There has been a lot of coverage given to Sinn Fein’s demand for Northern Ireland MPs to be allowed to speak in the Dail. Some TDs have objected to MPs who won’t sit at Westminster taking part in Dail debates.
However, for some reason, there’s been very little attention paid to the views of the SDLP, who do take their seats at Westminster, but also want Dail representation.
With that in mind, I thought I’d highlight a quote from a party spokesman in this week’s Irish World:
"The SDLP is in favour of speaking rights in the Dail – and totally opposed to unionist threats to refuse to work the North South agenda if speaking rights are given."
"Even more important to us is the North South Parliamentary Forum provided for by the Good Friday Agreement. It would bring together all the representatives of all the parties of all of Ireland for the first time ever. It would, we believe, be the engine of the North South agenda. We want to see it too without delay"
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