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DÁIL ÉIREANN AN COMHCHOISTE UM FEIDHMIÚ CHOMHAONTÚ AOINE AN CHÉASTA JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT Déardaoin, 16 Eanáir 2014 Thursday, 16 January 2014 The Joint Committee met at 10.20 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Deputy Seán Crowe, Senator Jim D’Arcy, Deputy Frank Feighan, Senator Mary Moran, Deputy Martin Ferris, Senator Mary M. White. Deputy Brendan Smith, Deputy Jack Wall, In attendance: Deputy Dessie Ellis, Senator Jim Walsh, Mr. Paul Maskey, MP, Mr. Conor Murphy, MP, Dr. Alasdair McDonnell, MP, and Ms Margaret Ritchie, MP. DEPUTY JOE MCHUGH IN THE CHAIR. 1 CIvIC FORUM FOR Northern IRElAND: SDlP The joint committee met in private session until 11.10 a.m. Civic Forum for Northern Ireland: SDLP Chairman: We are running a bit late but we will try to move along as swiftly as possible. As members are aware, representatives from the SDlP are here to discuss the Civic Forum for Northern Ireland. The forum was provided for within the Good Friday Agreement to pro- vide for a broad range of voices in community relations and stimulate informed public debate in respect of key societal challenges. As yet, it remains a non-implemented provision of the agreement. We are discussing the value of a consultative forum and steps required for its imple- mentation with representatives from the SDlP. On behalf of the committee, I am very pleased to welcome John Dallat, MlA, who is a neighbour of mine across the Border and who visits Donegal quite a bit and has reasons to be there. I also welcome Ms Dolores Kelly, MlA, who has also been pushing this agenda for a long period of time and Ms Caroline Mc Neill, who is policy advisor to the party. Before I invite the witnesses to make their presentations, I must read the following into the record. I advise witnesses that they are protected by absolute privilege in respect of utterances at this committee. However, if they are directed by the committee to cease making remarks on a particular matter and continue to do so, they are entitled thereafter only to a qualified privilege in respect of their remarks. Witnesses are directed that only comments and evidence in respect of the subject matter of this meeting are to be given and are asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that where possible, they should not criticise nor make charges against a Member of either House of the Oireachtas, a person outside the Houses or an official by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable. I now call on Ms Dolores Kelly, MlA, to proceed with her opening statement. Ms Dolores Kelly: I thank the Chair for accepting our request to make a presentation. We will deliver our presentation in two parts. Mr. Dallat, MlA, will set the scene and I will take over from there. We are very happy to at least attempt to answer any questions the committee may have. I thank the committee for the invitation to be here this morning, which is very much appreciated. Chairman: I call on Mr. Dallat to make his presentation. Mr John Dallat: I am glad the Chairman introduced me as a neighbour. Given that my mother was from Creeslough and my wife is from Carndonagh, I claim that privilege of being a neighbour of the Chairman. Of course, we know each other in other respects as well as in respect of cross-Border transport. I have been in the Assembly since 1998. It is worth recalling that the civic forum was cre- ated under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and made up of members of various civil bodies. It has, of course, no legislative or governmental powers and fell into abeyance in 2002 after the suspension of the assembly. Following the flags protests in 2012, my colleague, Ms Dolores Kelly, MlA, wrote to the members and various groups of the forum and we were overwhelmed by the response we received from them. It was clear that there was a need. On a personal basis, as an elected representative who has served in the assembly since its beginning, I know something that the Northern Ireland Assembly needs is missing. 2 JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE IMPlementation OF THE GOOD Friday AGREEMENT We are in every respect a fledgling democracy. It is foolish if not arrogant to believe that the political parties can really create a broad spectrum of democracy without the involvement of the wider community. The civic forum did not last for very long but I remember it as something that was absolutely critical and essential. One of the reports in which I was particularly inter- ested was the one on literacy and numeracy because we have that serious problem. That report was superb. Any legislative assembly or government would have been proud to have received it. Sadly, that did not happen. In recent times, the SDlP has put forward motions on two occasions to bring back the civic forum, both of which were passed. It has not happened. There is a report sitting in the office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister since 2007. There has been no response. I suspect that report is a very positive one that sets out very good reasons why the civic forum should be reconstituted but we have not got it. Recent events in the North indicate that a broader body of opinion is badly needed so that we can create a truly participative democracy and give a strong voice to the wider community. I am sure all political parties in the North are concerned that the level of participation in voting is constantly dropping, which we believe is an indication that the wider community has lost interest. Those of us who are nostalgic remember the difficult work that was done leading up to the Good Friday Agreement and getting over 90% of people in the Republic and over 70% in the North to support it. It is crazy to take that tier away. In my introduction, my impassioned plea is to ask to every support not just because we want a civic forum and it is a wider spectrum of democracy but because it is if we are to shore up, which is possibly the wrong term, and continue the struggle to make sure democracy stays alive. We do not spend all our time talking about flags, placating paramilitary groups, throwing money at them and all the other things have been going on. We need the civic forum for good reasons and I am sure we will have the opportunity this morning to spell out in greater detail why we believe that without the civic forum, we have a real problem in the North. The assem- bly - the big house on the hill - on its own is an isolated place. It does not encapsulate or relate to the wider community in the same way as would happen in a normal democracy where there is consensus. At this point, I am pleased to hand over to my colleague, Ms Kelly, MlA. Ms Dolores Kelly: I want to put on record our party’s thanks and appreciation to the Tánaiste for his recent remarks in support of the party’s call for the implementation of the Haass-O’Sullivan talks and his commitment to opening Government records relating to any mechanism that might be established in dealing comprehensively and ethically with the past. It is important to note that at the outset. The committee may know that in respect of the Haass talks, there was an overwhelming amount of response right across civic society from indi- viduals, trade unions and other community and voluntary organisations. This is an example of where civic society has sought to engage. There will be a call for a compromise rally in Belfast city centre this Sunday. This rally wants to see the parties engaging and dealing with those contentious issues of parading, flags and the past that have not yet been dealt with. Another aspect of the civic forum is that there would be an all-Ireland consultative forum to partner with a similar body in the South. That remains an unfulfilled promise and commitment of the Good Friday Agreement. As members will know, equality and human rights were at the core and, indeed, a compromise of that agreement which is an international treaty between two sovereign governments and the British and Irish Governments are co-guarantors of that agree- ment. We believe that more needs to be done and more pressure applied to the Executive and in particular to the Unionist parties in the Northern Ireland Executive. The victims’ groups in particular have been very powerful over the past number of months. 3 CIvIC FORUM FOR Northern IRElAND: SDlP Despite their differences of opinions and their different experiences of the conflict they have spoken with one voice in their demand for a mechanism to deal with the past in order to address issues of concern with regard to justice and for finding out what happened by means of truth recovery. Their voices have been very powerful and the victims have stayed on the same page, so to speak, in their call and their commitment to the process overseen by Richard Haass and Megan O’Sullivan. Those are examples of how civic society can put pressure on the political parties. It was an- ticipated that dealing with the past would be the most potentially contentious issue where there would not be agreement at the Haass talks, yet it is the issue on which there is most agreement about the mechanisms.
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