Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome. I also welcome the officials from the Department and thank them for all the work they do. This is a really important issue. I welcome to the Gallery Professor Colin Harvey, a professor of human rights law at Queen's University Belfast and a commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.

The situation in the North of Ireland is not getting the attention it deserves but I totally understand why. There are many other issues at the moment. However, there is a protracted crisis in the North and power-sharing has collapsed, not for the first time. Much of the manoeuvring and negotiations to restore power-sharing is happening behind the scenes, with little drama to animate extensive news coverage or political debate, but that should not blind us to the very real democratic and social crisis unfolding before our eyes. This situation can be summed up by what journalist Sam McBride wrote in an article for the Belfast Telegraph. He stated, "There's an end of days feel to Northern Ireland [right now]" and that a "sort of half-hearted anarchy pervades" as "swathes of what society takes for granted are breaking down". He also stated, "The scale and nature of the crises now unfolding will have profound political consequences." He adds that basic social functions are beginning to break down as the people of the North no longer have a devolved administration that could shield them from the worst excesses of the Tory Government's drive to cut social spending with no regard for human dignity or community cohesion. I could give so many examples of how this calamity is impacting people's lives.

I go to Northern Ireland all the time, particularly to Rathlin Island, and talk to people all the time. Northern Ireland's health service is on its knees and faces a typical wintertime surge in demand with totally inadequate staffing resources. That is very worrying for the people of the North. Women's Aid Federation Northern Ireland is one of the many voluntary sector organisations doing essential work serving a community that has been impacted by a massive cut in funding for the sector. Unlike the Women's Aid organisations in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland, it is receiving no state funding. That kind of austerity is so wrong and is literally killing people, and it shows callous disregard for the safety and welfare of women living in the North. It cannot be allowed to continue and we cannot stand by it.

The Irish Government investment in the North, co-ordinated by the shared island unit, is a very positive and foresighted development. Investments like the one in increased places for nursing students will benefit everybody on the island.Providing grants to alleviate this funding shortfall for Women’s Aid in Northern Ireland and other organisations providing essential services could be a powerful demonstration of solidarity and an excellent use of our budget.

I wish to give another example, which is Northern Irish libraries that will not be able acquire books this year due to the funding shortfall. That might sound like a small thing in the grand scheme of things but it is a painful example of the ways in which the crisis in the North’s politics is impacting culture and education. The situation is made all the worse by the fact that this year saw the publication of many wonderful pieces of writing by Northern writers. Yesterday, Michael Magee won the Rooney Prize for his beautiful book about a young man coming of age in west Belfast entitled Close to Home. Rachel Connolly captured the life of a young woman returning from London to live in south Belfast with depth and clarity in her novelLazy City. These books are available for readers to borrow from the wonderful and well-stocked library system in the Republic. However, it makes me sad to think of young readers – the next generation of great young writers in Belfast – who cannot get wonderful new books like these at their local library. It is a stark failure and betrayal of the aspirations of young people.

I hope the DUP realises its failure to make power sharing work is a far bigger threat to Northern Ireland’s place in the union than any of its anxieties about the Windsor Framework. I have a huge concern that the British Government, in its attempts to coax the DUP back into Stormont, is making representations in private about constitutional issues that undermine its commitments to nationalists and other voters in the North.

Minister Steve Baker’s comments at the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly meeting on Monday about a 60% threshold for constitutional change were very unhelpful and inflammatory. Comments such as these undermine people’s faith that Britain will act fairly regarding any future border poll. The principles of the Good Friday Agreement - the principles of consent and parity of esteem - empower a majority of voters to maintain the union and that equality is absolutely vital. We must cultivate political discourse where everyone, including figures in the British and Irish Governments, can speak candidly about their constitutional aspirations. Chris Heaton-Harris’s unionism does not undermine my nationalism. Our Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar’s, and our Tánaiste’s republicanism does not undermine Jeffrey Donaldson’s unionism. We are all entitled to our views as long as we are respectful. Disagreement can be healthy and productive. I was disappointed with the negative response from some quarters to Leo Varadkar speaking about the prospect of Irish unity. It is a sign of insecurity and I am very concerned about that. To my work in Ireland’s future, I see a positive engagement that can be had when people put aside their anxieties and insecurities and speak candidly about their hopes and fears. The reality is that the persistent dysfunction in the North only amplifies the relevance of discussions about potential constitutional change.

This is also I think the first opportunity I have had to speak about the North in this Chamber since the legacy Bill was passed. I reiterate how dismayed and disappointed I am that the British Government has refused to listen to victims, human rights organisations, academic experts or even the Irish Government. I know this view is shared universally in the Oireachtas and it is wonderful to see so many of us all speaking with such a united voice.

In its statement responding to the passage of the Bill, the Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement called on the Irish Government to consider interstate litigation in the European Court of Human Rights to stop it. I understand the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste are considering this course of action subject to legal advice. I ask them to please proceed on this vital issue. Ireland has an ironclad case, and interstate legislation would save victims' families huge amounts of struggle and heartbreak. Nobody can understand what it is like for those victims and this legacy Bill is absolutely soul-destroying for them. The Government now has a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate practical and tangible solidarity and it is absolutely vital it is followed through.