I am proud to be able to contribute to support this Bill, and that our leader, Mary Lou McDonald, brought this Bill forward. It is a Bill of hope in our future. It is about planning responsibly, producing a Green Paper, which is a report used to start a public discussion, and establishing a citizens' assembly so that people can have a fully informed, inclusive and respectful conversation about Irish unity. Almost 30 years ago people from different political traditions came together through difficult and sometimes extremely intensive negotiations. They listened to one another and found common ground and out of that came the Good Friday Agreement. That agreement has changed lives. It gave people hope and a peaceful and democratic pathway to shape our constitutional future and it recognised that every voice matters and every identity deserves respect. The future of this island must always be decided by the people who share it. For me that hope is deeply personal. Having been born in Belfast, I have lost family and had family interned and tortured, so I know well what partition has done. We were made to feel we did not belong. We moved South and were told to go back where we belong. Am I not Irish? Where do I belong? I want to belong to an island where my family can share the same health service, education and currency and where no matter where you are born, your future is equal. The conversation is already happening and no matter which way this vote goes, this will happen. We hear this in our communities and in workplaces and around kitchen tables across the land. Now is the time to prepare. We all have a responsibility to engage honestly and openly, and we need to listen to every voice and tradition. This is not about forcing a united Ireland on anyone but shaping a new Ireland together. There are those here who call themselves republicans, who stand at the graves of our patriot dead claiming they want a united Ireland, who in their hearts believe in a united Ireland and who know the hope they give people when they talk about bringing about a united Ireland but who are the very people who may vote against a very simple thing - a plan and discussion for everyone on a united Ireland. I do not get this. What are they afraid of? If they are so concerned, they can bring it forward for amendments. Is it that they are letting one person who may well soon be consigned to episodes of "Reeling in the Years" ensure they vote against their very hearts? If that happens, how will they explain that to people in their constituencies, namely that they voted against them being able to make their voices heard? How will they stand at the next commemoration with a true speech? Will they then be claiming they are for a united Ireland but against having to plan or a discussion it?

Sentiment score: 0.21