Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is good to see the Minister of State. The people of Ireland, North and South, have been adversely affected by the behaviour of the DUP and its boycott of the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement. The political institutions of the agreement have not been fully functioning since February 2022. Since October 2022, the all-island institutions of the agreement have not met. The North's executive, assembly and the various government committees have not met. In effect, the DUP has blocked all areas of governance with respect to the agreement.The DUP stance has added to the divisive and poisonous atmosphere created by Brexit and the handling of this by the British Government regarding the politics of this island. Serving its own interests in its power struggle with the European Union, the British Government has used Brexit, the DUP and the Good Friday Agreement as a battering ram. Of course, the DUP is a willing pawn in this political game in the forlorn hope that cosying up to the British Government will help its political project of undermining the Good Friday Agreement and holding back political progress among the people of Ireland, North and South.

The British Government has failed in its malign endeavours with respect to the EU, and the DUP has also failed. The DUP has been encouraged in its political delusion by the attitude of the British Government and the most recent nonsense from the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office, Mr. Steve Baker, to the effect that a core democratic principle of the Good Friday Agreement, a simple majority in a referendum, should be abandoned and the undemocratic unionist veto returned. The British Government, including its Secretary of State for the North, Mr. Christopher Heaton-Harris, has refused to act in the face of the DUP's boycott and to consult or involve the Irish Government. It has taken a single-handed approach and is excluding the Irish Government. This is a major departure from the principles of the Good Friday Agreement, which clearly states a joint approach and joint stewardship are the responsibility of both governments as co-guarantors of the agreement.

While the political paralysis induced by the British Government and the DUP continues, workers and families carry the burden of a cost-of-living nightmare. Inflation and higher mortgage interest payments are badly stressing household budgets. Energy costs and food prices all remain alarmingly high. Public services are in crisis and the sick, elderly and young wait for basic treatments and surgery on ever-increasing waiting lists.

The parties in the North have tried to restore the institutions. Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Alliance Party convened the assembly on five separate occasions to nominate a First Minister and Deputy First Minister but the DUP boycott blocked this. In March this year, the Windsor Framework, negotiated by the EU and the British Government, provided new arrangements and lasting solutions for businesses and addressed the concerns raised by unionists. These new arrangements are in place and operating since 1 October at designated ports but the DUP boycott continues.

The situation has been made even worse by the British Government's legacy Act of shame, which became law last month. The relatives of those who died in the conflict are looking to the Irish Government to represent their interests and take an interstate case against the British Government's legacy Act in the European Court of Human Rights. I call on the Minister of State to tell us when the Irish Government will initiate this action.

This year marked the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. It not only survived 25 years but it also prospered, and much progress has been made in transforming politics and society on this island and between Ireland and Britain. One of the big lessons from the past 25 years of progress is that progress could not have been achieved without the joint approach by the Irish and British Governments. The problems of recent years arise primarily because there is no joint approach by both governments. Both, for reasons best known to themselves, took their focus off the North. The British Government is still on a solo run with the unionists. The Irish Government must use its influence on the British Government to restore the joint approach. It is a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement in every detail and its presence is essential as we look forward.

Much has happened and there is so much to do: eradicating sectarianism, advancing reconciliation, ensuring the peace dividend reaches every community and ensuring a new generation can reach its full potential through education and employment opportunities. The First Minister designate, Ms Michelle O'Neill, is keen to lead the executive, demonstrate her credentials as First Minister for all the people of the North, engage positively with the Irish Government and develop fully the all-island institutions of the Good Friday Agreement. In particular, a functioning executive could take full advantage of the growing all-island economy. In that regard, I commend the businesspeople, business organisations and trade unions for their stewardship and leadership in developing the island-wide economy in the most difficult of circumstances.

This week, we saw the goodwill and potential economic opportunities to strengthen the economy and the North and create more and better jobs. The United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, Mr. Joe Kennedy, brought a trade delegation to the North. It included American investors from various sectors willing to create jobs and give young people new opportunities. We must not allow these opportunities to be squandered. The DUP never had any justification for its boycott. It is unacceptable that there is nobody at the wheel and that there are no Ministers running departments in the North. Political stability, maturity and a pragmatic approach are required by all political parties at Stormont to get things moving. Time and space have been given by everyone but there are clear limits, and the end point to that is now upon us. Therefore, the next short number of weeks comprise a critical period for us all in the effort to restore the power-sharing institutions of the Good Friday Agreement.

I wish to emphasise again the importance of our Government taking the interstate case. I have spoken out on the legacy Bill at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and produced a report on the topic of the impact of Brexit on human rights. I am glad there was almost unanimity across all 46 member states of the Council of Europe on calling on the British Government to call a halt to its legacy Bill. In fact, it was only the British and a couple of very strange delegations that actually stood up against it. The vast majority of people from across Europe called on the British Government to halt the Bill. Unfortunately, no such halting occurred and the British Government carried on blindly. The Irish Government has no choice now but to move immediately to instigate the interstate case. Otherwise, instead of taking months to come to court, it will take years. We all know that the relatives of the victims do not have time on their side. We need action from the Irish Government, particularly on the legacy case.