Statements on Northern Ireland and the Stormont House Agreement Dáil Eireann, 20 January 2015

A Ceann Comhairle,

I welcome the opportunity to open this debate on Northern Ireland and the outcome of the political talks in Belfast which concluded on 23 December last with the Stormont House Agreement.

Since the 1990s, successive Governments have played their parts in supporting and facilitating a series of Agreements to establish and underpin the Northern Ireland Peace Process.

The first of these, in 1998, was the Good Friday Agreement, which as I said earlier provided a template for greatly improved relationships across these islands.

The St. Andrew’s Agreement of 2006 and the Hillsborough Agreement of 2010 were critical further steps along this journey.

I am pleased that I and my Government – working closely with our British counterparts and of course with the Northern Ireland parties – have played an important role in helping to broker the latest in this series with the successful conclusion of the Stormont House Agreement on 23 December 2014. This represents the culmination of many months of negotiation, but also many years of close relationship building.

I am proud of the role that I, my Ministerial colleagues, our officials and all concerned have played in helping to deliver it, and I would like to record my gratitude, in particular, to Minister Charlie Flanagan and Minister of State Sean Sherlock for their hard work over recent months.

I believe that this Agreement now lays a firm foundation for Northern Ireland, its politicians, and its people, to look forward, to look outward, and more importantly to move forward together. Yes, the process will need to deal with the challenges of the past. Yes, there will be a need for continuous attention on reconciliation.

Yes, tough decisions have had to be taken on the budget and the economy. But, important as these are in their own right, they are also important steps towards securing a better future, a shared society, and greater prosperity.

Ceann Comhairle,
I recall our last debate in this House on Northern Ireland when I referred to our interdependence on this island. The history, interests and futures of the people across both parts of this island are intricately interwoven.

But equally, the lives of all the people on both parts of this island are increasingly influenced by events beyond our shores: whether they be events in our nearest neighbour Great Britain, or the continued evolution of the European Union, or wider international and geopolitical developments.

On both parts of this island we need to continuously look outwards, to pay more attention to events beyond our shores, both to the challenges and to the opportunities. We must collectively be aware of, and be able to respond to, external developments and challenges beyond our direct control.

And in many instances, we can do this together. Cooperation and collaboration are not just desirable – they are essential – in the reality of the world economy today.

We need look no further than across the water to our nearest neighbouring island to understand the dramatic impact that developments beyond this island can have. The recent Referendum on Scotland, and the consequent debate about devolution of powers within the United Kingdom, Britain’s position in the European Union and the prospect of a referendum on EU membership are all issues that can have a profound impact for Northern Ireland and indeed across this island.

I have already made clear that we want the UK to remain a full, integral member of the Union. I believe that to be in Britain’s best interest.

I believe it to be in Ireland’s best interest. But I am also absolutely convinced that it is in Northern Ireland’s best interest.

We should also remember that the European Union has been an active political and financial supporter of the Northern Ireland peace process. This support continues through EU Peace and INTERREG funding programmes, which will see almost €500m invested in the region for the period to 2020.

Turning to relationships on this island – when the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 was concluded, it was described as a historic template for the mutually beneficial development of the totality of relationships among the peoples of these islands. Looking back over the intervening period, I think it is fair to say that it has contributed enormously to a transformation in relationships between the two great traditions of this island.

That agreement opened up opportunities for us North and South, East and West, to get to know one another in new ways. Our commitment to that Agreement, and to partnerhip, equality and mutual respect, today stands more firm than ever.

Ireland and Northern Ireland now work closely together – through the North South Ministerial Council and beyond – in areas of common interest that are beneficial to both parts of the island – economy, society, peace, reconciliation, prosperity .

The Government’s commitment to North-South and all-island co-operation remains a priority.

A recent example of how we can cooperate and collaborate more closely is the joint bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2023.

Last month in Armagh I was particularly pleased, together with the Tánaiste, First Minister Robinson and deputy First Minister McGuinness, to launch and to pledge our full, joint support for the IRFU’s tournament bid.

We have cooperated before to hold cross-border sporting events but I firmly believe that working together to bring the Rugby World Cup to Ireland can bring North South cooperation to a whole new level. Ministers in both jurisdictions will be working closely together to ensure the strongest possible bid is submitted.

Looking outwards, the Good Friday Agreement has enabled the development of ever closer relations across these islands, perhaps best symbolised by the highly successful reciprocal State visits of Queen Elizabeth to Ireland in 2011 and President Higgins to the United Kingdom last April.

In March 2012 Prime Minister Cameron and I signed a Joint Statement which sought to take our relationship further by setting out a vision of what closer cooperation might look like over the next ten years.

It also mapped out a unique, structured process of engagement, activity and outcomes between our two Governments, including annual review summits by both of us and underpinned by a programme of engagement by our most senior civil servants.

All this work and ongoing close relations matter deeply. Beyond producing practical outcomes that can benefit both jurisdictions it also helps to build trust and understanding.

Oireachtas members of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly and the North-South Inter-Parliamentary Association, are also helping to rebuild trust by continuing to promote and nurture co-operation in British-Irish and North-South relations for the benefit of all the people on these islands.

I attended the first Plenary British Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Westminster in February 1990 and I look forward to opening the 50th Plenary and marking the 25th anniversary of BIPA here in the Oireachtas next month.

In the context of the peace process and as co-guarantors of the Agreements put in place, the British and Irish Governments worked closely together to support and encourage the Northern Executive in their efforts to overcome the political impasse which appeared to be taking hold in recent times, including through the talks chaired by Dr. Richard Haass and the subsequent attempt to make progress under talks involving the Party Leaders.

Prime Minister Cameron and I have maintained close contact in relation to Northern Ireland over this time, and our respective officials have also been in continuous engagement.

As a consequence, we and our Governments were in a position to respond quickly, and in unison, last September when it became increasingly clear that intervention and involvement by both Governments was required to avoid the possible collapse of the power-sharing institutions.

This led to the announcement on 28 September of the intention to convene a new round of political talks in Northern Ireland, with the direct involvement of both Governments.

Our objective in the talks was to ensure that the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement not only continue to function but work to the benefit of all, and to conclude a broad agreement that provided a framework for both economic renewal and reconciliation in Northern Ireland.

Minister Flanagan, together with Minister Sherlock, represented the Irish Government at the weekly sessions of the talks over a period of eleven weeks and co-chaired all-party roundtable talks with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers.

I would like to thank Minister Flanagan and Minister of State Sherlock for their tireless efforts on behalf of the Irish Government over those three months. I also wish to acknowledge the commitment of officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and my own Department, and indeed other Departments and agencies, in supporting the talks process and more generally in working continuously to support and promote the peace process and the North-South agenda.

I also wish to record my appreciation for the very close cooperation we have had with the British Government throughout the process.

Finally, I wish to acknowledge the leadership shown by the Northern Ireland Parties themselves in reaching consensus on an agreement.

The final text, based on the draft agreement tabled when Prime Minister Cameron and I travelled to Belfast to participate directly in the talks last month, deals with the key issues comprehensively.

The Agreement itself covers a broad range of political, economic and social issues. In particular, the Agreement:
– Sets out a plan for financial and budgetary reform;
– Proposes a way forward on flags, identity, culture and tradition through the establishment of a commission;
– Envisages the devolution of responsibility for parades to the Northern Ireland Assembly, with proposals on parading to be brought to the Executive by June 2015;
– Establishes a programme of institutional reform at Stormont;
– Progresses a number of outstanding aspects from the Good Friday and St Andrews Agreements including the establishment of a civic advisory panel by June 2015, a commitment to reporting on new sectoral priorities for North/South cooperation by the end of February 2015, and further development of the North West Gateway Initiative.

Significantly, the Agreement also establishes a new comprehensive framework and broad ranging structures for dealing with the legacy of the past. These include a new Historical Investigations Unit to examine the deaths that occurred as a result of the troubles, an Independent Commission for Information Retrieval, and an oral History Archive.

What people lost through the troubles no one can return, nor can we forget the pain and suffering inflicted on victims and their families. However, the new structures can help to lessen the impact of the legacy of the past on everyday politics. The challenge now is to use the opportunity presented to bring a collective effort and focus to bear on building a shared and prosperous future.

However, it is also different to previous agreements, in particular because of the prominence of sound management of budgetary matters and the economy – the “cornerstone” of government. Tough choices and tough decisions had to be taken, but this is by no means unique to Northern Ireland or to its Executive.

The recent economic crisis has required tough decisions to be taken right around the globe, across the European Union, in Britain and, as we all know only too well in this House, here in Ireland. None of this is easy. Little of it is popular. But we know it is necessary.

The Stormont House Agreement sets a roadmap for the Northern Executive to put its finances on a sustainable footing for the future and to move forward with the necessary rebalancing of their economy to promote growth and create jobs. The package of significant financial support amounting to nearly £2 billion of additional spending power will support this process.

Since the conclusion of the agreement last December, legislation to provide for the devolution of responsibility for corporation tax has now been published, a new speaker to the Northern Assembly has been elected, and the Executive’s budget has been formally adopted for the next financial year. These confidence building measures represent progress in their own right and will also contribute to a more stable political environment. But, more importantly they also show that politics does matter and politics can make a difference.

The Irish Government will continue to play its part. We will work with the Northern Executive to deliver even closer political, economic, and social cooperation. We are committed to working for even greater cross Border economic cooperation to accelerate growth and secure the creation of jobs on this island.

We will continue our close engagement with the British Government, both to promote and develop our wider bilateral interests but also to pursue our common custodianship of the Agreements in support of the Northern Ireland Peace Process, and above all in the interests of peaceful, prosperous and harmonious future for all of the peoples of these islands.