I thank the Chairman and members for this opportunity to address the committee and wish it well in its work. I hope the committee achieves all the objectives it has set out for itself in its work programme. I must inform the Chairman, members, Minister Gildernew and all of the Northern Ireland representatives that it is a pleasure to be here.
I welcome this opportunity to discuss the Good Friday Agreement, ten years on. The establishment of this committee is a reflection of the transformed political context on this island. There have been good developments in that regard in the past year, particularly with the restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland and the successful operation of the institutions provided for in the Agreement. I am also delighted to have the opportunity at this forum to discuss developments in the implementation of the Agreement with colleagues from the Oireachtas and our counterparts from Northern Ireland.
It is particularly important that public representatives, North and South, have an opportunity to discuss together the work of the North-South Ministerial Council, the implementation bodies and areas of co-operation in which vital work is being done to improve the lives of the people on the island of Ireland. This is also an important oversight mechanism that increases the public accountability of the institutions and it will undoubtedly help to bring all of the work being done in this vital area to the attention of the wider public.
It is also fair to say that in recent years our relationship with the Unionist community has also been transformed. We recognise and value the central role the Unionist tradition has played in the life of this island. I fully appreciate the reasons many Unionist representatives feel unable to meet with us at this forum. However, I hope that, if not here, we will find a way where public representatives across the island can engage with each other on matters of interest to all our people for the benefit of all.
In recent weeks, there has been much commentary on the process leading to the Agreement and the major turning point which it marked for relationships on and between these islands. In reflecting on what has been achieved, I wish to acknowledge again the vision and leadership of successive Irish and British Governments. In that context, I refer to former Taoisigh, Garret FitzGerald, Charles Haughey, Albert Reynolds and John Bruton, former Prime Ministers, John Major and Tony Blair, and the leaders of the Northern Ireland political parties, John Hume, David Trimble, Gerry Adams, John Alderdice and Monica McWilliams, who led their delegations with courage and vision. As the Chairman stated, sadly Mo Mowlam and David Ervine, who played vital roles, and are no longer with us. I also wish to acknowledge the contributions of the members of the various political delegations, the members of various Cabinets in the Republic and the Ministers of State who were directly involved in the negotiations.
A large number of people were involved from the late 1980s onward. Working together, people in both communities and our friends in Europe and the United States - in particular former US Senator George Mitchell, former US President, Bill Clinton, and, subsequently, President Bush - transformed the political situation on this island and relations between Ireland and Britain and laid the basis for a new era of peace and prosperity for the benefit of everyone, North and South.
By adopting a comprehensive approach that addressed all the key relationships and enshrined a commitment to partnership, equality and mutual respect, the Agreement provided for the first time an enduring framework for co-operation between the two main traditions on this island. Those changes were hugely significant as they related to constitutional provisions in both Britain and Ireland, institutional changes, changes in security and justice arrangements and strong protection for human rights and much has been achieved in all those areas. The Agreement made possible a new dispensation on this island and we are now fully realising its benefits, following the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive just over one year ago. We are well placed to realise the very significant opportunities that present themselves.
Co-operation on North-South issues features prominently on the committee's work programme for the months ahead. I believe this demonstrates the vitality and dynamism of this element of the Agreement. In the negotiations on the Agreement laying the groundwork for North-South co-operation, we knew we needed a framework that would enable real and effective engagement. We envisaged a North-South Ministerial Council that would get real business done, with real outcomes that would improve people's lives, North and South. That is its purpose, on which it must be judged. Since restoration, we have entered a new era in all-island strategic co-operation. We are getting down to business.
I will not go into every area but I refer to the agenda of the North-South Ministerial Council in July last year. This was the first time in more than five years that Ministers, North and South, sat around a table together and we had a genuinely open and wide-ranging discussion. We intensified our deliberations in Dundalk in February, examining issues that affect our all-island economy. Practically every topical economic, social, health and educational issue was on the agenda. These are the bread and butter issues of political life and the engagement was substantial. We are also getting into the habit of co-operation, as happened, for example, when the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Mary Coughlan, and Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Michelle Gildernew, worked together to fight the threats of animal diseases. This is an ongoing issue and it happens every year. That is a practical and sensible approach to deal with such issues.
For nationalists, there has always been a compelling logic to co-operation on a North-South basis but it is perhaps in the area of economic co-operation that the most persuasive argument for increased collaboration can be made and this is understood by all the parties represented on the Executive. We are, after all, sharing a small island in an increasingly globalised world. There is nowhere more globalised than this island. The latest figures highlight that 4% of globalised services emanate from the South. Our European colleagues were double checking the figure during the week because they could not believe it but it is true. We are a small fraction of the world's population but we provide 4% of such services, which is the fastest growing area. As we approach North-South co-operation practically on the basis of mutual benefit, I have no doubt we can make an all-island economy a resounding success. We are working together and making important progress in areas such as transport and education, agriculture and the environment, tourism and energy.
In a fast-moving and competitive international landscape, our island economy needs cutting edge research and innovation, which is why the Government is contributing €60 million to an exciting new joint innovation fund over the next few years with our colleagues in the North. We also need to focus on areas that require a joint approach. That is why we are working with the Executive to make the north west a key priority area through our north-west gateway initiative and contributing €580 million towards the upgrading of the A5 road to Derry and Letterkenny so that the region will realise its full potential, on which it lost out over many decades. We are assisting the Northern Ireland Executive in every way we can as it prepares to reposition Northern Ireland on the global stage ahead of the international investment conference in a few weeks.
The recent announcement by the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance and the Northern Ireland Minister for Finance and Personnel of co-operation in the financial services area is an example of a joined-up approach, which is important, and ensures a win-win situation for both the North and South. Both the Irish and British Governments have committed to participating at a high level in the investment conference and financial services is one area of potential success. Both Governments are determined to support Northern Ireland on the path to economic success, as we supported it on the path to political agreement. There is huge potential over the next five years and beyond.
A number of challenges remain, as always, as is the way with life. One never completes anything. Ten years after the Good Friday Agreement was signed, we have made a great deal of progress in its implementation but I refer to a number of areas where work needs to be done. A major achievement of the Agreement was the establishment of a police service in Northern Ireland as a policing force widely accepted across the community. This was a difficult but very necessary task, the realisation of which required considerable political courage. Huge progress was made over the years. Our SDLP colleagues who are present made a huge effort to move that on and everybody has followed suit.
This needs to be completed through the devolution of policing and justice powers to the Assembly and Executive and that will be a crucial step in the transformation of Northern Ireland. It was envisaged in the Good Friday Agreement and is provided for in the St. Andrews' Agreement. It is an essential element in a process that will give confidence at home and abroad that the Executive can take control of a matter which is so central to the lives of ordinary people. I have had many discussions with Prime Minister Brown on this and both of us have made clear that we consider that the time is right to proceed with this step. I have given this commitment to all our colleagues, including Sinn Féin colleagues who sought this and SDLP colleagues who supported the move, and it is crucial that this timeframe is lived by. It would be a disappointment if it were not.
While loyalist paramilitary groups have begun processes of transformation, they have not decommissioned. This is an outstanding and important element of the peace process. For our part, we remain committed to helping loyalist communities to move beyond the conflict of the past and secure the benefits that peace and prosperity bring. Perhaps the most daunting and long-term task facing us is that of combating sectarianism and promoting reconciliation. This task will be ongoing for a long number of years. The parties to the Good Friday Agreement specifically committed themselves to "partnership, equality and mutual respect as the basis for relationships within Northern Ireland, between North and South, and between these islands". In addition, we firmly dedicated ourselves "to the achievement of reconciliation, tolerance, and mutual trust".
These are the basis of the Agreement and we must honour them. I have no doubt the committee will keep a close eye on these issues in the years to come. These commitments are as relevant today as they were when we negotiated the Agreement ten years ago. They form the foundation stones for the new era of peace, partnership and prosperity which is being progressively built in Northern Ireland and across the island and between these islands.
We have also celebrated the history of all traditions on the island, most notably through the development of a visitors centre at the site of the Battle of the Boyne, which First Minister, Ian Paisley, and I will officially open in the coming weeks. Members of the House co-operated with me in making sure we resumed the Easter Rising ceremony at the GPO. I hope they continue at a low level over the next number of years and are ready for the 1916 centenary in eight years. I attended the commemoration of the Battle of the Somme at the Memorial Garden, Islandbridge. We have done a great deal of work where people of all traditions are now co-operating with each other. I refer to the commemorations held at Islandbridge which were attended in large numbers by all traditions from the North. We can look to a much brighter future, North and South, where we can respect each other's traditions and respect each other's shared beliefs. It is important we do that.
Healing decades of division and mistrust will take time. These are issues which will not be possible to put away in the filing cabinets for a long time. In my view they will be current issues for a decade or so because there is such a large number of issues that must be dealt with. It is a fundamental necessity to building a better and shared future for the people of these islands that we do that.
I thank the Chairman for inviting me and I thank the members of the committee from both North and South for attending to listen to me. I wish you all well in the work you will carry out in the years ahead.