I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 7, inclusive, and Question No. 83 together.
As Deputies will be aware, I issued invitations on 19 May to the leaders of all the relevant political parties in Northern Ireland to participate in bilateral talks with the Irish Government on an open agenda. As a preliminary to formal talks, the Government had a meeting on 15 June with the SDLP delegation comprising the party's four MPs as well as four councillors. We had a very useful discussion on a range of issues relating to the peace process. The SDLP shares the Government's view that every effort must continue to be made to bring about the commencement of all-inclusive talks on a settlement.
In a further preliminary contact and at the specific request of Sinn Féin, the Tánaiste and I met a party delegation led by Mr. Gerry Adams on 22 June. We had a very constructive exchange of views on issues of central importance to the peace process. There has not yet been a formal response from the Alliance Party but I have had a lengthy meeting recently with the party leader, Dr. John Alderdice.
The Ulster Unionist Party leader, Mr. James Molyneaux, recently informed me that, following consultation with his party colleagues, the Ulster Unionist Party feels unable to partake in bilateral talks with the Government for the time being. Naturally I would have wished that talks with the Ulster Unionist Party could have got under way immediately.
I have not yet had a definitive reply from the Ulster Democratic Party and the Progressive Unionist Party. The Democratic Unionist Party leader has indicated publicly that he will not be responding to my invitation.
The House can be assured, however, that I will continue to do everything possible to encourage the political representatives of the Unionist and loyalist tradition to meet with the Government. Within that context, I would be prepared to meet the new MP for North Down, Mr. Robert McCartney.
The Government, together with the British Government, has been seeking, in a very proactive way, to move the peace process forward. At a very useful meeting in Cannes, the British Prime Minister and I undertook a bilateral stock-taking on the peace process and all issues affecting it. We focused mainly on two issues: how to advance our agreed objective of comprehensive political talks and how to make progress on the decommissioning of illegal weapons. We agreed that we want to see movement towards fully inclusive all-party talks and we believe the close co-operation between our two Governments is the key to achieving this. We canvassed various ideas on decommissioning and have tasked our officials to consider these in more detail and report back to us in a matter of weeks.
The two Governments are firmly committed to the peace process, to an agreed political settlement and to the comprehensive negotiations required to achieve this goal. We knew from the beginning there would be difficulties. We have successfully overcome earlier difficulties and are confident we will continue to do so.