Vincent P Martin (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Many Members may have read a very interesting piece published in yesterday's The Irish Timesby a member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Matthew O'Toole. He used the literary device of a metaphor to make his point in respect of the poisoning of Lough Neagh.

The poisoning of the lough is partly a product of poor decision-making at Stormont over decades. But it is also a metaphor for the poisoned state of politics and governance in the North. The waters of democratic debate have been tainted for some time, and the huge optimism that surrounded the 1998 [Good Friday] Agreement can seem an awfully long while ago.

No one party should be allowed to hold the functioning of the democratic process in Northern Ireland to ransom by a boycott. There is a vacuum, and with a vacuum comes an opportunity, but also a danger if it is not filled. We saw only too well at the weekend an all-Ireland response on the sporting field in Paris, which shows us the potential Ireland has. People fought so hard for those democratic institutions. We must do more. I ask the Leader to consider asking An Tánaiste to come in to give us an update on where things stand, what is plan B if it is needed and when we intend rolling out plan B to fill the democratic deficit and to have a proper manifestation of the democratic process north of the Border.

Finally, I am delighted to see members of my local community in County Kildare from Naas, Eadestown and Two Mile House. What a pleasant and happy tonic to bump into them today. I hope this is the first of many visits. They are all very welcome.