Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The restoration of Northern Ireland’s Assembly and Executive, which by extension permits the full functioning of the North South Ministerial Council, is very welcome. Our collective focus now must be to ensure that the restoration is sustainable and stable. The people of Northern Ireland deserve and are entitled to functioning institutions.

As a guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, the Government is committed to working with our partners across these islands for the full and effective operation of the all three strands of the Agreement. We are firmly committed to engaging in good faith with all parties and traditions to this end. As part of our continued outreach, the Taoiseach and I have been in regular contact with the main Northern Ireland parties, the Executive and our British Government counterparts. I am also pleased that members of Cabinet have been meeting with their Executive counterparts. In these contacts, Government members have conveyed our readiness to engage constructively with all partners to maximise the tangible opportunities of North-South and East-West cooperation.

I look forward to the North South Ministerial Council plenary in early April and the upcoming British-Irish Council Summit in June. These fora provide opportunities for increased dialogue and practical cooperation on areas of mutual interest across a range of sectors and current challenges.

With the Executive and Assembly in place, there is an opportunity for a meaningful conversation about reform, structured in a way that respects the fundamental balances of the Good Friday Agreement, while allowing its institutions to adapt and evolve in sensible and equitable ways which ensure the stability and sustainability of the institutions into the future. I recently set out some of my thoughts on this important issue during a speech at the Alliance party conference, on 4 March.