly and executive. The arrangement in principle reached last week by the UK and the EU, the Windsor Framework, will, I hope, assist parties to return to the assembly and executive. I recognise that some time to study the Windsor Framework is required. That is to be expected. However, I urge all parties to move quickly. Indeed, we have always maintained that an executive could be formed while the EU-UK talks were ongoing. As the Taoiseach said earlier this week, the 25th anniversary of the agreement is not a deadline. The deadline is the needs of the people of Northern Ireland.

While much of the current focus is on strand 1 institutions, I want to underline the importance the Government attaches to strand 2. The Tánaiste visited the North-South Ministerial Council secretariat in Armagh as part of his first visit to the North as Minister for Foreign Affairs. The Government is deeply concerned that the North-South Ministerial Council has been disrupted in recent years and has not met in plenary format since July 2021. No positive agenda is served by this disruption. In the absence of regular North-South Ministerial Council meetings, the two administrations on the island are not having the important conversations we should be having to address shared challenges and opportunities.

There is no hierarchy of institutions across the three strands of the Good Friday Agreement. Strand 3 of the agreement remains of vital importance to the Government. The Tánaiste meets regularly with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, including in the format of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference on 19 January last. I know too that Members from both Chambers met with their British and Irish counterparts at a special plenary meeting of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Belfast earlier this week. I commend, on behalf of the Government, the vital work that the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly plays in building east-west and North-South relationships.

The British-Irish Council brings together seven administrations from across these islands to deliver shared agendas in such important areas as energy and transport. Working together, we can deliver on the ideals embodied in the agreement and the commitments we gave to work together in partnership, equality and mutual respect, and who strive in every political way towards reconciliation. Working together, we can create the political stability that businesses need to invest in Northern Ireland because we know that peace is underpinned by economic development. The peace process has made Northern Ireland an attractive place for companies around the world to invest. The jobs created by these investments are the true dividend of peace, which, in turn, contributes to stability and peace. Brexit and subsequent uncertainty over the protocol has posed deep challenges to businesses across Northern Ireland. Over the past two years, the Government has engaged closely with a broad range of stakeholders in Northern Ireland, including business representatives. The clear and constant message we received was around the need for stability and certainty.

The Government welcomes the Windsor Framework. It represents the outcome of intensive engagement by the European Commission and our European partners. We now look forward to the UK Government completing its parliamentary process and to our EU partners giving the framework their full backing so it can be finalised in a forthcoming meeting of the EU-UK joint committee. Through the framework, the EU and the UK, by working constructively together and agreeing practical solutions to comprehensively deal with the real-life concerns raised, have provided the stability and certainty that people in Northern Ireland want. The framework has also been welcomed by businesses in the communities in Northern Ireland, which have expressed a genuine desire to move forward and take advantage of the opportunities it presents. We have heard first-hand that the Windsor Framework offers genuine economic benefits to communities across Northern Ireland. The Windsor Framework will allow businesses in Northern Ireland to continue to access the EU Single Market, along with the UK's internal market. It also makes Northern Ireland particularly attractive for investors that see its access to the EU and UK markets. This is a unique opportunity. We have seen signs that dual market access can lead to much-needed investment in Northern Ireland. The Government wants to see the island of Ireland prosper. Increased economic prosperity, North or South, benefits us all. Our closely integrated all-Ireland economy is one of the key dividends of the peace process and remains a priority. Building on the stability provided by the Windsor Framework, the Government will continue to work to create an enabling environment for businesses, North and South, to grow cross-Border trade and further unlock the potential of an all-Ireland economy.

We still have a long way to go to build a truly reconciled society that the people of Northern Ireland want, need and deserve. I am conscious that Northern Ireland is still without a civic forum, a North-South consultative forum and a bill of rights, 25 years after they were promised in the agreement. Too many families remain with unanswered questions about the deaths of loved ones. I restate the Government's concerns about the legacy Bill currently before Westminster. It is not fit for purpose. The establishment of the PSNI, the reform of the justice system in Northern Ireland and the subsequent devolution of policing and justice would not have been possible without the Good Friday Agreement. I condemn the threat this week against families of PSNI officers. The criminal threat is abhorrent, all the more as it comes only weeks after the murderous attack on PSNI Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell. Police on this island, North and South, and their families deserve our support. A threat to members of the police and their families is a threat to all of us. Such threats are an attack on the Good Friday Agreement and its values as overwhelmingly endorsed by all the people of Ireland in the two referendums in 1998.

The 25th anniversary of the agreement is an occasion to reflect on what has been achieve and what remains to do. I am conscious that today is International Women's Day. There were too few women around the table in Belfast 25 years ago, and those who were had to fight hard to ensure their voices were heard. We are indebted to them for this. The contribution of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition, Liz O'Donnell and Mo Mowlam undoubtedly made the agreement better.The achievement of peace in Northern Ireland owes so much to the work of women who played pivotal parts in their communities in building meaningful connections across divides, diverting young people away from violence and demanding a better future. The Government will ensure that this work is heard and that we elevate the voices of women throughout Northern Ireland. As we mark the 25th anniversary of the agreement, the Government will continue to work towards its full and effective implementation.