Coveney says it is ‘easy to forget’ life before Belfast Agreement

A restored Stormont executive can continue to deliver on the achievements of the Belfast Agreement, which led to a "new hope and faith in our politics" 20 years ago, Tánaiste Simon Coveney has said.

Mr Coveney was speaking at a Building Peace conference in Queen’s University, Belfast, on Tuesday, which marked the anniversary of the agreement.

Northern secretary Karen Bradley also praised the "historic magnitude" of the agreement, and pointed to ongoing challenges in the North. "Let's not be shy in celebrating the successes of the past 20 years, but let's also be realistic and recognise that there remain huge challenges.

“We still face a real threat from dissidents, society remains too divided, our economy is too dependent on the public sector, and we still need to address the past.”

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She said the British government was “absolutely clear in our commitment to avoiding a hard border and no border down the Irish sea” after the UK ’s withdrawal from the EU.

Mr Coveney and Ms Bradley also met in Belfast, and discussed how best to approach efforts to restore the Stormont executive. They will meet again next week.

Legacy of loss

In his address Mr Coveney spoke on three themes: remembering, renewing and reconciling. He said it was “easy to forget” life before the Belfast Agreement.

“The legacy of loss, injury, fear and violence has left deep scars. And, tragically, those wounds are not confined to my generation or the generations which came before.

“The traces of the conflict on our physical, social and psychological landscapes are still evident today – evident in segregated schools and communities, in peace walls, in areas of economic deprivation, and along our shared Border. And these traces pale away in comparison to the pain and loss experienced by the very many people who were most affected by the conflict.”

The Tánaiste said there has been a failure to make progress on the “legacy of the past”.

“We owe it to the memory of all those lost to the conflict to make progress now on addressing the past. Time is not going to lessen that debt. Rather, it will compound it.”