Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom chur fáilte agus buíochas don iar-Thaoiseach, Bertie Ahern. It is very fitting that he is here today of all days, the anniversary of the holding of the referendum on the Good Friday Agreement. I am delighted to get the opportunity to thank him for all that he has done, not just in those crucial weeks but in all of the negotiations that took place before then.

One issue that he has not touched on today, which we could spend another day discussing, is selling the agreement. There was an awful lot of anxiety among the nation, North and South, in respect of Articles 2 and 3 and where we stood afterwards with regard to our claim on Northern Ireland. An awful lot of work went into this and we are delighted that Mr. Ahern is here, sharing his experiences with us. It is great to get an opportunity to acknowledge the effort he put in and the time he invested but, most importantly, to recognise the thousands of lives that have been saved on this island as a result of his efforts and those of everyone involved. Unfortunately, time is short so I cannot name all of the others involved.

I was delighted to work with my colleague on the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, Senator Currie, on inviting all of the architects of the agreement to give testimony. It was really important that the Houses of the Oireachtas had the opportunity to hear those testimonies. We need to realise how peace was gained. It was not simple and it is really important that this was put on the record.

I have two questions that I want to pick Mr. Ahern's brain on and get his wisdom on. The first relates to the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill. What are his thoughts on that? It is quite dangerous legislation. I wish we had more time to dwell on this question, but not today. The other question relates to the Windsor Framework. Some have declared the framework a major win for both islands but we still have the same stalemate in Northern Ireland. Was it really a win or did we miss something in the trick?

I thank Mr. Ahern again for being here.