Gay Mitchell
Question:111 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the Northern Ireland peace process. [6737/03]
Ceisteanna – Questions (Resumed). Priority Questions. - Northern Ireland Issues.
Since October, both Governments and the parties have been intensively engaged in talks aimed at achieving the acts of completion necessary to fully and rapidly implement all outstanding aspects of the agreement, including the restoration of the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland on a stable and inclusive basis. Our template for this work was the joint statement of 14 October by the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister, Mr. Blair which recognised that the institutions could only be sustained on the basis of mutual trust and confidence between the parties.
The talks over recent months have taken place in various formats, including bilateral, trilateral and collective formations. These discussions also made it clear that the current difficulties in the process could not be reduced to a single item agenda and could best be addressed in a comprehensive framework that advanced and resolved all outstanding issues of the Agreement.
As Deputies will be aware, the past few weeks have been particularly intensive and have culminated in the talks earlier this week and this morning in Hillsborough. A substantial amount of progress was made over the course of two long days and I pay tribute to all of the parties who constructively engaged in those discussions. We managed to bridge or substantially close the gaps in a number of key areas including policing, criminal justice and the human rights and equality areas. While all of the parties did not sign up to every aspect, there is nevertheless a shared understanding among them of the broad parameters of the steps necessary to achieve the required acts of completion on all sides. In Hillsborough, the consistent approach by the two Governments was to provide clarity and certainty and to set down the obligations and commitments necessary to restore full confidence and trust.
The Taoiseach and Prime Minister will return to Northern Ireland in early April to publish their final proposals. In the meantime, the parties will avail of the time and space to consult their members before coming to a conclusion. It is very important that over the next few weeks people do not prejudge the outcome of these discussions on the basis of any selective leaks.
On account of the need to accord some more time and space to the parties to facilitate their consultations, the Assembly elections will be delayed by a few weeks and will now take place on 29 May. I believe that this modest postponement is both appropriate and reasonable. Our aim is that when the people go to the polls on that date, they will see before them an agreement that is in full working order, a demonstrable end to the instability of the past few years and a clear prospect of sustainable political institutions that will deliver a better and more prosperous future for all.
I was reminded of the saying "Handsome is as handsome does" when I saw a television programme recently featuring a charming and smiling Pol Pot. I am reminded of the saying when I see some of the charming, smiling, PR-trained, Armani-clad politicos on our television screens leading us up the garden path again. It is a terrible pity that, through petulance, democratically elected politicians let these people off the hook and allow them to portray themselves in the way they do.
Does the Minister agree that while much progress has been made in the five years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the public expects we should be well on the way towards its full implementation by this time? Does he agree that it is reasonable to put in place so-called yellow card and red card sanctions for those who do not meet the requirements of the Agreement? Is such a sanctions procedure the real stumbling block to the election and the resumption of the Executive? If so, what steps does the Minister intend to take to ensure the will of both Governments and all the democratically elected parties that do not have army wings prevails in the resumed talks?
While a degree of frustration is, perhaps, understandable, it is important to state that discussions over the past two days have been substantive on all sides. We have broken new ground in a range of new areas. Because of the nature of the negotiations and the logistical requirements of further discussion and space and time for people to reflect on an intensive period of discussion, it is important we do not allow this to take away from the magnitude of the achievements of the work of the past five months. We are trying to chart out the full and faithful implementation of the Good Friday Agreement on the basis of acts of completion where we see an end to all paramilitarism and the workings of stable institutions meeting not only the word but also the spirit of the Agreement. We have come through a period of transition in this process. We should try to keep this in mind and not allow understandable frustration to take from the genuine achievements in mapping out, to everyone's satisfaction, a shared understanding of what full implementation of the Agreement will mean in an acts of completion phase. We should not underestimate this or be pessimistic.
I am optimistic that the level and quality of the work, and the consensus that has been achieved, has the prospect of enabling us to move positively towards a new era in Irish politics, north and south. This is what everybody has been striving to achieve in the discussions that concluded in the early hours of this morning.
The question of the monitoring of and compliance with commitments made has proven to be a very difficult one. Sinn Féin has stated it will not accept any mechanisms that are perceived to be outside the terms of the Agreement while the UUP, in light of past experience, requires such a mechanism if it is to proceed in inclusive government. Mindful of these positions, the Governments will continue to discuss this matter and consult each other with a view to finding a way forward that meets the requirements of proving the necessary trust and confidence for sustainable political institutions. This position will be made public in a month's time.
Will the Governments put a road map in place in a month's time or will they enter further negotiations?
The Governments will be stating the position for full implementation of the Agreement on the basis of the analysis of 14 October last by the Taoiseach and British Prime Minister regarding acts of completion on all sides.