Debate contribution: St Andrews Agreement: 20 Years On

Debate contribution by Ms Paula Bradshaw on 13 October 2026.

MLA: Ms Paula Bradshaw
Party at the time: Alliance Party
Date: 13 October 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Opposition Business
Heading: St Andrews Agreement: 20 Years On
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5789486

Text

Clearly, we have no issue with the original motion, especially with regard to securing progress on policing and justice and the wider need for reform to provide stability in the institutions. However, our amendment is important because, without it, the motion is a fair statement of facts but, we feel, lacks solutions. Our amendment reiterates the Alliance Party's call for a new shared future framework for our Departments. It should be proposed by the guarantors of the agreement but carried out independently. Before the St Andrews Agreement, we had 'A Shared Future', but it was stalled by political instability and a lack of focus, just as similar work is stalled by political instability and lack of focus now. We then had the cohesion, sharing and integration strategy, which was essentially abandoned. Then, in 2013, we had Together: Building a United Community (T:BUC), and we are only now, 13 years on, seeing work by the Executive Office on a new, evolving good relations framework. The events of the past few weeks have shown us that we still have so much more work to do in our efforts at grassroots level and in these institutions to embed peace and reconciliation. As we know, Northern Ireland lacks a clear definition of good relations. We have been calling for many years for it to be embedded in the Northern Ireland Act 1998, and it is our contention that we are not seeing serious work by the Executive Office to address the need for reconciliation. What we have seen for the last number of decades has been a process of managing division. Reconciliation is defined by Hamber and Kelly as:
"Developing a shared vision of an interdependent ... society ... Acknowledging and dealing with the past ... Building positive relationships ... Significant ... attitudinal ... and political change".
I wonder how much of that has actually happened. Interestingly, reconciliation is now a requirement for all public authorities. Through the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022, the Northern Ireland Act was amended to include section 78F(2)(b):
"the principle that public authorities should encourage and promote reconciliation ... between those with different national and cultural identities with a view to promoting parity of esteem, mutual respect and understanding".
What would an independent evaluation of progress on achieving that say currently? As mentioned in the motion, one of the many issues is that St Andrews took us backwards. Far from tackling institutionalised sectarianism and its inevitable consequences, such as undermining trust and decision-making on the basis of mutual respect and understanding, it reinforced it. The system was designed to suit the two big parties, as they can turn every election into a race for First Minister. Far from power-sharing, we have power-dividing. As the motion states, effective decision-making is being undermined, systems are being abused to deliver little other than blockage and delay and petitions of concern have become sectarian vetoes. Indeed, any evaluation of progress on reconciliation would have to include how sectarian vetoes have shaped and harmed relations in Northern Ireland. I wonder how many among us have read the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement recently. It is a striking document to read three decades on. The second paragraph is instantly notable:
"we firmly dedicate ourselves to the achievement of reconciliation, tolerance, and mutual trust".
I wonder whether anyone looking at the Chamber and at some of our Committees over recent days and weeks could really present an argument that reconciliation, tolerance and mutual respect have been achieved by the Assembly. A shared future framework could do worse than start with the principles laid down in the 1998 agreement, address whether the 2006 agreement at St Andrews really advanced us along the road to reconciliation, tolerance and mutual respect and seek to develop a process with public buy-in that really delivers the shared future that our constituents were promised and deserve. In the last few weeks —.
Thank you for your intervention. Mr Brett will have heard me say many times that we will not have reconciliation on this island until all actors in the Troubles have a part in and a responsibility to deliver on that reconciliation. I am about to close, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. If the last few weeks have taught us anything, it is that it is time to end sectarian vetoes and get on with making progress on genuine and meaningful reconciliation.

730 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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