I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 8, inclusive, together.
Since I last reported to the House, I have had further correspondence with the British Prime Minister on the way forward and I reiterated the Government's position as I set it out in the Dáil last week. In addition, the Tánaiste met the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on Thursday last and a further meeting will be held tomorrow. We continue to believe the Mitchell report provides the basis for moving forward to all-party negotiations. Those who believe an elective process can play a useful role must demonstrate that an election would indeed be useful in facilitating immediate negotiations, rather than representing a further hurdle
The two Governments agreed last Thursday to intensify the preparatory talks with a view to achieving our joint aim of all-party negotiations by the end of February. It is particularly important that the British Government and the Unionist parties should use this intensified phase to clarify fully their position on the elective process and to address the genuine concerns which exist on the Nationalist side.
As I indicated in the Dáil last week, the Government issued invitations to the various Northern Ireland party leaders for a series of meetings with a view to intensifying dialogue. Arising from these invitations, a meeting was held with the SDLP yesterday and meetings will take place with Sinn Féin later today and with the Alliance Party on Thursday. In addition, the Tánaiste, the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Social Welfare will meet the Progressive Unionist Party later this evening.
Regarding contacts with the Ulster Unionist Party, it is clearly important that a meeting with that party should take place as soon as possible. In that regard it is necessary to refer to the comments made by Mr. John Taylor. He has been known to have made provocative comments in the past which have been unhelpful to efforts to improve relationships on this island. His comments about the Tánaiste are not only unhelpful — they are untrue.
Taken together with the unavailability of the UUP Leader, Mr. David Trimble, for a telephone call from, or a meeting with, the Tánaiste, these events stand in stark contrast to genuine efforts being made by the Tánaiste and the entire Irish Government to understand the Unionist position and discuss their proposals with them.
At a time when this Government — and indeed the other parties in this House, through the work of the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation — have gone to great lengths to both understand and accommodate Unionist viewpoints, some Unionist parties are showing an exaggerated tendency to invent and magnify problems and obstacles, rather than building a genuine cross-community partnership for peace.
Dialogue is always the best course. It is only through face-to-face talks among all the political parties and the Governments that we can develop the necessary trust and confidence to reach agreement about any proposals. A refusal to meet face to face all those who have yet to be convinced in relation to the Unionist party's proposals, displays a lack of confidence in the proposals by their authors, and feeds the suspicion that the proposals could be no more than a delaying tactic.