Brendan Smith condemns proposed legacy amnesty, warns on border harms

Apologies I missed the start of the contributions by Daniel and Oona due to another meeting as well but I very much welcome their contributions and it's very enlightening their opening statement and the responses to questions from colleagues earlier. Could I just say again it goes back to many times we have discussed the non-implementation of some important aspects of the Good Friday Agreement and then we see the British government attempt to tear up a very important part of the Stormont House Agreement with their proposal to introduce an amnesty for people who committed heinous crimes be they members of state forces paramilitary organisations it's absolutely deplorable that any government will put forward a suggestion that they will cut off all investigations and ensure that there was no possibility of people getting the truth about who committed those crimes or ever getting justice for their loved ones and it's an awful concept that a government in a civilised world would introduce such a measure and over the last few weeks in this House we had a debate yesterday evening and the Cahiruk and myself and many others members of the committee participated in dealing with legacy issues and the recent Ombudsman's report as well three weeks prior to that we had debates in the immediate aftermath of the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Derry we had statements as well where we reflected on the need to ensure that legacy issues are dealt with and that the important work of reconciliation and getting to the truth is never is never that it has to be prioritised and we all know that as time was on it's going to be more and more difficult to get the truth in regard to some of those heinous crimes and awful events that happened on our island during that era could I just say it's unfortunate that the bill of rights has not been introduced and I think you make the point very very well if we had the implementation of the storm and house agreement the new decade new approach allied to the fundamental implementation of the good friday agreement the issues that you have amplified so well would not be of concern to us today could I just say that you make the point that the bill of rights would have prevented regressive actions of the British government the obvious camp would be the current British government paper on legacy you know that's that's so true so it is and again it it it highlights the value of a bill of rights and the importance of it could I just say that along with your contributions here today I was very much informed on the importance of these issues issues but I met the northwest migrants forum some months ago and they gave I along with another number of other Fianna Fáil colleagues met the group and they gave us an excellent presentation in regard to the day-to-day issues and you know the way in in this erotus you know the way in the day-to-day session in the day-to-day session he both in plenary session in the Dáil and Shannad and at every committee of this house we discussed for years the need to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland in the context of Brexit and you know huge effort was made by the political system you know by government and opposition at the time and by all interested parties we met with various parliamentary groups from other member states of the European Union met with many committees committees and committees also from the House of Commons and the House of Lords and all the time there was a very clear clear message the need to avoid a hard border on this island and to ensure that we could go about our business as we have in recent years and that day with the northwest migrants forum we just talked about how these new proposals by the British that they were actually going exactly in conflict conflict with the whole area of all of us and successive governments in promoting the whole area of more cross border cooperation and health education and tourism and you know I live in a border community I was reared in that have had the privilege of representing them representing captain monaghan in the erotus for 30 years and can I say that I have seen it firsthand the huge change in how we go how we go about our daily lives in the border counties as many other colleagues on this committee have witnessed over the years but we never thought we'd be going back to our people crossing the border be it for for education accessing health services or going about social activity playing sports going to go for their day out go to visit a family member that that there could be a hindrance or an obstacle put in their way it's not acceptable and it's not what we want in this country in this day and age and I that day when I met the north west migrants forum we just talked that day about you take a pediatric cardiac care is provided in crumland children's hospital for all of our island we know about the services that are provided at the gelvin that are so important for dunagal I have it in my own constituency some services health services are accessed by people from cabin monaghan in in hospitals in northern ireland and vice versa and only I think it's only I think it was three weeks ago here chairman we had the coach we met the officials from the northern ireland health service and from the hse here about us intensifying cooperation in the delivery of health services well if we're going to exclude an important part of our community people who are who are not irish or british citizens but who are contributing to our society who've integrated and have enhanced our society in every respect if we are going to have them treated differently then that's not acceptable to any of us and I think it's an issue that hasn't been as as MP john fanookin said hasn't been given the attention that it has probably in the political system or in the wider public as well so I just commend you on your work and could I ask as senator mcgahan did with regard to the cases that have been reported to you have there been generally people going from a port or an airport who have been asked for identity or who have been stopped by members of angarda shiakana or or or members of the psni are we aware of cases where maybe a family a child is attending school on a different side of the border than where they are resident or people going to access health services or going about their daily business when I think about it is the people who have been living here for some time are settled here working contributing to society and one member of the household may be working in this state another member of the same household might be working in Northern Ireland vice versa in regard to the provision and accessing of services so I just commend Daniel and Oona on your work and again also to take the opportunity once again to commend the work of the Northwest Forum but I'd like to know if you have come across instances of people who have been living here for some time and who have been asked to produce identification whatever and I would see it as a reprehensible as reprehensible and actually going against everything that has been fought and and and literally worked extremely hard by so many people for decades and decades to achieve and and again it's absolutely going in the opposite direction of the what we should see the benefits that we should see from the Good Friday Agreement from Stormont House Agreement and from New Decade New Approach Thank you