We need to keep the faith: Taoiseach tells Humes peace event in Derry

It is a great pleasure to join you all this evening, here at The Playhouse in Derry.

A place which for thirty years has been an inclusive civic space in the heart of this city.

With a mission and a vibrant record of supporting ‘purposeful inquiry through the arts’, centred on helping to forge a sustainable peace in the community.

So, this is most a fitting place to come together as we remember John and Pat Hume, who together devoted their lives to the achievement of enduring peace in Ireland.

And at this time - as we witness and respond with solidarity to the horror of Russia’s immoral war on Ukraine - we are jolted to see again how priceless is the gift of peace on these shores.

And we remember too just how critical - in the darkest days of the violence of Troubles - was John Hume’s political leadership in keeping hope alive.

To never give up on peace.

To always insist on respect of fundamental rights for all.

And, to work with unswerving determination, to find agreed resolutions to intractable problems. Working through practical, positive actions to build common ground.

The Good Friday Agreement was the product of many people’s work. Of political and civic leaders across all traditions and communities in Northern Ireland - unionist, nationalist, loyalist, republican and others.

Including David Trimble who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with John, in recognition of their leadership and risk-taking in walking together a pathway to peace.

The Irish and British Governments worked in closest partnership; and the United States and European Union each played indispensable roles, in forging a context for a resolution.

But, the Good Friday Agreement simply wouldn’t have happened without John Hume; the vision, tenacity and sheer will he brought, over decades, to achieve a political resolution that would definitively end the destructive cycles of violence.

John built up a coalition for peace in Derry, Belfast, London, Dublin, Washington, Brussels and Strasbourg.

I was proud to unveil a sculpture of John Hume at Ireland’s Ambassador’s residence in Washington D.C. last month, which is a fitting reminder of the extraordinary political relationships that John built up in that city, across America and around the world in his limitless bid to secure peace.

At home and abroad, John brilliantly and ceaselessly affirmed an irrefutable moral and intellectual case for non-violence.

As he said so often, so simply and so profoundly:

“the only consequence of violence is a more deeply divided people”; “the essence of unity in every society, is to accept diversity”; and, We need on this island to “work the common ground... spilling our sweat and not our blood, to grow together…at our own speed”.

These precepts would come to be accepted by all sides; and they represent the DNA of the Good Friday Agreement.

And, as John always acknowledged, he couldn’t have done what he did without the outstanding contribution of Pat.

His partner in family and political life; his most trusted advisor and his most courageous and unstinting supporter.

John, with characteristic wit and warmth, often said, “I’m a parcel and Pat delivers me.”

Theirs was an inspirational partnership for family and community; for peace and progress.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha.

John - working side by side with Pat - left us a powerful legacy of peace and a shining example of striving always for reconciliation.

I believe that their life’s work will continue to guide us on this island, just as they will remain a source of hope and inspiration for those who champion the cause of peace around the world.

I also want to recognise the valued contribution and commitment of everyone involved with the John and Pat Hume Foundation in helping to support their legacy.

In a short period, the Foundation has already built up an impressive programme of work.

Fostering civic engagement founded on the principles of inclusivity, respect for difference, and of working for peaceful, positive change - which were so central in John and Pat’s lives.

I and my Government colleagues look forward to continuing to supporting the Foundation, as you develop this important mission in the years ahead.

The threat of violence last Friday targeting an innocent man, disrupting a family funeral in Belfast and the Foundation’s cross-community event with Minister Coveney, underscores how much we still need John Hume’s message and means of peace-building today.

I welcome that last week’s incident, and the attack on Doug Beattie’s office this week, have been condemned by political leaders from all communities, making clear that no purpose is served and nobody is represented by violence or a threat of violence.

My Government listens carefully to the concerns of all communities in Northern Ireland. As Taoiseach, I have engaged actively and constructively with Unionist, Nationalist and other political leaders across the spectrum here.

The Irish Government will never dismiss genuinely held concerns around the Protocol, and we are working very actively with our EU partners to listen and engage on them. But any opposition must always be peaceful. That is simply fundamental.

There are democratic and lawful means for all concerns to be raised and resolutions worked through. That is where our focus must remain.

I want to also acknowledge Sara Canning this evening, a member of the Hume Foundation Board, civic activist and more, whose partner, the brave and brilliant journalist Lyra McKee was cruelly taken away almost three years ago, in a senseless act of violence on the streets of Derry.

We all stand with Sara and Lyra’s wider family as they seek and await justice, and bear such devastating loss.

Lyra McKee’s talented and passionate writing and reporting, with such strong sense of empathy, of justice, and a demand for better for her generation, stands as an enduring inspiration and call to action: that we live up to and deliver on the promise of the Good Friday Agreement, for all in the community.

In the context of what this requires of us all, I’m very glad to have the opportunity to contribute this evening to the Foundation’s dialogue series on ‘Building Common Ground’.

This was central to John Hume’s political thought and mission throughout his life; it goes to the core of the Peace Process; and it demands our attention and commitment at this time.

I am conscious of the election for the Northern Ireland Assembly next month, so I won’t dwell on specific current political issues this evening.

Instead, I’d like to focus on the fundamentals of the Good Friday Agreement; its central goal of reconciliation; and how in real terms we achieve it, by building common ground.

As John Hume readily identified and so often counselled, there are three connected sets of relationships that are essential to the cohesion of society.

Across the community in Northern Ireland; within the island of Ireland; and between Ireland and Britain.

It was the eventual accommodation of these relationships in the Good Friday Agreement that was fundamental to its political force and success - securing the resounding and enduring support of the people of this island, North and South.

Through the Agreement, we established new, interdependent political institutions - for Northern Ireland, North/South and East/West - and affirmed principles, rights and equal protections for all, and addressed issues of citizenship, identity and constitutional futures.

We created the political space and societal confidence to work the common ground.

Without in any way compromising our different, equally legitimate identities, beliefs and aspirations for the future of this island - nationalist, unionist or neither.

I respect and affirm everyone’s right on this island to work democratically for the constitutional future they wish to see under the Good Friday Agreement.

The Agreement empowers us to create, together, a brighter and reconciled future for all.

And there is no doubt that, through the Peace Process, common ground has been sought out, tended and grown, and helped to make life better.

In countless personal, community, and political interactions over the last twenty-four years that embraced conciliation, compromise and cooperation.

Look, for example, at how issues around parades have been worked through here in Derry, on a basis of respect for all traditions and a desire to find better ways to share the city. And Derry inspired similar efforts and resolutions on parading across Northern Ireland.

More widely, there have been important gestures of accommodation and reconciliation by political leaders from all traditions. And the State Visit by Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland in 2011 and that by President Higgins to the United Kingdom in 2014 have an enduring significance.

In politics, we have been able to work in our very substantial common interests through the power-sharing, North/South and East/West institutions of the Agreement.

And, a near quarter century of peace has allowed a developing of political, economic, cultural and societal relationships right across these islands. Deepening and normalising our understanding of each other.

In short, we have begun to reconcile.

But we also see that the three sets of relationships accommodated in the Good Friday Agreement are strained, and they have been for some time now.

The outworkings of Brexit, including the Protocol, continue to bedevil politics in Northern Ireland and complicate both North/South and East/West relationships.

The power-sharing Executive and North South Ministerial Council are, once again, not fully functioning, which is a source of deep concern.

As it the fact that the legacy of the Troubles has still not been equitably dealt with. Leaving unmet the needs and legitimate expectations of victims and unresolved trauma in society.

Important, agreed legislation on Irish and on Ulster Scots language and culture in the New Decade, New Approach agreement has still to be passed.

Residual paramilitarism and related criminality continues to stalk some communities, taking and scarring lives.

And, constitutional and identity politics still structures much of political interaction in Northern Ireland.

This hinders political discussion of policy priorities and choices; impacts governance; and far too often sees a reductive and patently false narrative of ‘us and them’.

As Lyra McKee once wrote, “bigger issues than tribalism are being ignored and no one seems to care” - suicide rates and mental health; good jobs for young people; equality.

We have to be honest and admit that these challenges work against the dynamic of building common ground and understanding that is at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement.

We have won an enduring peace, but we risk losing the accompanying promise of societal progress and reconciliation.

This is a challenge of utmost significance. It is about the kind of society we will pass on to our children and grandchildren.

Whatever constitutional future you want to see for this island, a truer reconciliation should be central to that vision.

And that demands greater political attention and will today, to strive to build more common ground across the three core relationships of our Agreement.

That is why, as Taoiseach, I have put such a priority on my Government’s Shared Island initiative, which I launched almost eighteen months ago.

This is about redoubling our efforts to build meaningful connections, cooperation and trust between different communities and political traditions.

We have set out a broad, positive, inclusive agenda, founded on working through the Good Friday Agreement, towards a shared future for all.

Our Shared Island initiative involves:

* Raising the level of ambition for what we achieve through all-island partnerships - with the Executive, the UK Government and right across society;

* Delivering on cross-border investment commitments and developing a new generation of projects, focused on major shared challenges for North and South; and,

* Looking to the future of this island, in an open, practical, constructive way, that all political traditions can confidently engage with.

Our Shared Island initiative involves broad-based all-island civic dialogue, and a comprehensive programme of published research. This is essential work in building common ground.

To scope out - and to talk about - the opportunities and challenges of deepening cooperation, across communities and borders.

Over the last year and more, over 1,300 civic representatives have participated in our Shared Island Dialogue series.

Inclusion is at the heart of these dialogues, involving people from across all sectors, communities and regions; with a particular emphasis on underrepresented voices, including women, young people and ethnic minorities.

Looking in practical ways at how we can better share this island: including on climate action, healthcare cooperation, tourism, and sport.

And, engaging with societal questions and challenges that we need to talk about more if we are to build common ground and understanding.

Around identity, culture, equality, and how approaches on education impact our ability to interact with and understand each other across different communities and traditions.

We are continuing the Shared Island Dialogue series through this year. Now with in-person and regional engagements.

The vision and quality of ideas that have come forward through these Dialogues has been genuinely inspiring.

New voices, perspectives and experiences in our communities are reframing debates and defining new priorities for how we share this island.

In a Dialogue I participated in with young people, Equality, Climate, Opportunity and Mental Health were among the greatest concerns. They want to see these issues far more to the fore in how we work through the Good Friday Agreement.

And for younger people, John Hume’s message of acceptance of diversity is core - that diversity is not just legitimate “but a source of creativity and richness in society”.

The Dialogue series is highlighting the degree of common ground and readiness to work together there is in civil society, across communities, generations and political traditions, while not shying away from hard questions.

This is something we don’t sufficiently acknowledge in politics.

While division and discord make headlines, there is a store of goodwill and solidarity in and across our communities, North and South.

A shared island society that is ready to work in common cause around shared concerns.

This is fundamental to how we can broaden and deepen the process of reconciliation.

That is why we will continue to listen to, engage with, and champion inclusive civic dialogue and engagement as a core part of our Shared Island initiative.

The Shared Island Initiative is backed by a major financial commitment of €1billion euro over the next ten years, through the Government’s Shared Island Fund.

Through the revised National Development Plan, the Government has set out new investment priorities, across virtually all sectors, to deploy this funding, with the aim of creating a more connected, sustainable and prosperous island for all.

We want to deliver these goals working in partnership with the Northern Ireland Executive.

And we see East/West as well as North/South dimensions and opportunities throughout.

I have had good engagement with Prime Minister Boris Johnson on how both Governments can work together as part of our Shared Island approach.

On climate action; sustainable transport; and research and innovation. We are continuing those discussions as an important part of our wider bilateral agenda.

I established a Shared Island unit in my Department to drive delivery of these priorities right across Government.

I’d like to set out how the Government is taking these goals forward, now and in the time ahead.

Last year, the Government allocated €50m from the Shared Island Fund. To start moving forward with two long-standing cross-border projects - the Ulster Canal and Narrow Water Bridge - that will be landmark recreation and sustainable tourism assets for the central and east border regions.

And last month, I announced over €37m in awards by the Higher Education Authority, under the Government’s major new North/South Research Programme.

We are funding researchers in Universities from all corners of the island to work on pioneering projects over the next four years. Earlier today, I met with researchers at Ulster University’s Magee campus, who are leading some of the 62 successful projects.

Including a major inter-institutional programme to develop an ‘Atlantic Innovation Corridor’ across the multi-city region of Derry, Galway and Limerick. Stimulating new enterprise development throughout the Western seaboard.

This is the kind of strategic, substantial cooperation we need to bring us closer together, in real terms, on this island in the years ahead.

And we want to do significantly more this year in third-level education and research:

* First, establishing All-Island Research Hubs. To bring industry, research agencies and institutions together to conduct world-leading r&d. In areas of common priority for both jurisdictions like Cybersecurity, Digital Healthcare and Precision Medicine. The Irish Government is ready to significantly resource these Hubs through Science Foundation Ireland and our Shared Island Fund, working with the Executive and UK Government.

* Second, we want to develop third-level education infrastructure for the North West in more integrated ways. To improve access to higher education for young people on a cross-border basis.I know how important this is for people in Derry and Donegal alike. How fundamental it is to releasing this region’s huge potential.

Earlier today, I discussed with Ulster University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Bartholomew and his team how we move forward this year with the Government’s commitment under the New Decade New Approach Agreement to capital investment to support expanded access and institutional collaboration in the North West region.

We will work with the Executive, with Ulster University and with Letterkenny Institute of Technology - which forms part of our new Atlantic Technological University formally established today - to meet this commitment through our Shared Island Fund.

I am conscious also of the acute need for better transport connectivity for the North West.

This is central to opening up new businesses, employment and other opportunities for the region, and in connecting our shared island:

The Government is crystal clear in our £75m funding contribution to support the A5 upgrade, which is a critical artery. We want to see it move forward without undue delay; the Minister for Transport has conducted a viability review on air connectivity between Derry and Dublin and will be confirming decisions shortly; and, the Government and Executive are jointly progressing an all-island strategic rail review, to be completed this year, including a focus on better connections for the North West.

Informed by the outcome of this review, we stand ready to make new strategic investments in sustainable rail working with the Executive, and through our Shared Island Fund.

We are also championing cross-border cooperation by Local Authorities, which is such an important part of the shared island picture, nowhere more than in the North West.

Today, I announced a new €5m Shared Island funding scheme open to Local Authorities right across the island.

To support them in developing new cross-border capital projects together. That can deliver agreed regional development goals and our National Development Plan objectives.

For instance, Local Authorities want to work together to deliver cross-border tourism and recreation projects; conserve natural and built heritage; protect biodiversity; and meet regional skills needs.

We are backing them now to develop a pipeline of new capital investment proposals in these and other areas, with a view to accessing further funding in both jurisdictions.

And through this year, the Government will be announcing other new Shared Island-funded projects, including for: climate action; new EV charging networks; border region enterprise development; and for all-island civil society partnerships.

This is how we are working to build common ground - across government, local authorities and in communities, and in all policy areas.

Given our location here in The Playhouse, Derry, I would like to highlight the role of Arts and Culture.

Arts and Culture afford us unique, powerful ways to convey and understand diverse experience, emotion and perspective.

We need this more on our shared island.

To better appreciate our different communities and traditions; our diverse stories and standpoints.

And to seek not just to accept cultural diversity, but to celebrate it.

There are so many arts and cultural initiatives that we should support in this context, not least this very theatre and a number of other projects here in Derry and the North West.

To help with that, the Government will take specific account of shared island themes and opportunities in developing our new flagship Creative Ireland programme for the next five years.

And, we will foster more cooperation between our Arts Councils and Culture Ministers, to support a flourishing of artistic and cultural exchange, as an integral part of how we seek and build common ground.

In closing, I’d like to return again, to John Hume’s words, which always offer much food for thought.

In an address to Seanad Éireann in 2002 John observed that: “We cannot heal the wounds of centuries in a few years. The violence of recent decades, in particular, has left deep wounds. The hurt inflicted and suffered will not go away because agreement has been reached. The agreement cannot take away the pain, but it is the start of the healing process. We do not know where this will take us and how quickly it will proceed but we know it is the best possible way to treat the wounds and divisions of centuries past.”

That task of societal healing clearly remains for those of us in leadership today, and indeed for younger leaders coming through.

We have made such progress since 1998.

A generation has come of age in peace, and by working together in Northern Ireland, North/South and East/West, we really have begun to erode barriers of distrust.

Progress is slow, difficulties are very real, but so is the success we see - a change, slowly but surely, in hearts and minds.

We need to keep the faith and keep building common ground across the three core relationships of the Agreement and in real, practical, impactful terms for people.

As Taoiseach, this is one of my deepest political commitments and most fundamental concerns for this island.

And, as John said, reconciliation requires not just goodwill, but “all the resources of our collective intelligence, imagination, generosity and determination to this great enterprise.”

As so often, he was speaking to all of the people of Ireland, North and South.

I firmly believe, that through sustained commitment and shared endeavour, we will realise the transformational potential of the Agreement for how we live together on this island.

As John also said, in doing so, we will show for “people around the world… that conflict can be ended and that peace, hope and justice can prevail.”