Brendan Smith urges action on Good Friday Agreement and protocol
Brendan Smith addressed a parliamentary debate on Northern Ireland issues, focusing on the Good Friday Agreement, legacy cases and the Northern Ireland Protocol. He criticised the suspension of institutions, called for the protocol to be resolved by negotiation and demanded publication of records related to legacy bombings.
Institutions and the Good Friday Agreement
He lamented that the institutions established by the Good Friday Agreement are not in place or functioning, saying it is most disappointing that the Assembly is not meeting. He recalled the referendum endorsements north and south, noting the electorate figures of 94.4% in this state and 71.1% in Northern Ireland, and paid tribute to Mr Blair and Bertie Herdon for their roles in securing the agreement.
Cross-border economic benefits
He emphasised the economic gains since the agreement, describing the development of an all‑Ireland economy and increased cross‑border trade. As a representative of Southern Ulster counties he cited businesses expanding across the border and the everyday commercial links that would not have occurred without the agreement.
Protocol and trade concerns
He argued that businesses want obstacles to trade removed and urged the protocol issue be dealt with quickly and by negotiation rather than unilateral action. He noted that the EU has urged a practical solution, that the protocol provides equal access to the British market and the EU single market, and that the Taoiseach has described the EU as prepared to be flexible on concerns for people and businesses in Northern Ireland.
Legacy cases and Dublin-Monaghan bombings
He recalled a Talbot Street commemoration for the 17 May 1974 bombings that killed 33 people and criticised the British government for not responding to unanimous Oireachtas requests (2008, 2011, 2016) to allow an independent legal person access to relevant papers. He also raised the 27 December 1972 killings in Belturban of Geraldine O'Reilly and Patrick Stanley and cited University of Nottingham research claiming British state papers disclosed collusion in that bombing.
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Thank you very much. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this important debate. Once again, we are debating Northern Ireland issues, legacy issues, the need to implement the protocol and the need to deal with outstanding issues relevant to the protocol. Could I just say that it's most disappointing that the institutions established by the Good Friday Agreement are not in place and not working on behalf of the people at the moment. In recent days, we celebrated the 24th anniversary of the Referenda North and South, where the electorate of this country, 94.4% in this state and 71.1% in Northern Ireland, voted to accept and adopt the Good Friday Agreement. That's the mandate that all of us have as politicians in this country, both North and South. And we should be implementing that mandate and working the institutions that were established by the Good Friday Agreement. I think we should take the opportunity to pay tribute to the people, the government leaders, Mr Blair and Bertie Herdon, both as leaders of their respective governments and the political parties in Northern Ireland, who contributed and brought about that agreement that won the support of the international community. And as we all know, both the Irish and British government are co-guaranteurs of the agreement, which is an international agreement lodged in the United Nations, it is just not sustainable, and it's not acceptable that the people of Northern Ireland elected their representatives to the Assembly, and that Assembly is not meeting and cannot function. What the Democratic Party have done is anti-democratic in every respect. The Assembly and the people selected by the electorate should be there working on behalf of their constituents and working in the best interests of all. So it's most disappointing that we have the Good Friday Agreement and its institutions not operating at the moment, and the British government have to bear responsibility in that respect as well. One of the, we can talk about what's not working in Northern Ireland, or what's not working for the benefit of all of this island, and that's the institutions established by the Good Friday Agreement such as the Assembly, the Executive and the North-South Ministerial Council. But thankfully in the meantime, the benefits of the Good Friday Agreement we all continue to enjoy in this country. And one thing that we often ignore is the powerful development of the all Ireland economy that has happened, that has evolved since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and its endorsement 24 years ago. As a representative of two of the Southern Ulster counties, I see the great growth in cross-border trade. I see business enterprises that may have been only located in our jurisdiction now having very profitable and good enterprises north of the border. And similarly, businesses that had only a presence in Northern Ireland having a presence in our state now. We see that business happening on a day-to-day basis. That would not have happened if we hadn't the Good Friday Agreement. So we have the deficits at the minute in regard to the institution not working. But we also likewise, and we should remind ourselves at all times, that we have the benefits of what has come from the Good Friday Agreement. And that new political dispensation that all of us in this country are the beneficiaries of. So I think with regard to the protocol, when any of us who represent border counties, we have interaction with businesses north of the border because of the likelihood of them having a presence in our own state. They talk to us and they will say to us that they want any obstacles to trade removed. They want the protocol issue dealt with. But they also see the benefits that there are from the protocol with equal access for business to the British market and to the single European market of 450 million people. And I think the message has to go back constantly to the British government that the European Union has reiterated constantly that they want a practical solution to the implementation of the protocol. And that those issues can be worked through by negotiation, not by any government taking unilateral action. And the Taoiseach has been very clear in this House at question time after question time, that the EU will be flexible in relation to dealing with issues that are of concern to businesses or individuals or communities in Northern Ireland. So it's very important that the protocol issue is dealt with and dealt with as soon as possible. Could I just refer again to the legacy issues? Just a week ago, we were in Talbot Street in Dublin marking the awful tragedies of the 17th of May 1974, 48 years ago, when 33 innocent people were killed and hundreds and hundreds injured and maimed for life, some of the people in both Monaghan and Dublin that day. It's absolutely deplorable that the British government have not responded to the unanimous requests of this parliament, of our houses, of the Oireachtas from 2008, 2011, 2016, asking that an independent, eminent, legal person be given access to all papers and files pertaining to Dublin Monaghan bombings. It's absolutely reprehensible that there hasn't been a response by the British government. Likewise with other terrible atrocities that have occurred. I have often spoken in this House over the years about the murder of two innocent young teenagers in Belturban on 27 December 1972, when Geraldine O'Reilly and Patrick Stanley lost their lives with a bomb that was brought across the border from County Fermanagh. And I put on the record of this House back almost two years ago, information that had come to me through research in the University of Nottingham, which disclosed through British state papers and through British state archives, that there was collusion in that bomb being brought across the border from County Fermanagh into County Cavan on that night, which was a fatal night, which proved the death of two young innocent teenagers and injuries caused to so many other people. And injuries caused to so many other people as well. The families who have grieved for decades and decades, and that grief goes on to the next generation. The least that they deserve is the truth in relation to who carried out those atrocities, who carried out those murders. Sadly, the chances of getting a prosecution are very, very limited. And I fully recognise that. But those people who have campaigned to try to, in relation to murders and tragedies that beset their families, they have campaigned with such dignity and grace. All they would say to us is, we need to get the truth. They're not out for revenge or vengeance in any way. So these are issues that need to be dealt with. Thank you. . . . . . . . . . .
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