Amendment No. 2 reads:
To delete all words after "political issues;" in the first paragraph, and substitute the following:
" —recognises the political progress brought about by the peace process and the Agreement, benefiting all the people of Ireland;
—recognises the joint responsibility of both the Irish and British Governments to ensure the full implementation of the Agreement as mandated by the people;
—recalls that endorsement of the Agreement by the people in this jurisdiction involved significant constitutional change that was supported on the basis that the Agreement would be implemented in all its aspects and, in particular, that all-Ireland institutions would be established as working institutions;
—deplores the British Government's continuing suspension of the political institutions established by the Agreement and calls on that Government to revoke the suspension legislation which is in breach of the Agreement;
—calls on both Governments to abide by their obligations under the terms of the Agreement and the pledges they made in the Joint Declaration of May 2003 and as part of the agreed sequence of statements and actions which commenced on 21 October 2003, but was aborted by the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party;
—recognises the progress made by the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, IICD, as provided for in legislation by both Governments, including the IRA's putting of arms beyond use on three occasions, and supports the continuing role of the IICD in addressing the issue of arms;
—acknowledges the progress made thus far in removing armed force from the political situation in Ireland, in particular the IRA cessations since 1994, and urges continuing political progress so that physical force from any source can finally be removed from the political situation in Ireland;
—urges both the British and Irish Governments to release the information in their possession on the use by the British state of loyalist paramilitaries as auxiliaries in its war in Ireland; and
—mandates the Irish Government to redouble its efforts, in conjunction with the British Government and all the parties, to achieve real political progress and the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement on the basis of dialogue, inclusion, recognition of all democratic mandates and commitment to the programme of change set out in the Agreement.
I welcome the fact that the Fine Gael Party has at last used its Private Members' time to address an aspect of the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement. It is a rare occurrence and the party has been joined on this occasion by Labour Party and Green Party Deputies. It is a pity the motion to which they have put their names is so fundamentally flawed.
The motion is ostensibly based on the Good Friday Agreement. Its real political context, however, if the Minister would care to remain, is the anti-Sinn Féin crusade of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and president of the Progressive Democrats Party, Deputy McDowell. The Minister has decided that such a crusade is a good electoral ploy for his party, especially in its battle for Fine Gael Party votes, just as he did when he launched his personal election campaign in 2002. He and his colleagues in Government have no regard for the impact of his utterances on the wider peace process, as distinct from the electoral contest in this State.
Many of the Fianna Fáil Front Bench are happy to see the Minister unleashed and to benefit from any damage they think he may inflict on Sinn Féin electorally. I hope the weather keeps fine for them. No doubt the Minister also has sneaking regarders on the Fianna Fáil back benches but I believe many in that party, and many more among its current supporters, are very concerned at the leading role he has been given in driving Government policy on the peace process and the Six Counties.
The Minister's increasingly hysterical statements, as witnessed in this debate, have been manna from heaven to those Unionists who do not wish to share power with Nationalists and to those in the British state system who are determined to deny Sinn Féin's democratic mandate. Ian Paisley, in an RTE "Prime Time" interview on 10 February, defended the DUP's refusal to deal with Sinn Féin by citing the Minister's accusations. "What better witness could I call?" asked Mr. Paisley. Is that the kind of endorsement Deputies who support this Cabinet want to receive for their policy on the peace process?
Sinn Féin will not be distracted by any of this. We are committed to the Good Friday Agreement and its full implementation. We recognise what has been achieved so far and what has yet to be achieved. We take our responsibility very seriously and stand on our record of achievement. We have delivered and will continue to deliver. We will not accept party political point-scoring dressed up as solemn homilies on our commitment to democracy. We are democrats committed to totally peaceful and democratic means of achieving our political objectives.
Both Governments and all political parties which have been party to the Good Friday Agreement are supposed to be involved in a process of conflict resolution, a key part of which is to recognise that all armed groups — the IRA, the British state forces and their auxiliaries, the Unionist paramilitaries — have been involved in the conflict. The British state has yet to acknowledge even a share of responsibility for the conflict, including the deaths of hundreds of people at its hands since 1969, and to dismantle its military apparatus in our country. This alone exposes as absurd the notion that the IRA can be wished away or made to disappear with a magic wand waved by Sinn Féin.
Equally absurd was the statement from Deputy Kenny that the IRA would not go away without what he described as the full rigours of the law. For the Deputy's information, that approach was tried for decades north and south of the Border. A so-called law and order solution failed miserably and the lesson was learned. That is the reason we have a peace process.
Deputy Kenny and others praised the DUP, which is fair enough. Sinn Féin has also recognised movement on the part of the DUP, where appropriate, and will continue to encourage the party. What Deputy Kenny and others prefer to forget, however, is that the DUP is an anti-Agreement party and in no position to accuse Sinn Féin of being in breach of the Agreement since it rejects and denounces it. To ignore that reality, feed DUP intransigence and play to the agenda of the British securocrats who are trying to defeat republicans in peace as they failed to do in war is to subvert the entire peace process and act as recruiting sergeants for so-called dissidents who will try to argue that peaceful methods have failed. I urge Deputies to think very carefully about this and measure their approach accordingly.
Sinn Féin does not seek a slap on the back for our role in bringing about a new direction for republicanism, including the IRA cessations since 1994. That was not our role alone. What we seek is a continued commitment from the Government and all sides in this House to the process of change which made that new direction possible.
Deputy Rabbitte said he wanted to see a post-IRA Ireland. I also want to see a post-IRA Ireland, and a post-British army, post-collusion and post-British colonial Ireland. He referred to the dark secrets of the past. I will avoid the temptation to delve into the dark past of the so-called official republican movement, about which the Deputy may know something, and state only that I am glad that no obstacles or preconditions were placed in his path to the Cabinet table and that his democratic mandate has been recognised at all times.
It is not too much to ask Deputies on all sides of the House to acknowledge that the use of force, necessitated by the intransigence of successive British Governments, played a crucial role in the achievement of independence for 26 of the 32 counties and that recognition of the right to use force to achieve independence has been a central tenet of Irish nationalism for generations, including among the founders of most political parties in the Dáil. In that context, the transformation achieved in Irish republicanism over the past decade is truly historic and should be recognised and acknowledged as such.
As the Sinn Féin amendment states, the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning was provided for in legislation by both Governments to deal with the issue of arms.
The IRA has put substantial quantities of arms and ammunition beyond use on three occasions. Anyone who knows anything about Irish politics recognises that such a development would have been inconceivable up to the very recent past. The Taoiseach himself has acknowledged in this House that the latest such action on the part of the IRA, carried out as part of the agreed sequence of statements and actions on 21 October last, was sufficient for the Irish Government. There were real and protracted negotiations between the UUP and Sinn Féin which were to culminate on 21 October. This was the second such attempt to break the deadlock in 2003. The first had been scuppered by the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party.
Despite this massive setback and the outrageous decision of the British Government to cancel Assembly elections last May, Sinn Féin again entered negotiations with the UUP. At Hillsborough Castle on 19 October Sinn Féin and the UUP reached agreement on a sequence of events. When the two Governments were informed that agreement had been reached they also signed on for it. This agreed sequence was the product of many weeks of intense discussions involving Sinn Féin, the UUP and the British and Irish Governments and would allow for the restoration of the political institutions and the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. It would also allow elections to be held in a positive context. It involved many hours of direct engagement between Sinn Féin and the leadership of the UUP.
All elements of the sequence were agreed in advance, including the public statements containing the commitments, which we would all make as part of this agreement. The sequence involved an announcement by the British Government confirming the date for an Assembly election, a statement by Gerry Adams, a statement by the IRA, a further act of putting arms beyond use by the IRA, verified by the IICD, a report by the IICD, a statement by David Trimble and a joint statement by the two Governments.
Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinnes have in their possession copies of the statement that David Trimble was to make. They also have copies of the joint statement that the two Governments were to issue. Sinn Féin delivered its part of this sequence. The IRA delivered its part of the sequence as agreed. The IICD presided over a substantial act of putting arms beyond use and reported this. The UUP however, at the point of delivery on its side, effectively walked away. The two Governments failed to publish their joint statement and, thus far, they have failed to follow through on a range of commitments which formed part of this agreement. The Irish Government cannot have it both ways. It cannot be party to such an agreement, acknowledge that republicans played their part and then demand more after Unionists walk away. When the electioneering is over on 11 June, the Government will have to come back to the correct position and deal with the realities of the situation.
Sinn Féin wants to see force and violence in all its forms removed forever from the political equation in Ireland. To respond positively to Deputy Jim O'Keeffe's remarks last night, we want to take militarism and paramilitarism of every kind out of Irish politics. We are working to achieve that. That is our position, not because of an appeal from Deputy O'Keeffe but because it is the right thing to do. Deputy O'Keeffe seemed to recognise that commitment in our amendment, which I hope he will therefore accept and urge the Government to withdraw its amendment. Then we can all speak with one voice.
The motion and the Government amendment refer to the comments of the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on criminality. If they have evidence of criminal activity by anyone, anywhere, inside or outside any organisation, then they should act on it and let the law take its course. While we take different voting positions this evening due to the presence of one point or another, or the phrasing of this or that element, let us at least pledge to one another and to all who have placed their trust in this process our commitment to continue to engage, to search and ultimately to succeed in delivering in the hope and promise of the Good Friday Agreement and the potential that flows from it. I pledge to do so on my own behalf and on behalf of my Dáil colleagues and on behalf of Sinn Féin.