Speech by Tánaiste at the Co-Operation Ireland Business Dinner

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Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, a chairde.

Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil libh anocht as ucht an cuireadh speisialta a thabhairt dom. Is ócáid fíor-thábhachtach í seo i bhféilire na bliana.

It is a pleasure to be here. Thank you to Cooperation Ireland for organising this event and for inviting me to be part of it.

At the outset, I want to thank Peter Sheridan for his dedication in leading Co-operation Ireland for the past 15 years.

From brokering historic handshakes, to navigating an ever-changing operational context, you have made a concrete contribution to sustaining peace in Northern Ireland, in addition to developing this organisation.

Peter knows that I have reservations about his new role – not about Peter, of course, but about the legislation which has created and framed the role Peter now takes up.

However, anyone who knows Peter – as most in this room do – will know that his motivation, as ever, is to make Northern Ireland a better place for all.

Peter, thank you for your service.

I also want to congratulate Julian King on his new role as Chair of the Cooperation Ireland board.

As the UK’s last European Commissioner, he knows how to navigate a tricky situation or two, a skillset no doubt honed as British Ambassador in Dublin and later as Permanent Secretary in the Northern Ireland Office.

Julian, I wish you every success.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We are twenty-five years on from the Good Friday Agreement.

The anniversary is a natural opportunity to take stock and reflect on how far we have come.

We are in a better place than we were twenty-five years ago, in Northern Ireland and across the island.

However, we should be in an even better place.

Let us be in no doubt that, unfortunately, the United Kingdom’s entirely legitimate decision to leave the European Union has set some new challenges to which we all must adjust. That process of adjustment has not yet ended.

Assembly politics essentially blocked.

Many communities do not perceive a peace dividend.

There is no agreed way to deal with the traumas of the past, and the harms inflicted upon so many people in Northern Ireland, across these islands and beyond.

Reconciliation is the unfinished business of the peace process.

Reconciliation is the key to unlocking the best futures for the people of Northern Ireland.

Reconciliation is the urgent task of now.

One of my frustrations in recent years has been that the time and energy invested in mitigating the impacts of Brexit on Northern Ireland, and in so doing protecting the vital integrity of the Good Friday Agreement, has left less space available to encourage reconciliation.

The reality is that in some respects, communities in Northern Ireland are as far apart as ever. This is acutely visible in education and housing. It is also visible in public discourse, in the reduction of issues to zero-sum debates.

Whatever your vision for the constitutional future of this island, it is best built on the foundation of a more reconciled society.

That is why I established and why I continue to attach such importance to the Shared Island Initiative.

I see it as key to underpinning our other supports for frontline organisations working on reconciliation, supporting those groups working tirelessly to deepen cross-community relationships at a time of what seems to be unprecedented challenges.

In that context, I was delighted to announce in last week’s budget a 40% increase in my department’s funding for reconciliation work. Next year, the Reconciliation Fund will be over €7 million for the first time.

Cooperation Ireland is one of the most significant partners of our Reconciliation Fund, a relationship going back more than 20 years.

This strategic partnership is about enabling Cooperation Ireland to deliver on your vision of ‘a peaceful and stable island where people of all backgrounds live and work together for a better future’.

As well as supporting your projects focused on high-level relationship building and engagement, the Reconciliation Fund supports Co-operation Ireland’s ‘Entwined Futures’ project.

Over the last year hundreds of children, aged between 13 and 14, from both sides of the border, took part in workshops to develop the skills needed to engage with issues relevant to their communities.

Addressing complex themes of citizenship, identity and sovereignty, participants gained an understanding of the need to consider alternative viewpoints. They learned how to discuss matters critically while remaining open-minded.

I see this as really important work because I believe we have seen a retreat in the quality of discourse in and about Northern Ireland, especially online.

It is all too common nowadays for people to simply double-down on previous positions and take no interest in making accommodations or seeking to understand others’ views.

The progress made in Northern Ireland over recent decades, notwithstanding that there is more to be done, has been made because leaders showed courage, actively listening to opposing views, considering different perspectives and being open to letting their positions evolve.

Leaders doing so allowed others to do so too.

As we have been so horribly reminded in recent days and weeks, peace is something to be cherished. It must be nourished. We cannot allow backsliding. Letting peace falter can be deadly.

Hope nourishes peace.

And Cooperation Ireland is nourishing hope.

From their engagement with ‘Entwined Futures’, young people are getting a better appreciation of the different narratives and perspectives on the overlapping and shared histories of this island, as well as a greater understanding of contemporary challenges which face us all.

Early interventions like this, along with continued investment in young people, lays important foundations for reconciliation.

That’s why, in addition to supporting Cooperation Ireland, our Reconciliation Fund supports a variety of civil society partners to deliver youth-oriented initiatives that range from sport to the arts.

A more integrated all-island economy is one of the key benefits of the peace process, something I know guests here tonight appreciate.

The growth of the all-island economy over the past twenty-five years has driven prosperity on both sides of the border, reinforcing the peace dividend for communities and helping to address the economic deprivation which contributed to social and political instability.

Cross-border trade in goods and services is now estimated to be valued in the region of €10 billion – that’s an almost threefold increase since 1998.

Protecting and growing the all-island economy is a core priority for my government.

The National Development Plan foresees “a more prosperous island, a more connected island [and] a more sustainable island”.

We are backing this vision with resources, through our Shared Island initiative, through our longterm National Planning Framework, and through our contribution to the PEACE Plus programme.

Investment in all-island infrastructure, research, and skills is key to driving growth and economic development on the island and is a core focus of our Shared Island Initiative.

The island is a natural economic zone. Increasingly, investors think of the island of Ireland as a single market and business ecosystem, with 7m consumers and a highly-skilled labour force of 3.6m.

Access to both the EU Single Market and the rest of the UK internal market under the Windsor Framework provides Northern Ireland with unique economic opportunities.

It makes Northern Ireland particularly attractive for overseas investors.

As I have said many times, I want to see Northern Ireland take full advantage of these opportunities, to bring in much-needed investment and drive increased prosperity. Because increased economic prosperity, North and South, benefits us all.

The Shared Island initiative, which I’ve mentioned already and which I established three years ago in the Department of the Taoiseach, has a big role to play in unlocking the full potential of the all-island economy and, more importantly, in helping build a common ground on which meaningful connections can be made across different communities and political traditions on the island.

Since 2021, we have invested almost €250 million on a range of projects. This includes longstanding initiatives to enhance cross-border connectivity, such as the construction of the Narrow Water Bridge, the restoration of the Ulster Canal, the all-island Strategic Rail Review, and support for Local Authorities to develop collaborative North South investment projects.

More than €50 million has gone into a whole host of research programmes - across the island. In June 2023, a further €44.5 million was allocated from the government’s Shared Island Fund to expand Ulster University’s campus at Magee.

The Initiative has facilitated and encouraged debate and discussion on big societal questions to encourage greater understanding – to help build that common ground and to help find avenues to greater reconciliation.

The Shared Island Youth Forum, now underway, will bring new perspectives, which hopefully will inform the future work of both administrations on the island.

Delivering on shared issues of concern for people across the island, in areas like climate action and biodiversity conservation, regional development, and innovation, will be of benefit for all.

Working together and deepening understanding will help make our societal connections and mutual understanding North and South more profound into the future.

I recently launched the second round of the Shared Island Civic Society Fund. The Fund aims to encourage and support civic society and community organisations to develop new cross-border links, to further strengthen existing partnerships, or to create or broaden cross-border connectivity.

The last few weeks have seen significant announcements in relation to the arts, including capital funding to create an archive of amateur filmmaking in Northern Ireland and the border region.

New cross-border cultural partnerships are being established. Cork County Council are being funded for “The Ties that Bind”, a project connecting two important cultural venues, one in Belfast and one in Ballydehob.

It is a perfect example of the valuable connections that can be made if we think and work on an all-island basis.

And we want to do more. We want to do more on education, higher education, healthcare, innovation and climate action. I hope that in the months ahead we have a new Northern Ireland Executive as a partner in this work.

The sorry fact is that the current political impasse in Stormont is stopping us all from making the most of the promise and potential of Northern Ireland.

At a time when families and communities face serious challenges and have to make incredibly hard financial decisions, political leaders cannot stand over a situation that means missed opportunities for people, business and communities.

Political leadership, understanding and co-operation for the greater good now needs to be the focus.

The political drift we have seen over the last 18 months is wrong, and it is dangerous.

It is damaging for all, regardless of tradition or outlook.

It is damaging for confidence in politics.

It is damaging for politicians themselves.

There is a risk that both voters and those who have sought their support lose faith in politics; lose faith in the view that politics can change things for the better.

It’s clear that we need to see the Executive and Assembly restored. The people of Northern Ireland voted in elections in May 2022 and as democrats we all need to ensure that their mandate is respected and upheld.

The coming weeks will see the two main Strand Three institutions, the British Irish Council and the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference, meet in Dublin.

That is welcome but it is also a stark reminder of the absence of Northern Ireland’s own institutions and the North South Ministerial Council.

The North South Ministerial Council plays a critical role in facilitating the coordination that is central to unlocking the full power of cross-border cooperation.

The absence of an Executive means potential is being frustrated, and that is not good enough.

It is crucial that the Assembly, the Executive, and the North South Ministerial Council are allowed to resume their work without further delay and without further detriment to the communities they are meant to serve.

Restoration of all of the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement will allow us to move ahead with new and existing North South projects, to create a more connected, sustainable, prosperous and reconciled island for all.

I remain in close contact with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland – I met him here in Dublin last week.

Our shared key goal is the restoration of Northern Ireland’s democratic, power-sharing institutions. Frankly, time is running out and the people of Northern Ireland deserve better.

In February, the EU and the UK reached agreement on the Windsor Framework.

Both sides stretched themselves to get there, making tough accommodations and concessions, and it represents a significant turning point in the post-Brexit relationship between the European Union and United Kingdom.

The Framework comprehensively addresses legitimate concerns raised by people and business in Northern Ireland about the post-Brexit arrangements.

It reaffirms Northern Ireland’s place in the UK’s internal market, while simultaneously giving access to the EU Single Market for goods.

It does this while also protecting the all-island economy in respect of goods and cross-border goods trade.

As I have said already and repeat now, access to both markets gives Northern Ireland a unique competitive advantage and increases its attractiveness for overseas investors.

It remains critical that the Windsor Framework is implemented fully and in good faith. And it is important to acknowledge too, that the UK has, to date, followed through on its commitments.

Agreement on the Framework, and the follow-through we are seeing in terms of implementation, has led to an improvement in relations between the EU and the UK.

I am glad a number of important initiatives have been unlocked as a result, such as the recent agreement in principle on the UK re-joining the EU's Horizon research programme.

The EU has been a steadfast partner for peace in Northern Ireland. The recent launch of the €1.145 billion PEACE PLUS programme, which is funded by the Irish Government together with the UK Government, the European Union, and the Northern Ireland Executive, will also provide significant assistance for economic regeneration and transition in Northern Ireland and the six border counties, Cavan, Donegal, Louth, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo.

This includes enhancing SME competitiveness and research and innovation capacity, and funding skills development as well as smart towns and villages.

These supports, resources and mechanisms all play a key role in ensuring that, despite the challenges at play, with peace in place, a vibrant and forward-looking economy can grow.

Continuing efforts towards reconciliation will serve to allow the economy in Northern Ireland to further prosper and realise its potential.

Saying that reconciliation is unfinished business may sound downbeat or defeatist. However, in recognising the challenge, we can make a firm commitment to meet it.

We can continue in our collective efforts – as governments, business leaders, civil society, community advocates.

We can never forget what is at stake, what we can make possible.

Reconciliation on our island, our shared island, is the ultimate goal.

In her memoir, Monica McWilliams writes of receiving a letter 10 years after the Good Friday Agreement from a mother saying her ‘children could now aspire to things that she once could only have dreamed of’.

Now, as we stand 25 years on from the Good Friday Agreement, this remains at the forefront of our ambitions.

To allow future generations achieve what once had seemed impossible,

to aspire for a better life,

for themselves and their communities,

in a peaceful and truly reconciled Ireland.

Go raibh maith agaibh.