Martin McGuinness
Mid Ulster · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“It was noted that full sectoral audits had been carried out by Departments of the Executive and the Irish Government to identify impacts, risks, opportunities and contingencies that may arise following the UK's intended withdrawal from the EU.”
“<BR /> <BR />We welcome the establishment by Minister Heather Humphreys and Minister Chris Hazzard of an Ulster canal advisory forum, which met for the first time on 23 September 2016.”
“That is something that has never been previously asked. It is interesting that the Member has chosen to call for that. From our perspective, we will have a discussion.”
“We also have 220 people now employed at that centre. They are people of the highest specialisms imaginable in medicine. The dedication that they have to that centre is absolutely amazing.”
“The big decision that was taken by both Administrations at the North/South Ministerial Council meeting — by the Executive Office, the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs — was to put a high-level working group of civil servants in place to deal with the challenges that clearly lie ahead.”
“<BR /> <BR />The oversight board led by Dick Spring and the interdepartmental group set up in both jurisdictions have worked hard to get us to this stage, and I can give assurances that our Executive will continue to give their support to ensure that we deliver the best bid possible.”
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“He was someone who really was not, during his lifetime, given the credit that he was due for the contribution that he made, and it is very interesting to see that the credit that came basically came after his passing, and that, I think, is very, very sad. <BR /> <BR />So, it was very important to go to the funeral to extend my condolences and those of everybody, I think, in the North to Kathleen, his wife, and to his children on the enormous contribution that Albert made to improving all of the lives and the lives of all of the children who have benefited from peace over the last 20 years.”
“<BR /> <BR />So, I believe that the people of Ireland owe a great debt of gratitude to Albert Reynolds for the courage that he showed, for his acceptance that communication and dialogue were absolutely vital in moving forward and for the work that he, at a very early stage, was involved in, as I said, with Gerry Adams, John Hume and Father Alec Reid. Then, of course, there was the involvement with Irish America, and the entering into the process of President Bill Clinton clearly provided a great opportunity for all of us to move forward in a way that has dramatically improved the lives of the people who all of us here represent. <BR /> <BR />I think that it is also fair to say that, without Albert Reynolds's visionary approach at a very early stage of this process, it is hardly likely that any one of us would be in this arena today.”
“So, he was someone who understood the problem and understood when he came into the role of Taoiseach that he had a huge responsibility to try to assist in bringing that conflict to an end against a backdrop of, I think, a fairly wide recognition on behalf of all of the combatants that there could be no military victory for anyone. So, there was an imperative to create the conditions that would pave the way for a peace process and for an inclusive political negotiation that would bring the end of conflict and violence in this country.”
“The meetings that Albert authorised were mainly between Martin Mansergh, his principal political adviser on the North, and myself. Martin and I were involved in many meetings in advance of the IRA ceasefire in 1994. <BR /> <BR />Albert was the person who coined the phrase, "Who is afraid of peace?", and that represented a real challenge to everyone. He was someone who I believe had a very intimate knowledge of the North of Ireland and a very intimate knowledge of every section of the community that lived in the North of Ireland. He was very proud of his contacts with many people in the business community who came from the unionist community and also was very much in contact with many people right across the political and business spectrum.”
“Go raibh maith agat, Principal Deputy Speaker. First, it is a great honour to stand here today to say a few words about the massive contribution that Albert Reynolds, as Taoiseach, made to peace in this country. I was on holiday with my family in Sligo when I learned of his sad passing, and I decided to break the holiday to attend his funeral in Dublin. <BR /> <BR />Albert Reynolds was one of those people who recognised that, to resolve conflict, dialogue and communication were very important. He broke with tradition in that he authorised his principal adviser on the North, Martin Mansergh, to open up discussions with Sinn Féin against the backdrop of the dialogue that was taking place at the behest of Gerry Adams, John Hume and Father Alec Reid.”