Aontaím le ceannaire Fhianna Fáil agus leis an Taoiseach faoi na páistí a fuair bás faoi lámha an Taliban. Tá ár smaointe le teaghlaigh na bpáistí bochta. Gabhaim buíochas le Dia go bhfuil an próiseas síochána againn sa tír seo. Tá a fhios ag an Taoiseach go bhfuil a lán brú ar an bpróiseas polaitíochta ag an uair seo. He will know that power sharing in the all-Ireland institutions faces major economic and political challenges. The economic challenges arise from the Tory Party's austerity policies, the reduction made by that government in the Executive's block grant and the lack of financial powers needed to remodel the local economy in the North. The political challenges arise from the British Government's refusal to honour international agreements and political Unionism's resistance to power sharing and partnership. No party represented in the North's Executive has a mandate to implement policies which undermine international agreements or the rights and welfare of the most vulnerable in society. However, last week the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister tabled a paper which did just that and put it forward on a take it or leave it basis. It does not mention Acht na Gaeilge or a Bill of Rights. It acquiesces to the British Government's use of national security to deny information to victims and close down Article 2 compliant inquests. This is deeply disappointing.

Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, the Irish Government has responsibility as co-equal guarantor to uphold all aspects of this and subsequent agreements and ensure the British Government will do likewise. I know that this is a very difficult task, but can the Taoiseach explain why he has agreed to a paper which is so deficient that it runs against the spirit and the letter of the Good Friday Agreement and other agreements, including some with international status?

I can. I was happy to attend the discussions that took place in Belfast on Thursday and Friday. It was the tenth week of discussions that had begun some time ago. The discussions, led on this side by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and his colleagues, were productive and constructive and were added to by the discussions that took place both in plenary session and with the individual parties around the table. Let us be clear. The position is that the particular circumstances in Northern Ireland have to take into account the legacy of the conflict period.

The Irish Government, time and again both now and in the past, has shown its interest in this through the PEACE and INTERREG funds and the reconciliation fund operated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The Executive and the Assembly in Northern Ireland requested responsibility to take on devolved government, and that was assigned to them. However, they have not been able to agree on how that should be done. The reason I had the privilege of attending with all of the members, including the British Prime Minister, was to continue to offer our support and assistance where that is possible. The Deputy knows this. He is the president of his party and according to political commentary everything must pass through him. Social security, child supports and pensions are devolved to Northern Ireland. Section 87 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires the Secretary of State with responsibility for social security and the equivalent Northern Ireland Minister to consult each other to secure a single system of social security, child support and pensions within the United Kingdom. The statement of funding principle makes it clear that the funding for the social security system is demand led and comes from the Treasury. It is a matter for the parties in Northern Ireland, who have had this responsibility devolved to them, to make that political decision, but they have not been able to make it.

The Deputy knows that if the Assembly and the Executive do not make that decision, the shortfall will come from the block grant. The case being made last week was for further moneys from the taxpayer to deal with this matter. However, that is a denial of the responsibility which the Executive and the Assembly demanded and were given. It appears that the majority of parties in Northern Ireland wish to get on with the business, but it is also clear that the Deputy has made a particular case as to why this should not be so. From a political point of view, responsibility was sought and was devolved, but it is not being accepted.

The Government will continue to be supportive in the way it has been, and that is a substantial amount over the next number of years. However, the British Government, in putting its cards on the table, has left aside almost £1 billion in extra spending power to the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly for dispersal throughout the North, provided that the political agreement in put in place on the papers that were there.

I made a specific issue of the Irish language. As the Deputy knows, the paper presented in Belfast included a paragraph on that.

What did the paragraph say? It stated that the Minister can bring forward a paper to the Executive. It does not mention Acht na Gaeilge, which is a commitment that was made in the St. Andrews Agreement by both governments. I put a straightforward question to the Taoiseach. Why did he sign up to a paper which does not mention Acht na Gaeilge or a bill of rights and which acquiesces to the British Government on the use of British national security interests and also seeks to close down Article 2-compliant inquests? The British Government made no offer of £1 billion.

The Taoiseach is not a passive spectator here. He is the Taoiseach and a player, not a junior partner. There are outstanding commitments, and this is on the Taoiseach's watch. A civic forum in the North does not exist, nor does an all-Ireland civic forum. There is no bill of rights, no all-Ireland charter of rights, no joint North-South committee of the two human rights commissions, no compliance with the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and no Irish language Act. It is my view that the current talks can succeed and a deal can be done. The Sinn Féin team is there to do that, but it cannot be on a purely British or Unionist agenda. Irish national interests must be upheld. That is the Taoiseach's responsibility. These propositions were hard won over many years and the Government cannot be allowed to dilute them.

The Taoiseach was present when the British Prime Minister told me that he would not be establishing an inquiry into the killing of human rights lawyer Pat Finucane, as he is obliged to do under the Weston Park Agreement. The Taoiseach sat silently and did not utter a word on the issue. It is clear that this Government and London still try to obstruct efforts to get to the justice and truth that victims of the conflict are seeking. Why did the Taoiseach sign up to this agenda? A deal can be done and will have to be done. Will the Taoiseach explain how he intends to be part of this, as opposed to a spectator to, or a commentator on, what happened?

As usual, the Deputy is very economical with the truth. The fact is that the Deputy, as the leader of his party, has put his foot down and said there will not be welfare reform in Northern Ireland.

Welfare cuts.

It is welfare reform.

The Taoiseach wants to nationalise austerity.

Social security arrangements are a devolved power. The Deputy's party sought that and got it.

Now it does not want it.

Nonetheless, the costs are borne by the Treasury in London and are separate from the other funding stream of the block grant.

The Taoiseach should talk about his Government, not the government there.

Northern Ireland has no power to act autonomously here. If there is a shortfall, it comes out of the block grant.

The Fine Gael and Tory alliance is alive and well. It is back to John Bruton's time.

That will be £13 million between January and March of this year, £87 million next year and £114 million between 2015 and 2016. There was a separate legislative measure dealing with the introduction of welfare reform in Northern Ireland. It got as far as the Second Reading and Committee Stage, but it has not progressed beyond that since 2013.

We are talking about the Taoiseach's Government, not Mr. Cameron's government.

The Deputy put a stop to that. He asked for devolved responsibility, but he will not accept it.

We would not accept cuts.

He is afraid to make decisions about welfare reform.

We are not afraid. We are making decisions.

The Deputy asked why we signed up to this. The paper presented, in which I had a central part to play from the Irish Government's point of view, included a direct and specific passage about the Irish language, Scots Gaelic and so forth.

It does not refer to Acht na Gaeilge.

We made that point very clearly.

There is significant movement in respect of the historical investigative unit-----

Backwards.

-----which will allow for the chairperson, when appointed by both governments, to receive even the most sensitive documentation from the British Government and from its agencies. That includes issues such as Ballymurphy and would include, in my view, other elements of what might not have been produced in the de Silva report in respect of Pat Finucane.

The Finucane family rejected the de Silva report.

We could still be in Northern Ireland going around in circles and not making a decision. The fundamental issue is that the Executive and the Assembly sought responsibility for devolved authority and got it in respect of welfare reform-----

The Taoiseach has responsibility to honour the agreements.

-----pensions and child support, but the Deputy is afraid to face the music and make a choice on welfare reform.

The Taoiseach is afraid to face the British Government.

He is like a poodle, Cameron's poodle.

He is putting off the long day. The Irish Government will continue to support Northern Ireland, as it has done. That will amount to approximately €0.5 billion over the next number of years. The British Prime Minister, in the discussions he conducted with both the First Minister and deputy First Minister, because this is a matter of devolved responsibility, said he was giving them extra capacity to have access to spending power of almost €1 billion.

No, he did not.

However, Deputy Adams said this was ham-fisted and amateurish and that they were the worst discussions he was involved with in all his years.

They were the first in which the Taoiseach was involved.

If we put together a political paper upon which agreement can be reached, if Deputy Adams has the courage to face it, and if both governments are in Belfast for the purpose of signing off on an agreement which will give extra spending power to the Executive and Assembly in Northern Ireland, that is neither amateurish nor ham-fisted.

The Deputy should have the courage to face up to his political responsibility-----

So should the Taoiseach.

-----and do what he must do, or else tell his Deputy First Minister, "Martin, you have responsibility for this". He wants to do a deal, but the Deputy will not let him. It is a major sign of what might happen down here if the people were ever to give the Deputy that type of responsibility in this country.