Brian Stanley calls for extending democracy to the north

I welcome this motion. As somebody who passionately believes in the national reunification of the national territory, I think it is an important step forward and it is long overdue. There has been foot dragging on this, Minister, and we need a timeline for progress. National reunification is important. All parties nominally sign up to it. I believe that we should do better. We should actually be proactive about it. The Taoiseach talks a lot about the Shared Ireland project. What I would say is, let's share and extend democracy on the island. Let's share and extend that democracy. The presidential elections we have had, we have had President Robinson, McAleese and Higgins. They have done great work and they have done great outreach to both communities and all communities in the north, even the very small minority communities in the north. Increasing the number of citizens in the north are more open to an all-Ireland cooperation. There is more cooperation now through business, sports, culture, health, politics and the North South Ministerial Council. The fact that that is meeting again and hopefully the role of that expands and I welcome to the fact that that is happening. We saw a setback yesterday in terms of the A5 motorway project. Unfortunately that is being held up again. Hopefully it will get started and that can be done. It is very important for Derry, Tyrone and Derry and indeed for Donegal. The Good Friday Agreement confirmed the right of Irish citizens to everybody on the island of Ireland. And we have had candidates from the north. We have had Martin McGuinness, an excellent candidate from the six counties. We have had Mary McAleese, the President here, done a good job also and was very open in our outlook and in our approach and very inclusive. But they can't, they don't have the right to vote for themselves, their families can't vote for them, the communities they come from, they refuse that right. But we can't blame the British government on this one. This is our job here. The solution is here in this building minister. The solution is here in this room and in government buildings. But I have to say to you I am disappointed that I don't see it in the programme for government. I am open to correction, I can't find it in it. I was hoping it would be in the programme for government. It is a matter of equality and democracy. And we can't have any more foot dragging. The electoral register in the north is much improved and is probably more accurate than the one here at the moment. Polling stations could easily be put in a community centre in the larger towns. I think that people will come out and vote in numbers. So let's extend democracy. Let's start fulfilling the promises of the Good Friday Agreement. Some of us supported that reluctantly back in 1997-1998, what was put forward in 1998 eventually. We supported on the basis that these all-Ireland dimensions would improve and expand. This is one practical step we can take to do it. And nominally we are supposed to be all agreed to it here. But I don't want to see it just nominally. As I said, somebody who passionately supports the reunification of the national territory, I think that we need to be active about this. And I think you have opposition support from what I heard here this evening. And we should do it, and we should do it sooner rather than later.