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Michelle O'Neill said the message from the conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement was encouraging and was not "deliberately antagonistic" towards anyone. Many of the keynote speakers at the Queen's University Belfast event spoke of the importance of restoring decentralized institutions, with former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging politicians to "move forward in the same spirit of courage and unstoppable determination" that brought peace. in 1998. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the leader of the DUP who is currently blocking the operation of power-sharing institutions in Stormont, said "scolding the trade unionists will not solve the problem".
Sinn Fein's Stormont leader, Ms O'Neill, said the message from the conference and its supporters was one of "encouragement".
Speaking to reporters, he said: "I don't think he was deliberately antagonistic to anybody." I think he was absolutely determined to be positive and try to encourage the parties to come together.
"There's no other show in town."
Ms O'Neill said she was a firm believer in the adage that "there is much more that unites us than divides us".
He added: "I think there was a clear message to take from the events of the past few days and even last week with the presidential visit: that the courage and wisdom of those in 1998 must be up to par before today.
Ms. O'Neill said the attention from international investors is a tangible result of the Accord 25 conference talks.
"I think the tangible elements that are taken away, the international scene is looking at us again, as a place that now has access to both markets, the UK market and the EU market, so it's a good place to come and invest and I think it is important because it is tangible,” he said.
"We also have the attention of the US administration in the form of Joe Kennedy, who has been designated as a special envoy.
"He's someone who makes the connection between democracy, how everything works, having a fully functioning executive with investments.
“So there is real potential and real opportunity and hope for us here in terms of the opportunity for us to make additional investments.
He added: "Joe Kennedy often tells us that there are people who are ready and willing to be here, so we have to use this as a time to reflect but also look ahead and it's about the next 25 years. And it's about creating jobs, it's about making people's lives better, and I think that's a real, tangible part of this GFA anniversary period that we're looking for.
Meanwhile, Ms O'Neill also said mental health services in Northern Ireland were "broken" and more needed to be done to address the generational trauma of The Troubles.
"We reflect on 25 years of the peace process, and this peace is stable and secure, and we should all be secure, but I think there is no doubt that the impact of the conflict is intergenerational, there is trauma there, and we need to invest in our services and there is not enough investment in terms of mental health services on the ground,” he said.
Ms. O'Neill said everyone should feel the benefits of the Good Friday Agreement.
“Every citizen who lives here should feel the benefits of the peace process. And that's not always the reality in life, but that's our job, we have to keep working on that and try to make sure we reach all citizens," he said.
PA wire
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