Over the past three years the British and Irish governments have disengaged from serious discussions on Northern Ireland. Most meetings have been purely formal and the Dublin Government has acted as if it does not have a right to being consulted on major developments. This disengagement has led to the partisan interests of Sinn Féin and the DUP presiding over drift, disillusionment and rising tensions. The concrete outcome of Thursday’s Scottish referendum is that there will be a substantial change in the balance of powers within the United Kingdom. Scotland will receive significant new powers and it appears likely that the same will happen for Wales and England. Clearly the powers and role of the Northern Assembly and Executive are also up for discussion. An absolutely central plank of the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement was the recognition of the right of the Irish government to be a full participant in discussions about Northern Ireland. This was at both an inter-governmental level and in discussions between parties. Every piece of progress relied on the input of the Irish government. At the core of the Good Friday Agreement is an international treaty between the British and Irish governments. This was ratified by the Irish people in a sovereign referendum based on the principle that our Government would be involved in all discussions about the future status of Northern Ireland. This was fully respected by the British Government up to and including the Hillsborough Castle Agreement of 2010. I am calling on the Taoiseach to immediately make a statement confirming that the Irish government will be a full participant in discussions about changes to the status and powers of the Northern Assembly and Executive.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 13:19:35 +0000
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