Top Issue 1-2024

14 July 2011

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Letter to the Taoiseach

MANY THANKS, Taoiseach, for the céad míle fáilte in the last week of June when six of us from the Northern Assembly arrived at Leinster House to make further progress towards the establishment of the North/South Parliamentary Forum.
As you know, Taoiseach, this is one of the still unresolved matters arising from both the Good Friday Agreement and the St Andrew’s Agreement.
It was nice of the Ceann Chomhairle, Seán Barrett, to formally welcome us to the Dáil Chamber. And Gerry and some of his/our colleagues were kind enough to leave the Sinn Féin benches and join us in the ‘Distinguished Visitors’ seats for a moment or two.  We appreciated that.
Travelling together from the North was none other than myself representing Sinn Féin; the DUP Speaker of the Assembly, William Hay; his party colleague and North Down MLA, Peter Weir; Leslie Cree, North Down Ulster Unionist MLA; Judith Cochrane from the Alliance Party; and Pat Ramsey of the SDLP.
We, the team of six, make up the Assembly Commission and we were meeting the Oireactas Working Group to progress the All-Ireland Parliamentary Forum.  Sinn Féin uniquely has elected representatives in both states (as you know, Enda).  I was glad that my colleague, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD, was also playing such a leading part in this work and was at our meeting.  Just thought I would update you on this as we have committed to further meetings in September, October and November.  You, yourself, attended our working conference in the Slieve Donard Hotel, Newcastle, County Down, last October and offered your support.  Come this October, we will want to be in a position to go.
Just a little anecdote to keep you going, Taoiseach. (I think you need a little smile after Sinn Féin’s motion on the health cuts upset the Fine Gael honeymoon.)
At our recent meeting, one of the unionist representatives observed that his name had been omitted in error from the minutes of the previous meeting and wanted the record to be corrected.  While the other observed that their name was in the record of the minutes as attending . . . and wondered aloud if their name could be taken out.
I won’t tell you which one.  I’ll leave it to your imagination, Taoiseach.

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