Brendan Smith
Question:30 Mr. B. Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress to date in relation to the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. [22379/00]
Written Answers. - Northern Ireland Issues.
Progress towards securing the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement is continuing.
Following the restoration of the Executive and the Assembly at the end of May, the institutions are now fully operational again. After an intensive round of meetings in its various sectoral formats, the second plenary meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council took place in Dublin on 26 September, reviewing progress in the North-South institutions to date and agreeing a programme of further work for the months ahead. We look forward to hosting the second summit level meeting of the British-Irish Council, where the Taoiseach will lead discussions among members on possible joint approaches to tackling the problem of drugs.
Following the enactment of the necessary legislation by the Oireachtas, on 20 July the Government announced the appointment of former Supreme Court Judge Dónal Barrington as President of the new Human Rights Commission in this jurisdiction. The process of appointing the other eight Commissioners is under way and it is expected that the Commission should be in a position to commence its work before the end of the year. An early priority will be the establishment of the Joint Committee with the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.
There are, of course, areas where further progress remains to be made.
Legislation to give effect to the recommendations of the Patten Commission is currently before parliament at Westminster where it will shortly be considered in Committee by the House of Lords. In our contacts with the British Government – including in the Taoiseach's recent meetings with Prime Minister Blair and in my meeting with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on Monday – the Government has been stressing its view that a police service which is truly representative of both communities, and which enjoys the full support of both, is an indispensable part of the new beginning offered by the Agreement. It is, therefore, vital that the police service which develops out of the current British legislation is capable of achieving the objectives of the Agreement.
The period of consultation on the criminal justice review is now complete, and the Government will remain in close contact with the British Government as it frames the legislation necessary to give effect to its recommendations.
Progress must also be made on the question of arms. The Government welcomed the initial report from the international inspectors – Martti Ahtisaari and Cyril Ramaphosa – on the IRA's confidence building measure as positive and significant. I look forward to further reports from the inspectors. The de Chastelain Commission will, of course, also be continuing its work. We also need to see continued progress towards the creation of a demilitarised society in Northern Ireland with an appropriate level of security arrangements.
The agreement is a balanced document which offers to all of the people of Ireland – and particularly to both communities in Northern Ireland – the chance to create a future together in partnership and peace. We should all be prepared to do what we can to build and sustain the confidence necessary to secure its full implementation.