Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I second the motion.

Senator McGreehan is so passionate about the Good Friday Agreement and everything it brings that I thought she was going to use all of her time and possibly even go over time. I also commend Senator Niall Blaney on the work he does in this area.

I welcome the Tánaiste to the Seanad. It is really important that he is here to celebrate, acknowledge and look forward in terms of where we go from here. It is said that politicians speak of events in one way and that poets do so in another way as do historians. No matter what interpretation anybody puts on the Good Friday Agreement, there is one fact that stands out. During the Troubles, 3,800 people died and more than 50,000 were injured and maimed. When we think of the mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends and neighbours that we count among all of those and of the horrific impact on families and communities, it is almost unthinkable. When we look at the last 25 years, 168 people were killed. It is still 168 people too many. They were killed as a result of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. That figure alone stands out to me in a very stark way in terms of how lives have changed over the last 25 years.

When Mr. Bertie Ahern was here last week giving us an opportunity to reflect, he spoke about the importance of having that time to reflect and renew.The people of Northern Ireland continue to have differences and we understand and respect that but we must send a strong message to the present day leaders to safeguard and extend the work of the Good Friday Agreement. I want to echo that we need them to act with the same courage, conviction and vision as our leaders did 25 years ago. We need them to reinstate the Northern Ireland Assembly and give true democracy to their citizens.

I had a number of opportunities within the Council of Europe to participate in debates on peace, democracy, human rights and the rule of law in all of our 46 countries and collectively on how peace processes have been delivered and have continued to impact time after time. Those from different countries hold the Good Friday Agreement up as a beacon of hope more than anything else. It is really important that we recognise that and that goes beyond the geographical Council of Europe countries. It is right around the world because the Good Friday Agreement was a triumph for constitutional democracy on our island. It helped to end one of Europe's most deadly and enduring campaigns of violence and it inspired people throughout the world with its message of hope and endurance which continues today.

The agreement and the key steps which preceded and followed it involved many great figures who were determined that the people's faith in democracy would prevail, and it involved the steady support of the Irish people and the island of Ireland, both within the Republic of Ireland in Northern Ireland. It is a moment in our national story which belongs to everybody and as a party it is important we acknowledge so many people, which I do not have time to do. It is important to say that we are as committed as ever to the spirit of the agreement and I know the Tánaiste will do everything possible to help return effective government to Stormont. I know the Tánaiste is continuing work to build on the new spirit of co-operation with London, which helped so much late last year and in recent months to reach agreement on critical issues. The work of and the investment in the shared island unit is hugely important and significant and I thank the Tánaiste for his vision and commitment and understanding in that.

I want to make a personal recollection and to say there are many architects in the house of peace and many who need to be remembered, appreciated and thanked for their roles in changing the course of history. We want to acknowledge the role of women in the peace process, including Monica McWilliams, Mo Mowlam, Liz O'Donnell and all the mothers and sisters of Northern Ireland who came out and wanted to have peace for their children coming after them.

My last recollection is something the Tánaiste was involved in when he was a Minister. It is 20 years ago this month since the Special Olympics World Games came to Ireland. I had the wonderful challenge and opportunity of recruiting host towns around the island of Ireland and we were determined that this was going to be an all-island approach. We had 21 towns, cities and communities in Northern Ireland that put their hands up and said they would like to host a country. Over three years I spent a lot of time in Northern Ireland getting to know these communities and in almost every case I worked with officials as well as elected representatives and people on the ground. On nearly every occasion the officials would say to me that this was the first time they had ever seen the two communities come together. I know that feeling of walking into a room and seeing people on the left and people on the right and it might take five, six or seven meetings for them to gel together but it worked.

It was an incredible experience and I saw first-hand how the newly set-up PSNI could work with those communities for something that was for the greater good. A moment I cherish and that I know so many people on the island of Ireland cherish occurred at the opening ceremony - which the Tánaiste attended - in Croke Park, when we saw the PSNI and Garda come in with the flame of hope that came in from Bangor. That moment crystallised something special in so many minds, hearts and souls; that we can work together and that we can help to deliver hope and peace to communities. It is something that will always stay with me. I thank the Tánaiste for all the work he is doing and that he continues to do. He knows he has our full support.