Let me say at the outset that I want to see our island united, I want to see our people united and I want to see a united Ireland. I want to work across party lines in this House, across this island North and South and, indeed, east-west, to build the durable consent that would make a new Ireland possible. I believe that is an aspiration shared in one form or another by an overwhelming majority of Members of this House. I know how this Chamber often works. I am expected to stand up and say that the Opposition is bad and the Government is good, and they stand up and say the Government is bad and the Opposition is good. I think on an issue as profound as constitutional change, encompassed by the Good Friday Agreement, we owe the people something better than that. We owe each other respect and we should acknowledge each other's bona fides. I fully accept the bona fides of Deputy McDonald and her colleagues in bringing forward this legislation. While we differ on the approach, I do not question the sincerity of their ultimate objective. We all seek a better future for this island but there are genuine differences across the political spectrum on how we best go about that and how we best achieve that future. Respectfully, I do not think it is a question of courage. Nor do I think it is a question of if you are in favour of this legislation then you are in favour of a united Ireland, and if you are not in favour of the legislation then you do not wish to prepare. It is clearly much deeper than that. We may differ on process, we may differ on timing and we may differ on the structures that should guide these discussions, but none of these differences absolve us of the responsibility to engage or the responsibility to prepare. That is why as leader of Fine Gael I recently outlined my own party's intention to publish later this year a new policy paper setting out our vision for the future of this island. Our aim is to engage with every tradition and every identity to encourage informed discussion and to identify the practical, economic, constitutional and societal questions that would need to be addressed were Ireland to be united. Nobody should fear these conversations: they are legitimate, they are necessary and they are already happening. Conversation, however, is not the same as countdown. Constitutional change cannot be driven by deadlines or arbitrary timelines and it cannot rest on assumptions. If it is to happen it has to be carefully prepared for, honestly debated and, above all, built on durable consent. That means listening to every community and every tradition. It means recognising that constitutional change would require significant adjustments for everyone. It is not simply a merger or a takeover. It means understanding that for many people, particularly those within the unionist tradition, these questions are deeply personal and cannot be dismissed. If we are serious about building a shared future then reassurance has to come before rhetoric, persuasion has to come before politics and reconciliation is a requirement for constitutional change. That has been the approach of this Government and our position is clear. It is reflected in the programme for Government, which commits us to the unity of the Irish people while remaining steadfast in implementing the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts. That remains our guiding principle. The Good Friday Agreement provides the democratic, peaceful and agreed pathway to constitutional change, should it be the will of the people North and South. It is one of the greatest achievements in the history of this island and I believe one of the greatest peace agreements anywhere in the world. It replaced conflict with consent, division with dialogue and violence with democratic choice. These principles must continue to guide every discussion about our constitutional future. I also want to acknowledge the impact of the shared island initiative and credit the Taoiseach with his leadership in relation to this. While we may be political rivals from time to time, I will not stand for a situation where the Taoiseach is described as a block in relation to unity when he has done so much for peace on this island. The shared island initiative represents the largest ever investment made in practical North-South co-operation. Whether through improved transport links, research, education, enterprise, tourism or healthcare, these projects are improving people's daily lives, regardless of constitutional preference, because practical co-operation helps build that trust and it helps build that future. That same practical approach must underpin our engagement with the British Government. Last September, alongside the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn, I announced a joint framework on legacy. Legacy remains one of the deepest wounds left by the Troubles. Families deserve truth. They deserve accountability and, where possible, they deserve justice. Turning to the legislation before us - and let me again say I do not doubt Deputy McDonald's bona fides; I do not doubt anyone’s bona fides - the reason I do not support this Bill is that I do not believe that we need it to prepare. I am happy to engage. I do not believe we need a Bill to prepare and I do not believe that constitutional change should be tied to arbitrary timelines or that a citizens' assembly is best way, and nor did the Good Friday Agreement report when it looked at this issue on a cross-party basis and suggested a better model of a forum, which deserves serious consideration. These are not reasons to avoid engagement. They are reasons to deepen it. My commitment this evening is to continue working across this House with party leaders from all parties in government and in opposition to advance the conversation that is under way and will continue on the preparation that is required. It is a conversation that should be informed by respect rather than division, by careful preparation, not by seeking to label each other based on our position on a specific piece of legislation and based on consent rather than compulsion. If we are to achieve a united Ireland, and we will, it will not be built by one party or one Government. It will be built by the people. It will be built democratically, and it will endure only if it is founded on the principles that have served this island so well: peace, partnership and consent.

Sentiment score: 0.39

We did not say that. We said that we should all work together.

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That is nasty and is not going to unite anyone.

Sentiment score: -0.56