Nessa Cosgrove (Labour)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. This is a timely motion. I thank the Sinn Féin Senators who brought it forward for giving us the chance to discuss this most fundamental issue in the House. As someone who lived and worked in the North before and after the Good Friday Agreement – I worked across all communities – and who is from the Border region, I have a strong interest and belief in the successful reunification of our island. We all know that the Ireland of today, North and South, is greatly changed from that of 1998, when the Good Friday Agreement came about. Our society is now pluralist in nature, North and South. The very concept of national identity is unrecognisable today from what it was a century ago. On our island, it is a living, breathing thing. This makes it all the more important that we abide by the principles of the Good Friday Agreement. Our goal must be to achieve the consent of the maximum possible number of people from all traditions.

As a lover of Gaeilge, our native tongue, I see the potential that embracing our culture can bring in the context of inclusion and as an antidote to the poison of extremism and exclusion. This is not wishful thinking; it is a historical fact. The 1911 census showed that up to 17% of all people on the Shankill Road - all Protestants - had some level of Irish. Hidden Ulster: Protestants and the Irish Language, the 1973 work by the late Pádraig Ó Snodaigh, tells the same story, namely of a strong proportion of Gaelic speakers among Scottish settlers in Ulster. The real truth is often more complex than the simplistic stories we tell ourselves.

As was mentioned earlier, Brian Ervine, brother of David Ervine of the PUP, spoke about this more than ten years ago when, as a champion for the use of Gaeilge, he said that Irish could no longer be used as a cultural stick with which to beat unionists. Linda Ervine, who is married to Brian and who I had the pleasure to meet, is on record as saying that Irish is very much the language of Protestants, unionists and even loyalists. The phrase she used, "Is Éireannach mé-ach is Briotanach mé fosta", is one we should encourage not disparage. She and other language enthusiasts successfully opened a naíscoil in east Belfast in 2021. Its motto is "Páistí sona ag foghlaim le chéile" or "Happy children learning together". This is what unity means.

Organisations such as the Hume foundation and the Shankhill women’s centre have been instrumental in bringing about peace and unity within the various communities in the North. They have done this, offering leadership in peaceful change, brought forward through thought-shaping activities. This period of preparation should be used to engage in thought-shaping activity. We need a radical approach towards our relations with other communities that share our island. It is our challenge to further extend the hand of friendship in equality and justice to the other people who share our island and to engage with northern Protestant and unionist opinion about the future of Ireland.

Engagement cannot be a repeat of the dysfunctional Northern Executive, where the two largest parties rely upon a division, which as the signatories of the 1916 proclamation stated, was "carefully fostered by an alien government" to maintain their own positions. The consent of a majority on both sides of the Border in a border poll is a legal necessity, but a majority cannot simply be 50% plus one. We cannot force through a unification upon an unwilling minority.

As a party, we absolutely agree that an all-island citizens' assembly or assemblies - ideally approved by the Stormont Assembly as well as the Oireachtas - should be an integral part of the preparatory process. We would also like to see a Green Paper and a White Paper that would identify problems and solutions ahead of the citizens' assembly process.

As has also been mentioned, the welcome work of the Taoiseach's shared island unit has been a hugely positive initiative, but now is the time to move towards real preparation. As the Minister of State indicated, many people will vote on the basis of economic and social issues every bit as much as on the basis of their national or cultural identity. We will of course discuss and debate flags and anthems during this process, but as John Hume famously said, "You can't eat a flag". That has been well accepted at this stage.

My party, the Labour Party, is the oldest political party in the State, and was founded on the ideals of James Connolly. We aspire to an equal, fair and united Ireland. Connollyite republicanism means that Irish reunification is about more than changing the flag in the North to the Tricolour and expecting northern society to just row in behind our way of doing things. As James Connolly said:

If you remove the English Army tomorrow and hoist the green flag over Dublin Castle, unless you set about the organisation of the Socialist Republic your efforts will be in vain. England will still rule you.

We believe that building a state that will work for all citizens is an important part of building the argument for a united Ireland. We will only achieve our potential when we genuinely plan and actively work for a shared future. This motion sets out some of the processes that will need to be undertaken in advance of a united Ireland. This is the time for preparation. This can no longer remain an academic debate.

I am very heartened to hear the Minister of State fully supports this motion. We need to act on the proposals in the motion and begin the serious process of planning towards reunification. It is a real privilege for us to stand here and have this conversation and that we are alive at a time when we can do so. I am happy to support this motion. I do so with hope and expectation that we do so in a spirit of fairness, co-operation, and equality. Mar a deir an seanfhocal, "ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine".