Northern Ireland: Statements.

The Taoiseach

I welcome this opportunity to speak on the peace process in Northern Ireland. The ongoing support of all Members of this House for building and maintaining peace in the North has been invaluable, and remains a strong cornerstone of the continued progress towards lasting peace and reconciliation.

As we are all aware, the agreement announced in Hillsborough on 5 February represented the culmination of many hours of intensive negotiation and engagement on all sides. It provides the basis for the future stability and success of the democratic institutions which we have all worked so hard to create and maintain. Fair and balanced compromises were required so that gaps could be bridged and different perspectives accommodated.

The completion of the devolution of policing and justice by 12 April will be an essential step for peace, stability and security in Northern Ireland. It will consolidate the operation of devolved government and close the circle in the transformation of policing and justice structures in Northern Ireland. I also welcome the agreement on a way forward on parades. An enhanced framework, implemented by agreement, offers the prospect of respecting and equitably balancing the rights of everybody.

It is fair to say that the recent negotiation process was not an easy one. The issues that were being discussed go to the very core of Northern Ireland's past. Their solutions are the foundations for Northern Ireland's future. As well as the key political issues that had to be agreed, these talks were, in many ways, about the re-establishment of trust between the parties. It is very important to realise that the political context for the recent talks was very different from any that have gone before. While they were facilitated by the two Governments, in the end, they were primarily conducted between the parties in Northern Ireland. That is because, unlike on previous occasions, we have had fully functioning democratic institutions throughout this recent period of political turbulence. Indeed, the members of the current Northern Ireland Executive have now held office for longer than any of their predecessors since Good Friday of 1998.

In addition to the outstanding issues from the St. Andrew's Agreement, that period of working together has thrown up new challenges which only the parties themselves can properly address. While the two Governments have an essential role in upholding the agreement, and a continuing role in supporting the institutions and the parties as they move forward, it is the parties themselves who came to an agreement on this occasion.

Naturally, not all the parties are happy with all aspects of the agreement reached or with the level of their involvement in the negotiations. I understand many of their concerns. For our part, the Prime Minister and I met all of the parties bilaterally on several occasions, as did the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. We also convened a number of all-party plenary sessions. Of course, the political reality — determined by the electorate at the last Assembly elections — is that the DUP and Sinn Féin are the leading parties and, between them, can command cross-community support in the Assembly. It, therefore, fell to those two parties in particular to reach agreement. I urge them to continue to work more closely with the other parties in future. In that regard, I welcome the proposals for improving the workings of the Executive and for greater discussion with the other parties which are part of the agreement.

Prime Minister Brown and myself have worked closely together over the past months, remaining in close contact with each other and with the Northern parties. We had a lengthy meeting in London on 30 November, when we assessed the issues and risks faced by the institutions and agreed on a joint approach to facilitate agreement between the parties. Following our meeting of 17 December in Copenhagen, we said in a joint statement that we believed that early completion of the devolution of policing and justice powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly was realistic and achievable and that any outstanding issues were capable of resolution by the parties.

I met again with the Prime Minister on 14 and 25 January and discussed the political situation in Northern Ireland. At the latter meeting, we judged there was a serious risk of a crisis in the institutions if the Governments did not intervene directly. We travelled together from Downing Street to Hillsborough Castle where we convened over three days talks with all of the Northern Ireland parties on outstanding issues relating to the devolution of policing and justice. During those talks we worked hard to establish common ground, to build dialogue between the parties and to re-establish the trust necessary to complete the devolution of policing and justice in Northern Ireland. Having talked to all of the leaders of Northern Ireland's political parties, we believed there was a clear pathway to an agreement. While we had hoped to bring matters to a conclusion during the week of 25 January, we felt that it was right and necessary for the parties to work together in the spirit of trust and understanding to agree and take ownership of the proposed solutions.

We asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to continue to work with all of the parties to seek a resolution. I congratulate all of the parties around the table that contributed to the positive outcome reached last week. The leadership displayed by the First and Deputy First Minister and their respective party colleagues was instrumental in achieving the agreement that has been reached. I also acknowledge the wisdom and leadership of all of the other party leaders, including Sir Reg Empey, Mr. Mark Durkan, Mr. David Ford and Ms Dawn Purvis, and their teams, and the part they played.

I take this opportunity to place on the record of the House my special appreciation to the former SDLP leader Mr. Mark Durkan for all that he has done to help build peace, prosperity and reconciliation in this country. I know that he has much more to contribute to political life in the future. I also congratulate Ms Margaret Ritchie on her election as Mr. Durkan's successor and wish her every success in her new role as SDLP leader. I thank the Prime Minister, Mr. Gordon Brown, for the extraordinary commitment he has shown in recent weeks and months in making last Friday's agreement possible. I pay particular tribute to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Micheál Martin and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mr. Shaun Woodward, in terms of the enormous efforts they invested over many days and nights in facilitating this agreement.

Throughout the journey of this peace process we have benefited from the continued support of our friends in the United States. I thank President Obama for his kind words last Friday on the reaching of agreement and for his generous invitation to me to visit the White House and meet with him on St. Patrick's Day. I recognise the role of the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and her encouragement of the parties to reach agreement and for the positive contribution made by Mr. Declan Kelly, the US Envoy to Northern Ireland. Above all, I commend the political leaders of Northern Ireland for the courage and determination they have shown in stretching themselves to reach this agreement. The parties took clear ownership of these negotiations and worked closely and patiently together to reach a mutually acceptable outcome. The quality of that engagement has reinforced my view that the devolved institutions can and will work and deliver good government for the people of Northern Ireland.

The agreement reached presents a real opportunity to renew the partnership which is the life blood of the devolved institutions. It demonstrates that the parties can and will continue to work the political institutions of the North for the benefit of all of the people. It is my strong view that the spirit of the agreement is just as important as the letter of the agreement. The agreement is not some abstract mathematical formula about setting up structures for people to coexist peacefully and tolerate each other. It is about people coming to the table with a sense of generosity, understanding and accommodating the views and opinions of others and doing so in a way that best serves everyone in the community and promotes security, stability and support for democracy. The devolved institutions can now move on to focus on the day-to-day issues of concern to everyone, including the economy, jobs, health, education, infrastructure, social services, community safety and the quality of life generally. I look forward to seeing all of the agreed steps for the devolution of policing and justice implemented. The drafting of an addendum to the programme for Government for the Department of Justice will allow the development of policies which support an effective policing and justice system. In addition, the people in the North can now receive the full benefit of £800 million of resources for a new department of justice from the British Government.

Achieving agreement on parading as part of this process has also been a major achievement. The new and improved framework will see a co-chaired working group comprising six members. They have now been appointed by the First and Deputy First Minister and will begin work immediately to bring forward agreed outcomes. It is vital that all of these steps are taken as agreed and within the timeframe.

In moving forward on these critical matters, I believe the parties have recovered the spirit of the Good Friday and St. Andrews Agreements — that vision of a better future for all the people of these islands. That better future must be built on mutual respect for people of different traditions, equality and tolerance, and respect for each other's political aspirations, cultural expression and inheritance. That includes respect for the Irish language and for those who treasure it as part of their cultural heritage. In this regard, we look forward to further progress in implementing the relevant commitments in the St. Andrews Agreement. It also includes respect for all aspects of our rich traditions on this island.

As I said at Hillsborough, we are very fortunate to enjoy the rich tapestry which has been woven from all of the history, cultures and traditions on the island of Ireland. We must continue to work for reconciliation and partnership, to protect and nurture all we hold dear, including our beliefs, traditions and, above all, the new relationships that have grown from the peace process.

We also look forward to the implementation of outstanding commitments relating to the establishment of the North-South parliamentary forum, the North-South consultative forum and the completion of the St. Andrews review of North-South co-operation.

In recent weeks, I have outlined to the House the considerable progress that has been made on these issues, including the convening of the first ever North-South consultative conference last October and the proposal for a North-South parliamentary conference to take place soon, at a time to be agreed between the Ceann Comhairle and the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

I see an increasingly vigorous agenda of North-South co-operation as a key to the future prosperity and success of both parts of this island. Ireland, North and South, is facing unprecedented economic challenges. In meeting common challenges — such as promoting economic recovery, dealing with the effects of climate change, guaranteeing our energy security and developing our skills and research and development base — there is a growing recognition that we are strongest when we share approaches and weakest when we work alone.

It is in all our interests to work together to identify where we can reduce or share costs, or improve services. For a small island in an increasingly globalised world, it makes simple common sense to co-operate in order to compete. The Government remains committed to working with the Northern Ireland Executive and the British Government in the future to help build on all our achievements and to make a better future for everyone.

As we mark this month's deadline for paramilitary decommissioning, it is worth taking stock of the great degree of success there has been in taking the gun out of politics in Northern Ireland. Recent acts of decommissioning remind us all of the great benefits that the peace process can bring and the confidence it generates in communities. This Government has expressed its appreciation of those who worked so hard to bring about decommissioning by the UDA. I also welcome yesterday's confirmation by the INLA and other groups that they have put their weapons beyond use. Their recognition that politics is the only way forward is to be welcomed.

Sadly, the evil, criminal attack on PSNI Constable Peadar Heffron in recent weeks is a stark reminder that there remain a tiny, unrepresentative few whose aim is to destroy all that has been achieved. I pay tribute to Constable Heffron for all that he has done for this country and for his bravery in dealing with what I know are significant injuries. It is very important that we place our deep appreciation and our best wishes for Constable Peadar Heffron and his family firmly on the record of Dáil Éireann. I know that all the elected representatives of the Irish people in this House join with me in that regard.

Such attacks by so-called dissident republicans do not represent the democratic will of the people of this island. They offer nothing but pain and suffering to the Irish people. The best response to such people is to complete the devolution of policing and justice powers, secure the stability of democratic institutions and show that politics is delivering for all the people of Northern Ireland.

Peace is a precious thing. All the people of these islands greatly value what has been achieved in the North in recent years. They have no wish to see a return to the bad old days. It is the duty of all of the political leaders on this island to continue working together in trust and partnership to ensure that we continue on the path of peace. I again thank all of the Members of this House for their continued support in our collective endeavours and for all of their work in the cause of peace and reconciliation.

Deputy Enda Kenny

I welcome this opportunity to reflect briefly on the recent achievements in Northern Ireland and the progress in the past week on the path to peace. I welcome the agreement reached between the parties in Northern Ireland last week on the devolution of justice and policing powers to the power-sharing institutions. It was the clear hope of the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland that this deal would be reached. The positive outcome to the lengthy negotiations has averted the prospect of a prolonged period of instability and uncertainty. It required intensive efforts from each party and they have secured a complete and enduring agreement. I would like to give credit to the Taoiseach and Minister for Foreign Affairs for their hours of attendance, if not always fruitfully at least leading to the conclusion that was eventually reached.

The challenge for the parties now is to work together to deliver on the implementing of the remaining elements of the Good Friday Agreement so that the people of Northern Ireland can be convinced that the political process can deliver real improvements to their lives. Let me assure the Northern parties that we in the Fine Gael Party will continue to play our part in supporting and assisting the full implementation of the agreement.

I had the privilege of attending the SDLP conference last Saturday. I convey my personal congratulations and that of my party to Margaret Ritchie MLA on her appointment as party leader, which comes at a critical time in the politics and development of Northern Ireland. As we hope to see the completion of the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, her experience as a Minister in the Executive will stand to her and I look forward to meeting her in the not too distant future. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Mark Durkan MP MLA for his leadership of the SDLP in the past ten years. I have known him for many years and his fearless leadership of the SDLP not only benefited his party, but more importantly was a voice of reason for all the people in Northern Ireland.

The 12 April will be an historic and defining day in the North. The Independent Monitoring Commission has previously stated — with which I agree — that the devolution of policing and justice brings important benefits to Northern Ireland, not least in allowing closer integration of law enforcement with other domestic policies. It will have a real and positive impact on people's lives and the problems they face on a daily basis. The IMC also made the point that dissident groups try to exploit the uncertainty of this issue and try to argue that politics was not winning in Northern Ireland when the reality was always very different. They have failed in their unjustified attempts to create a divide.

Regarding the new Minister for Justice, the First Minister and Deputy First Minister are meeting today to consider applicants interested in the post. Strong candidates are being put forward and I hope that a candidate of calibre and strength will emerge as the first Minister for Justice in Northern Ireland. I hope that decision will be made in the coming days.

A further positive step in the path to peace in the North came yesterday with the announcement by the INLA, the Official IRA and the south-east Antrim brigade of the Ulster Defence Association that they have put their weapons beyond use. This completion of the decommissioning process removes a key obstacle to political progress in Northern Ireland. It also fulfils the clearly expressed democratic wish of the Irish people, North and South, when they approved the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. General John de Chastelain deserves our thanks and credit for the effort he has put in over many years.

Fine Gael, as always, will stand ready to support the forces of law and order in confronting the threat of dissident republicans. The Taoiseach will have the full support of our party in respect of whatever action the Government must take in this regard. Fine Gael is concerned about reports that the Real IRA is actively recruiting new members in this jurisdiction. It is essential to ensure that young men are not lured into these organisations by some romantic notion of Irish republicanism and the continuation of an armed struggle. To achieve this we must continue to highlight in every way we can the necessity of implementing the Good Friday Agreement in full in order that people understand and see that co-operation and power-sharing are the way forward.

We must ensure that it is considered both the normal and effective way of delivering for everybody. Dissident activities in Cork in recent times are a worrying development. Their claim to murdering a man and threat to continue such vigilante activities cannot be allowed to continue. I am glad to see media reports of a massive Garda operation in Cork today, with more than 60 detectives involved in targeting this particular group.

We must also ensure our security forces have the necessary resources to monitor the activities of dissident groups in this State. Sadly, we are nearly a year on from the murder of two army officers at Massareene barracks by the Real IRA and the murder of PC Pat Carroll, days later, by the Continuity IRA. We must ensure that these evils cannot happen again. A concerted effort to disrupt their recruitment methods and other activities will prevent further atrocities being carried out. I wish the Government well in its future endeavours in this regard.

Deputy Eamon Gilmore

I join with the Taoiseach and Deputy Kenny in congratulating the parties in the Northern Ireland Executive for having agreed yet another strategic step forward in arrangements for devolved government in Northern Ireland. I also want to extend my thanks and congratulations to the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and their officials who on behalf of all of us here, have spent so much unexpected and prolonged time away from here in an effort to secure a successful outcome to the talks concluded by the parties.

Thanks are due, too, to all others who gave a hand in facilitating the agreement in Washington, London and Dublin. However, I want to reflect also on the number of times in which we in this House have made statements over the years on agreements usually ascribed as "final" that have been squeezed eventually from the Northern Ireland parties. How many times we have welcomed statements along the lines of the most recent: "This text is an affirmation in our shared belief in the importance of working together in a spirit of partnership to deliver success for the entire community." How many times these intended agreements, notwithstanding the encouragement and facilitation of Dublin, London and other capitals, have failed to eventually meet expectation or at least have ended up having such expectation deferred.

How many times is it realistic to foresee similar down-to-the-wire collapses of talks in Northern Ireland and the resumption of the always existing threat, the abolition of devolved government and the resumption of direct rule? I believe it is appropriate to do this now, in a week that saw a former colleague of mine, former Deputy Tomás MacGiolla, laid to rest and a still serving colleague, Mark Durkan, pass on the leadership of our sister party in Northern Ireland to his elected successor, Margaret Ritchie.

Tomás MacGiolla was a man of great principle and personal courage. He played a central role in weaning the republican movement away from its violent roots. If more people had listened to Tomás MacGiolla in the late 1960s, 30 years of violence and more than 3,000 deaths in Northern Ireland might have been averted. He was a genuine republican in the tradition of Wolfe Tone, an early advocate of the civil rights strategy in Northern Ireland and a fierce opponent of sectarianism. He was shocked and appalled by the campaigns of sectarian violence that blighted Northern Ireland for so long. Although he and I took different political paths in recent years, I have always retained an enormous respect for him, which I believe is shared by many on all sides of this House.

As regards my colleague Mark Durkan's resignation, and the election of his successor, Margaret Ritchie, I want to put this on the record. The SDLP was born out of the civil rights movement in August 1970 and has, for four decades, been the voice of democratic nationalism in Northern Ireland. As a member of the Party of European Socialists and the Socialist International, it is a sister party of the Labour Party here and is solidly internationalist and socially democratic in outlook. Throughout the past 40 years the SDLP has never deviated from its core values. It has stood completely opposed to all violence, arguing that not only was this morally wrong, but politically bankrupt as well because violence always destroys that which it claims to defend. From its earliest days, as illustrated from as long ago as its 1972 policy document, Towards a New Ireland, the SDLP has argued for an agreement that addressed the three core sets of relationships: between Nationalists and Unionists in the North, between North and South and between Britain and Ireland. The Good Friday agreement was an agreement first designed and promoted by the SDLP, in Seamus Mallon's famous phrase as "Sunningdale for slow learners". I pay tribute to the designer of the Good Friday agreement, John Hume, his successor as party leader, Mark Durkan, and his successor in turn, Margaret Ritchie.

I join with the Taoiseach and Deputy Kenny in paying tribute to Mark Durkan. He was a key member of the SDLP team during the negotiations leading to the Good Friday Agreement and he was, in many respects, its chief draftsman. In 2001, Mr. Durkan replaced Seamus Mallon as Deputy First Minister. He also succeeded John Hume as SDLP leader. He has represented the interests of nationalism, his party and his constituency with distinction since 2005. He has spoken strongly, including directly to my party, about justice issues, economic development, health care and children's rights. He has a well-established reputation as a leading advocate on international development and he will continue to speak vehemently at Westminster about these issues.

Throughout the worst and most disastrous weeks, months and years in Northern Ireland, the SDLP has always adhered to its conviction, namely, that argument works better than violence. I am hopeful as regards the latest agreement, the Hillsborough agreement. However, in my parliamentary lifetime I can recollect similar statements welcoming breakthroughs in talks and fresh agreements coming from, for example, the Downing Street Declaration, the Good Friday Agreement, the St. Andrews Agreement and now the Hillsborough agreement. Recently, we saw a quotation from the Guardian newspaper greeting yet another previous breakthrough in Anglo-Irish talks. The Guardian opined: “The impossible has happened and the Irish controversy . . . is, to all intents and purposes, settled. It is a splendid achievement ... Let us thank Heaven that that chapter of our history is closed and that a new one opens today.” The problem is that quote from the Guardian, republished in the history pages of The Irish Times, came from its editorial opinion on the Anglo-Irish Treaty, published almost 90 years ago in 1921. For almost 90 years since then, politicians North and South, east and west, have been doing mostly not enough, but sporadically their best to achieve progress.

Tremendous damage has been done in the interim by people with irredentist views who put politics above any value they place on human life, and who have destroyed human life on an industrial scale in the interests of what they regarded as political progress. Meanwhile, politicians have attempted agreements, most recently with the political representatives of those most responsible for the most devastation. Each successive experience of devolved government in Northern Ireland has had to be re-rescued, by talks led by the two Governments. Let us all hope that the latest agreement now arrived at will work.

This latest agreement moves things on, but politics has also moved on in Northern Ireland. At the time of the Good Friday Agreement, it was hoped that the centre would strengthen and that in a climate of peace, moderate politics would thrive. Instead, the political initiative and support moved to those with a harder line. Now Sinn Féin and the DUP are the dominant parties, not the SDLP and the Ulster Unionist Party, the parties which led the making of the Good Friday Agreement. Power is shared between two parties which have yet to convince that they believe in the concept of sharing power on a daily basis in an atmosphere of trust and with a hope to building a shared future.

While I welcome the agreement about modalities for the appointment of a justice Minister in Northern Ireland to administer policing, I am concerned at the manner in which the process for selecting the party to hold that office has been altered. Under the d'Hondt system used to allocate every other Minister, the SDLP would be next in line for the post. That process is being ignored on this occasion and it is believed the Alliance Party will be lined up to get the position. I would welcome David Ford's appointment to the post. The Alliance Party is a thoroughly decent political movement that has preached partnership and power-sharing throughout its existence. It is deeply committed to creating the shared future between all the people in Northern Ireland that so many of us recognise as a requirement. However, the over-riding of the SDLP's right to achieve this political outcome does public trust in the political system no good whatsoever and it adds to the perception that this deal has been made at the insistence of the DUP and Sinn Féin.

I fully understand the need to accommodate all shades of political opinion and cross-community representation in post-conflict societies. However, as Mark Durkan stated 18 months ago, we must begin to think about removing some of the ugly architecture around the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive. This may not yet be the time but moving towards voluntary coalitions rather than the mandatory system that exists at present must be a long-term aim of all parties on this island. In reality, all parties in Northern Ireland are living in a context of voluntary coalition, even if the concept is anathema to some of them, but power sharing is still a fragile concept.

If last week's agreement shows that more work can and will be done by the two major parties involved, then it will have been a good day's or ten days' work. Voters on both parts of this island shared an important part of a journey when they voted overwhelmingly to support the Good Friday Agreement. Their votes were the strongest mandate for a new departure in Irish politics, North and South of the Border.

To appreciate how far we have come, we should take stock of what we have left behind. More than 3,500 deaths on this island, over 30 years, were directly linked to the sectarian conflict in the North. Approximately 100 people a year on this small island were murdered every year since 1969, simply because of who they were, where they came from, who they voted for or the church they prayed in. For every murder victim, there was an ever-increasing circle of the injured, bereaved and frightened.

Some politicians calcified the bitterness, handing it on to their successors. Communities were brutally segregated. The politics of the latest atrocity overshadowed the wider tragedy. The national question dominated Irish life for decades when we could have been questioning what kind of social and economic future we wanted for ourselves and our children. However, that is the past and we need to be ambitious for the future. We need to be ambitious for peace. We need to be ambitious for a peace that is not simply the absence of aggression, a peace that is not simply a new rewriting of a complicated deal about power sharing. We also need to be ambitious for a peace that results from willing and easy sharing of space, a peace between people at ease with each other and working to assist each other.

The sad fact is that while all this drama about devolved government and its arrangements is played out, the scourge of sectarianism remains and infects the lives of many people in Northern Ireland on a daily basis. Although the latest and long-awaited high-level engagement and resolution between political leaders is always welcome, the fact remains that society in Northern Ireland is now more sustained in its divisions, such as those associated with where people live, socialise and send their children to school, than it was three decades ago. We have witnessed the increasing danger referred to by both the Taoiseach and Deputy Kenny, that is, the re-emergence of extremist violence. I send the best wishes of the Labour Party to Constable Peadar Heffron on his recovery from the appalling injuries he has suffered. The saddest fact of all is that, although Sinn Féin and the DUP can agree about policing and justice, the “Shared Future” agenda for improving community relations on a daily basis, and for improving the lived experience of their own constituents, is still the last agenda item they can agree upon.

The agreement just made provides for the devolution of policing and justice. This is, by any standards, great progress. We must now look increasingly to the future and the kind of society that we should build North and South, a society based on fairness and tolerance and rooted in democracy.

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

Friday, 5 February 2010 was a very significant day in the development of positive and constructive politics in Ireland. The agreement reached on that day represents a step forward for all the people of this island. The agreement was not easily reached and it will not be easily implemented but it is essential that it work and that all parties and both Governments play their part in full to ensure its success. I commend the Sinn Féin negotiators, the DUP negotiators and those of all parties and both Governments who contributed to this very welcome and positive development.

Céim chun tosaigh atá sa chomhaontú. Molaim iad siúd a ghlac páirt sna cainteanna. Bhí dul chun cinn maidir le póilíneacht agus an córas dlí agus le feidhmiú an Choiste Feidhmiúcháin. Pléadh ceisteanna tábhachtacha eile, paráideanna agus an gá le Acht na Gaeilge sna SéChontae san áireamh. Chuir Sinn Féin an Acht sin ar chlár na gcainteanna agus beimíd ag obair go dian chun an Acht a fháil agus a chur i bhfeidhm.

The agreement reached last Friday has the potential to ensure a stronger Executive on the basis of equity and respect for the mandates of all parties. The agreement is broader than the issue of policing alone because the working of the Executive had effectively seized up due to the blocking tactics of obstructionist Unionist elements. That obstruction had to be overcome.

A date has now finally been set for the long overdue transfer of policing and justice powers from London to Belfast. That is a major achievement and it will also be a major challenge to ensure that policing services are delivered equitably and efficiently for all communities and that the justice system is independent and fully rights based.

Much exasperation was expressed at the time it took to reach agreement. From many, that exasperation was understandable, especially from people in the Six Counties and all communities who want to see real improvements in social and economic terms and to see the Executive and the Assembly work. However, some of the impatience expressed by commentators on this side of the Border was less acceptable and reflected a partitionist outlook.

We must make no mistake. Republicans, more than anyone, had a right to be impatient and to express deep frustration at the delay in delivering on policing and justice. Republicans throughout Ireland have been very patient not only in recent weeks, but in recent years with regard to the vital issue of policing.

Just over three years ago, after a process of intense internal debate and consultation, we in Sinn Féin brought our party members to an extraordinary Ard-Fheis to debate proposed changes to our policy on policing. We expressed our support for civil policing through a police service which is representative of the community it serves, free from partisan political control and democratically accountable. We pointed out that the Good Friday Agreement requires and defines a new beginning to policing as an essential element of the peace process. The Good Friday Agreement also requires functioning, power sharing and all-Ireland institutions.

Before that Ard-Fheis in 2007, the British Government had agreed to the transfer of powers on policing and justice away from Westminster to locally elected political institutions, and set out the departmental model to which these powers were to be transferred.

On the basis that a new beginning to policing had commenced, and that policing and justice powers would be transferred to Ireland within a reasonable period, Sinn Féin agreed to support the PSNI and the criminal justice system in the Six Counties, hold the police and criminal justice systems fully to account North and South, and participate in local policing structures in the North. We appointed Sinn Féin representatives to the Policing Board and the District Policing Partnership Boards. Their role was, and is, to ensure full accountability of the PSNI and the achievement of policing with the community as the core function of the PSNI.

I, too, wish to add my personal good wishes to the injured Constable Heffron for his full return to health.

The decision of the membership of Sinn Féin to critically engage with policing in the Six Counties was a momentous step that took courage and determination. We needed to see the same courage and determination from both Governments and all parties, especially the DUP, to ensure the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.

Throughout the debate and consultation which took place prior to that 2007 Ard-Fheis, a key point raised by party members was the weakness of the Irish Government in failing to press the British Government on a whole range of issues, but especially on policing itself. The "heavy lifting" in negotiations was done by Sinn Féin. The Irish Government joined with the SDLP in accepting far less than was needed to ensure a new beginning to policing.

Sinn Féin took these political risks because we wanted to see the process back on track. The Executive was re-established and it worked well across departments, but only up to a point, and that point was the essential and overdue next step of transfer of policing and justice powers. This was clearly a touchstone issue. The Sinn Féin ard chomhairle motion, adopted by the 2007 extraordinary Ard-Fheis on policing, also pointed out that elements of the DUP were determined to use policing and other issues to prevent progress, resist power-sharing, equality and oppose any all-Ireland development and that this was unacceptable. They were prophetic words and borne out over the past two years.

I hope and believe that the 5 February 2010 agreement represents a new beginning for the relationship between the DUP and Sinn Féin, a new beginning for the Executive, the Assembly and the all-Ireland structures, as well as a new beginning for policing. There is also a need for a new focus on the peace process and the all-Ireland process from the Irish Government, from all the political parties and from the media in this State. I have already referred to partitionism which I am afraid is widespread in this jurisdiction. We heard it in the type of commentary which lamented the fact that the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister had to alter their schedules to attend the negotiations in Hillsborough. It was as if these were some parochial issues that should not be troubling the minds of two international statesmen.

The issues at stake in the negotiations go to the core of the relationship between Ireland and Britain and the people who share this island. They are about the survival and future working of the structures established under the Good Friday Agreement. They are about the continuing development of a peace process into a viable political process. Policing and justice, public safety and human rights are not trivial or parochial issues.

The other myth peddled in recent times, and which continues from the mouths of some, is the portrayal of the DUP and Sinn Féin as the two extreme parties. Related to this have been some efforts to disparage the power-sharing structures and the requirements for cross-community support in the Executive and the Assembly. In the Seanad, a Member claimed the d'Hondt system, "rewards people from the extremes and does not reward people who bring together communities and serve all of the people within their communities".

This position was praised by a political commentator in a national newspaper who also painted Sinn Féin as extremists along with the DUP and bracketed the two parties together in their attitude to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Nothing could be further from the truth. I remind that commentator, and those who hold to his views, that while the DUP excluded itself from the talks in 1998, Sinn Féin played a key role in negotiating the Good Friday Agreement, in delivering it and in implementing it in the years since.

The same commentator proposed a return to direct rule. I am glad the patience and persistence of negotiators won out and that an agreement was reached a few days after the article was written. A return to direct rule would do nothing to heal community divisions or foster co-operation and compromise. On the contrary, it would be a step backwards for everyone. What is needed is the full working of the agreements on the basis of partnership, equality and a determination to deliver for all the people. That is the essence of the pledge taken by each Minister in the Executive.

I accept there is understandable frustration at the slowness of movement. However, the slowness of movement at Executive and Assembly level is only part of the picture. There is an appreciation across the North that great progress has been made, that there is local accountability of Ministers and Departments and, above all, that many barriers between communities and individuals are being broken down. It is happening slowly but it is also happening surely.

For the same reason the issue of parading needs to be handled with the greatest care. It must be remembered there is no contention about the majority of parades in the North. Sinn Féin acknowledges parades by the loyal orders as an expression of heritage and culture. All citizens have a right to that expression, the right to assemble and to parade. All citizens also have the right to be free from sectarian harassment. No one should want to parade down a road or through a community where they are not welcome. This is a problem now in relatively few places and it must be addressed through dialogue. I hope that the arrangements put in place on Friday last will bring progress in this area and that we will see a trouble-free marching season this summer. I guarantee it will not be for want of effort on the part of Sinn Féin and I pay tribute to my party's members who have worked extremely hard over recent years to prevent conflict in interface areas.

A new beginning to policing and justice is not solely a Six Counties issue. We need far more robust accountability structures to ensure an end to political policing, corrupt policing and inefficient policing in this jurisdiction. I again use the opportunity to call for the repeal of the draconian Offences Against the State Acts, which is long overdue.

On the issue of collusion, I regret to have to state that the Taoiseach and his predecessor have been far too accepting of the claims by the British authorities that they can do no more. We have seen the British Government's continuing refusal to establish an independent international inquiry into the murder of Mr. Pat Finucane, as demanded in a Dáil motion passed unanimously three years ago. We have seen their refusal to respond positively to the Dáil motion seeking complete disclosure and a parliamentary debate on collusion, including the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of May 1974. The Taoiseach's responses to me on collusion, including last week, have been disappointing and show a lack of appreciation of the importance of these legacy issues for all who have been directly affected by the conflict, and I urge that that change.

I believe the title of these statements to be incorrect. What we are addressing is not"Northern Ireland"; it is the peace process and the all-Ireland political process. It is of vital concern to everyone on this island. I represent a Border constituency and the communities that elect me and my constituency colleagues obviously have a very particular interest in the success of the process. They have seen the very physical barriers of the Border taken down and have seen many of the benefits of peace and dialogue and new co-operation between the two jurisdictions, but the Border remains and it still causes social, economic and political disruption to communities on both sides of the Border. It distorts the economy of this island and the lives of all who view Ireland as home.

I welcome especially the commitment in the 5 February agreement to work on the outstanding issues from the St. Andrews Agreement. That must include completion and full working of the all-Ireland structures, including the North-South parliamentary forum. Last week in the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement we discussed the progress being made in all-Ireland co-operation on education and how so much more can yet be done. The same applies in areas such as health, transport, employment creation and agriculture.

The real test of this agreement will be how it delivers improvements in the daily life condition of ordinary people, not only in the Six Counties but across the island of Ireland. The Sinn Féin extraordinary Ard-Fheis on policing three years ago to which I referred reiterated our republican commitment to bringing about Irish reunification and the full integration of political, economic, social and cultural life on this island, and we hold that commitment as firmly as ever and look forward to its fulfilment through persuasion and dialogue over the time ahead.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Deputy Martin Mansergh)

The successful negotiation of what should prove the final chapter in the peace process is a cause of great satisfaction. I warmly congratulate the Taoiseach, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Irish officials on their leadership role in bringing this about as joint guarantor with the British Government of the Good Friday and St. Andrews Agreements. As the Taoiseach has observed, the institutions have continued to function for the longest sustained period but the intervention and involvement of the two Governments undoubtedly prevented a breakdown.

As is known from previous experience, a great deal of time, dedication, painstaking work grappling with difficult, interconnected and complex issues the roots of which in many cases are deeply embedded in the past, and an extraordinary level of patience is required in order to achieve the necessary breakthrough. While this level of commitment is sometimes criticised, it has been necessary and it has produced results. The Taoiseach will well remember the time he spent on policing issues as Minister for Foreign Affairs in Weston Park in 2001, and in many other venues, when he had to re-thread, so to speak, the implementation of the Patten report. It must be said that Sinn Féin took its time to accept reformed policing and it is not entirely surprising the DUP has taken its time to agree to its devolution.

The political parties in Northern Ireland are also to be greatly commended on concluding this agreement in conditions which are three months ahead of a British general election. It sends out an important message that the stability of the Northern Ireland peace agreement and its agreed self-governing institutions have been protected. It will reassure investors in difficult and challenging economic times, it is a good example for other intractable conflicts in other parts of the world and, above all, it confirms that there is no going back to the past.

A parallel example of patience rewarded is the work of the International Commission on Decommissioning. As we know, all paramilitary groups, even when on ceasefire, were initially appalled at the notion that anyone was asking them to decommission their weapons. Now all groups on ceasefire have done so, including the UVF, the UDA — all branches of, the INLA and the Official IRA, and this has been paralleled by extensive demilitarisation by the British Army. Great credit is due to General de Chastelain, who has probably had one of the most extraordinary military missions in history but has brought it over many years to a successful conclusion.

May I, too, interject in this debate to pay my respects to the memory of the late former Deputy Tomás MacGiolla. His roots were in the IRA — later Official IRA — but the broader movement was a political nursery to many leading lights in these Houses which on the whole has made its own contribution, collectively and progressively, to the modernisation of a democratic Nationalist and republican philosophy.

A particular tribute is also due to President Mary McAleese and her husband Martin for the practical but also potentially hazardous bridge building in which they have engaged and which has borne fruit, not least in terms of trust.

It is dismaying that there are still small reactionary elements holding back and engaging in sporadic but occasionally lethal armed attacks. It cannot be repeated too often that such activities have no theoretical, historical or moral justification and that the settled will of the Irish people for peace will not be changed by them. Without wishing for any censorship, I would ask editors of media organs not to let themselves be used as al-Jazeera type outlets for murderous threats or self-justifications. The constitutional position now arrived at is legitimate and has been legitimated by the Irish people as a whole — to put it more neutrally, by the people of the island of Ireland.

One of the main achievements of the peace process has been the widespread normalisation of relations between the two parts of the island even though, as has been observed, there is much progress to be made still in community relations in Northern Ireland and in tackling the scourge of sectarianism.

Relations between Britain and Ireland have also been normalised and those who want to maintain old enmities and obstruct normal courtesies between friendly and neighbouring states, or to deny all shared experiences and traditions, have at this stage to be quietly ignored and faced down. To those who want to claim that we have not moved on, the answer is "Yes, we have, and decisively so." We must transcend the wounds of history mutually inflicted. I say that because complaints about past wounds inflicted on us would always come better if accompanied by acknowledgement of appalling wounds that have been inflicted, sometimes by persons making such complaints.

A proud and independent state should hold its head high and behave with appropriate self-confidence and magnanimity. While the focus has been on the largest parties, Sinn Féin and the DUP, which have made a further statesman-like accommodation from what were once very fundamentalist positions, and for this they deserve much praise, we should not forget the role of other parties such as the SDLP, the Ulster Unionist Party and the Alliance Party. Mark Durkan, a successor of John Hume, carried on in the most honourable manner, the signal contribution of his party throughout the Troubles, and we all congratulate and wish well the new leader, Margaret Ritchie. If there is a new government in Westminster after the May election, which cannot be presumed, I hope it will, notwithstanding any partisan interests, maintain unswerving and renew the commitment of successive British Governments under Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and John Major to both the principles and the achievements of the peace agreements.

Parades have long been a contentious issue and it is to be hoped that a better modus vivendi building on the Derry model can be achieved. Greater unity on this island can only be built up on respect for different traditions and on acceptance that we proceed from where we have now arrived and not from where we might wish to have been if we could roll history back to 1919 or 1914 or the 1790s. Ireland, all of it, has an important role to play and contribution to make in the modern world and much of that we can do, North and South, together.

We should remember all those politicians, officials, clergy and community activists who laboured long and hard in the field to bring about a just and lasting peace. I think of the Taoiseach's predecessors, Deputy Bertie Ahern, and Albert Reynolds, not forgetting Dick Spring, John Bruton and the late Charles Haughey, who were all associated with historic advances. I also think of Dermot Nally, now deceased, who gave great service to the State and to the betterment of Anglo-Irish relations. I commend the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs for bringing a noble work to both a conclusion and a new start.

Deputy Charles Flanagan

May I share time with Deputy Timmins?

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Deputy Charles Flanagan

I am pleased to welcome the significant progress in the devolution of functions to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Real change is never quick or easy but recent events show that tenacity can deliver real results.

Deputy Kenny outlined the Fine Gael view on the positive developments in Northern politics but I would like to take the opportunity to refer to the threat posed by dissidents on both sides of the Border, a threat that historically has grown out of the political situation in the North. I welcome the announcement yesterday by the INLA, the Official IRA and the loyalist south east Antrim brigade that their illegal weapons have been destroyed as part of the decommissioning process. These groups have recognised that political dialogue achieves far more than violence ever could.

Regrettably, however, there remains a rump of irredentist dissidents who refuse to acknowledge the will of the people and the authority of the State. It is clear from recent developments that the threat from dissident republicans on this island has now reached a very dangerous level. Just last month, as has been referred to, a PSNI officer was critically injured when a bomb exploded under his car. Experts have been warning for the past few months that there has been a realignment of terrorist groups in Northern Ireland with a new group emerging from the hard-liners among the Continuity IRA and the Real IRA.

In the past two years, there have been more than 750 bomb alerts in the North, an average of one per day. Although no one has been killed by the Continuity IRA or the Real IRA since the vicious murders of two soldiers and a policeman last March, terrorist actions still average one per day. The most recent report of the Independent Monitoring Commission suggested that the threat level is "really serious" and at its highest in six years.

Even among groups which have theoretically abandoned the path of violence, there are worrying signs that the legacy of violence has not been completely left behind. We sadly recall the brutal murder of Paul Quinn, for which nobody has yet been convicted, despite a widely held belief that the Provisional IRA was responsible for the death.

At the weekend, Assembly member, Dominic Bradley, told the SDLP conference that there still is "a functioning murder machine" run by republicans in south Armagh. Mr. Bradley further warned that although the Provisional IRA's army council has prohibited punishment beatings, south Armagh IRA members simply do as they please. He stated that even if the Provisional IRA has theoretically been stood down, individual members still have access to its structures, its skills and its experience and the group as a whole is still trying to exercise community control and worst of all, it can still draw on political support from Sinn Féin in exercising that control. This is, indeed, a stark and chilling warning.

In the Republic, there are ongoing warnings that the dissidents are still involved in vigilante-type activity. Leaflets being circulated in Cork city attribute the recent murder of Gerard Stanton, a convicted drug dealer, to the 32 County Sovereignty Movement. The leaflet also claims that the Real IRA has a list of alleged drug dealers who it has marked out for execution. I understand the Garda is currently investigating these claims and I wish it well.

I urge the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern, to take decisive steps to address the threat posed by dissidents to life and limb in this Republic. There is a clear need for increased Border security and to ensure intelligence resources are made available to counteract the increasing terrorist threat. Senior Garda posts, to which we referred last week in a justice debate, must be filled urgently. We require both a political and a security response from the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Government.

Last month's bomb in the North shows that the situation continues to deteriorate. We need to do all we can in this Republic to protect lives from the threat posed by the remaining dissident republicans in the form of their terrorist activities.

Deputy Billy Timmins

When the people voted for the Good Friday Agreement, which contained three strands — the internal, the North-South and the east-west strands — in effect, they voted to allow the people of Northern Ireland deal with issues themselves. They wanted them to get on with their lives, to come together and to work together. It is almost 12 years since the Good Friday Agreement was passed. While it has taken a very long time to reach this stage, any progress or, indeed, even stagnation is better than from where we came. Any development, once it is not a retrograde step, is welcome.

I commend both Governments and the parties in the North for coming to an agreement on 5 February in Hillsborough. While on occasion, we in the South can be impatient, it is important to realise from where the parties have come and the difficulties inherent on both sides. It will take a long time until there is complete trust between all parties in Northern Ireland.

I hope the devolution of policing and justice, which people thought would never come, will come some time in April. It is important the Governments continue to play the role of guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement but, by the same token, it is also important that the parties can get on with their own business and that it is not necessary to hold their hands on all occasions. Both communities in the North want to move on.

It is important that there is no vacuum. Reference was made by a party colleague and others to the dissident republicans. Many of these young people do not recall what the violence was like in Northern Ireland — the endless horrors on our television screens and the endless suffering and pain. This romantic concept must be dealt with. We have a role to play in this part of the island by cracking down on these dissident republicans and by working in conjunction with the PSNI to address the difficulty. When one sees the horror visited on Constable Heffron and the families of the British soldiers and Constable Carroll, it brings us back to the dark bad old days. There is nothing more depressing than to see the violence reoccur. There is enough goodwill and commitment and the distance the parties have travelled over the past decade will ensure that we never return to those dark days.

Deputy Gilmore mentioned the parties and Government in the North dealing with the issues that impact on people's lives. The main political parties in the North have had their own internal traumas recently which show they are human like everyone else. The economy, education and employment impact on people there as much as they do on people here. Let us devote our energy to working together to create a synergy which helps to address those difficulties.

The decommissioning of the UDA and INLA in recent days must be welcomed. It is important to pay tribute to the work General John de Chastelain has done over the years. I recall attending a dinner at which he spoke of going to a barber for a free haircut. He said he would not go until there was a final agreement on peace in Northern Ireland. I do not know if he ever got a free haircut but he is probably entitled to it at this stage. He has given a very important period of his life to deal with the issue, as have the various representatives from the United States.

There will never be final trust until such time as the people in Northern Ireland work, play and go to school together. First we have to build up trust in the institutions in order that they can govern together and then the real trust will come from people leading their daily lives. It is important to recognise the positive and silent role President McAleese and her husband have played in the past few years.

Deputy Joe McHugh

I wish to share time with Deputy Crawford.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Deputy Joe McHugh

I join with my colleagues in congratulating both Governments and compliment members of the DUP and Sinn Féin on the role they played in the negotiations, along with the other parties who were not just peripheral partners, but who were involved. However, when the dust settles there may be questions as to whether that involvement was constructive enough.

When we had statements on Northern Ireland in the past, they concerned blockages, tragedies and major incidents, such as the Omagh bombing. It is unfortunate that became the raison d’être in this House. Any time there is a crisis in Northern Ireland, we have statements on the matter in the House. We need to take cognisance of the fact that this is on ongoing, evolving situation. The major lesson which has been learned is that we let the 1998 Good Friday Agreement go on autopilot, not necessarily at an institutional level in Stormont but at a county council level, a cross-Border level and a grassroots level. There was tremendous empowerment of cross-Border relationships over a period of time prior to 1998. We have to get back to basics. We do not have to rebuild that infrastructure but we have to acknowledge the work which has been done at that level.

We are making statements on Northern Ireland here today but if one asked a member of the public from Athlone or any area further south, such as the constituency of the Minister, Deputy Martin, in Cork one will find there is an attitude towards Northern Ireland, namely, that we should let it look after itself. Many people just do not want to know about it. We have to change that mindset. In changing it we have to reach out to our colleagues across the Border and not just at Assembly, Leinster House or Stormont level. We have to reach out through the North-South Ministerial Council. People on the ground are looking for more transparency at those meetings. They are also looking for a better, more constructive mechanism than two or three meetings a year. It is very important to keep it going. While it is also important to examine strand two, strand three, which involves the east-west negotiations and the British-Irish Council, must not be ignored.

We have to be careful of jargon; we could use words like "process". In moving the machinery of what has been built on in the past 12 years, we have to create, as Deputy Timmins mentioned, a synergy among cross-Border groups. I will not use the term "quango" because it would be an insult to much of the work done by groups such as the North West Region Cross Border Group. We cannot have great work going on at a northern level and a southern level but not have a meeting in the middle. Simple things such as tax, entitlements, welfare, people who reside in east Donegal and work in Derry and people who live in Derry and work across the Border in Donegal, Monaghan or Louth are issues to be considered. There is a mass movement of people and we have to take cognisance of that.

It is no longer Northern Ireland; the six county bloc no longer exists as an entity. There is public policy which we need to move forward regarding getting institutions and public services harmonised on both sides of the Border. Currency is an issue which we cannot harmonise but we can harmonise public service provision. These are the challenges. We have an obligation in this House to do that. It is also an obligation in the framework of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement

Deputy Seymour Crawford

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important issue. I recall speaking on the ceasefire and all the different steps which have taken place during my time in the Dáil. However, this is, in many ways, the most significant event. I thank the Taoiseach, Prime Minister Brown, the Ministers and our professional staff who are often unrecognised but who do an important job behind the scenes, for their work on this agreement. As has been said, we must also pay tribute to General John de Chastelain, and the Secretary of State, Ms Clinton for their involvement. Above all, we must pay tribute to our President and her husband Martin for their work behind the scenes on this issue to bring us to 5 February.

The deal has been worked out between the two main parties. That it took ten days to reach an agreement is important because it is not a rushed deal. All the issues have been teased out and the Minister, Deputy Martin, had a part to play in that. That there is a deal between the people of Northern Ireland which was not imposed on them cannot be overemphasised. The future now depends on how the two parties concerned treat their other counterparts, such as the SDLP, the Ulster Unionist Party and the Alliance Party in the future and whether the Assembly is seen to work together as a united organisation and not as divided groups.

The proof of how the Agreement is put into operation is something positive which we all want to see. Policing and justice will now be handed back to the Northern Ireland Assembly and we do not yet know who will be the minister. Whoever it is, it is vital that he or she gets the full commitment of all parties in Northern Ireland. If people are committed to democracy, they must be prepared to co-operate with the PSNI, the Garda and any other organisation to make sure that whoever is at fault in trying to continue to plant bombs, etc., stops. More than 3,000 lives have been lost. Very often we forget those who have been maimed and lost limbs, and who will live with the situation for the rest of their lives.

One only has to think of the recent attacks on the PSNI, in which Constable Peader Heffron, who is a staunch GAA supporter and a Catholic by birth, was obviously targeted to try to stop people from the minority side in Northern Ireland from joining the force. The bombs found in Forkhill, Donegal and other places is proof that there is still a rump out there. That young people are being brought into the negative or dissident organisations is frightening. We must have hope that the new justice system in Northern Ireland, if it is backed by the general public and by democratic organisations, can deal with this situation.

I congratulate Ms Margaret Ritchie on her appointment as leader of the SDLP and I thank Mark Durkan for all he has done. The SDLP was very active in the entire issue from the start, from John Hume to Seamus Mallon and others. I do not forget the UUP and others who also played their part. Today we have an agreement made by the people of Northern Ireland among themselves. They now have the opportunity to prove they can make it work in a positive, constructive and caring way. There are people trying to claim full responsibility for this who say that others were at fault. I remember well the times when others, on all sides, failed for years to move forward when they were meant to do so. I ask people to forget the blame game at this stage and try to be constructive and positive. I, too, live in the Border area and I remember all the troubles there. I stood at the graves of those on both sides of the divide and I never want to have to do so again.

Deputy Finian McGrath

I thank the Leas Ceann Comhairle and the Government for allowing me some speaking time. The Taoiseach, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Martin, and the Minister of State, Deputy Carey, were involved.

I welcome the developments in the peace process in recent weeks and commend all those involved. This is above party politics. When people do the right thing they should always be praised and commended. I commend in particular the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs for their patience and perseverance during the entire process, especially in recent weeks. I also commend and thank Martin McGuinness and the Sinn Féin team at the talks for their patience, courage and vision. From the Unionist tradition, I thank and commend those who were prepared to move and act on the Good Friday Agreement. Politics is about change, and on this island, in particular, we need progressive change.

I come from the tradition that wants to unite Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter. Nowadays, in modern Ireland, there are many more religions and faiths. I want to build a country based on the values of respect and equality, that will enjoy diversity and difference. Sectarianism is not part of any politics and all Members of the Oireachtas have a duty to speak out and challenge it no matter where it pops up its head on this island. When I talk about equality and respect for the Unionist tradition, which I fully support, I expect to receive the same respect for my tradition which stems from that of Tone and Connolly. Sadly, there are too many Nationalists on this island who seem to be apologetic for what they believe in and appear to be afraid to say what they stand for and support. I believe in Irish unity and independence and I expect the same respect from others that I have for their traditions and views. However, not in 1,000 years would I dream of wanting to march down the Shankill Road or any road in east Belfast, waving a banner or a tricolour. I say this because I expect the same respect from the Orange Order which should not force itself down the Garvaghy Road.

During these talks I had major concerns about the background presence of the Orange Order on the Unionist side. Happily, common sense seems to have prevailed. Respect and equality should always be the name of the game in these talks and dominance or arrogance have no place in any peace process. We have now resolved to develop politics on this island without the gun. I welcome this major progress. All politicians must stand up now and sort out political differences by democratic and peaceful methods.

The Taoiseach said in the House today that the ongoing support of all Members for the building and maintenance of peace in the North has been invaluable. It remains a strong cornerstone of continuing progress towards lasting peace and reconciliation. That is the view of the vast majority of the Members of this House and that is the way it should be. The Taoiseach also spoke of the political reality, meaning that what was determined by the electorate at the last Assembly election is that the DUP and Sinn Féin are the leading parties which can command cross-community support between them in the Assembly. It is felt, therefore, that those two parties should reach out in agreement. I was astounded during the talks by the vision and leadership shown by both parties which come from completely different traditions. I commend the leadership involved.

I have concerns that there are some people in the DUP, however, who are not happy with this deal and that there are others in the wings who want to wreck the entire peace process. This must be challenged. We, as politicians, should never take it for granted. The peace process is bigger than the political parties, both in the North and in this Dáil. It belongs to the people of Ireland and to the community, voluntary and justice groups. I emphasise the word "justice". Peace will never have a solid foundation without justice and equality. Truth and reconciliation are a major part of any peace process. That is why I say there can be no running away from the issue of collusion, which other speakers mentioned. It is not acceptable in any state to have state forces running, funding or assisting death squads, as happens in South America.

As Members of the Dáil, let us remind ourselves what happened in the North for many years or on the streets of Dublin or Monaghan, or in places such as Loughinisland. Those involved showed clearly in many other instances the issue of collusion. We must get rid of this for once and for all. Pretending it did not happen will not heal the hurt. I say this to all sides that were active in the conflict during the past 30 years. That is why I welcome the recent disarming by all but a few of the paramilitary groups. Today I urge the few that are left to disarm and get involved in politics. It is never too late to save a life. I urge these people to read the words of Tone and Connolly, roll up their sleeves and bring Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter together and build a new Ireland, a new republic that does not end at Dundalk, and to use their energy to unite our people on this island. That is what I want to see. That is the vision for the future for which all of us in this country want to work.

Deputy Ruairí Quinn

I wish to share time with Deputy Liz McManus.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Agreed.

Deputy Ruairí Quinn

Over many years I have heard and participated in many debates and special statements on Northern Ireland in this House. I sincerely hope that this may be the last such occasion. It would signal that we had come to the end of a long and tortuous journey and would pay tribute to the contributions made by so many different people. I compliment the Minister of State, Deputy Martin Mansergh, who in his own short contribution, put on the record of the House a litany of names. This went only a small way to recognising the extraordinary number of talented Irish people, on both sides of this Border and across the water in our neighbouring island, who contributed to the construction of a pathway towards peace that ultimately became wide enough and enticing enough to allow even the most reluctant to participate and travel that journey.

I recall my mother, a mother of six, saying to me that any parent of a large family never goes fully to sleep until the last child is home safely. In that sense, Mother Ireland can now go safely to sleep in the sure knowledge that all the children, delinquent or otherwise, slow or quick learners, have finally found a way to live peacefully together. I endorse the claims and suggestions made by others concerning those remaining people who believe they have some kind of political mandate from history to use violence instead of persuasion, that they too would come home safely.

It is extraordinary to think of the young people of Northern Ireland who will go to the Westminster poll in May 2010 aged 18 years. They were six years of age when the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998. If one thinks further back, their parents were probably only 6 years of age in 1974 when the Sunningdale Agreement was signed. As Seamus Mallon famously said, the Good Friday Agreement was Sunningdale for slow learners.

We have travelled a long way and should celebrate that. It is to be hoped there will be a normalisation of relations, not only on this island but between these islands. The institutions of the Good Friday Agreement must be worked vigorously, both on an east-west axis, between Dublin and London, and between Belfast and Dublin.

I acknowledge the presence here of both the Taoiseach, Deputy Brian Cowen, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Micheál Martin, and would like to put one suggestion for consideration to the Government. I would love to see some exploration of the possibility that a childhood in Northern Ireland could somehow be enhanced and repaired by developing a new kind of shared history for the people of these islands. This shared history should be taught in classrooms of both Glasgow Ranger and Glasgow Celtic supporters and in the classrooms of Belfast, Cork, Dublin, London, Bradford and even Warrington.

It should be a shared history of these islands and of the people who have populated them and of the migration that has taken place, North, South, east and west. It should be taught so that people's victories, trumpeted in the past years of violence, are no longer seen as somebody else's defeats. Rather, it should be shown that defeats and victories were the experience of all of the peoples of these two islands — economic defeats and migration defeats that forced people to leave the place in which they lived and grew up — so that we have a better understanding of our shared history. This is something that might be for a future generation to explore, because the wounds of the past 30-odd years of struggle will take at least a generation to heal. Learning about our shared history in an open and positive way, without bitterness, might help towards this.

I want to commend in particular the energy and attention both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs have given to this project over a difficult period, at a time when they had a lot more to be doing. Their commitment to this project must be recognised.

Deputy Liz McManus

I welcome this debate, which gives us an opportunity to pay tribute to all those involved in the discussions and the agreement that has been found. In particular, I commend the Taoiseach and Prime Minister Gordon Brown for giving their time to it. They could have found many reasons not to make that special effort, but they did not. They made a special effort and were the midwives who delivered what was a difficult conclusion, but which was immensely worthwhile. They deserve credit for that.

We have seen change with regard to these negotiations. We have seen changes in terms of what is, essentially, a deal between political parties. I do not buy the idea that this issue is somehow above political parties. It is about parties having to move, accept change, accommodate and compromise. It has happened in a context where change has occurred in Northern Ireland because time has moved on and peace has been established. The public in general has moved on as a consequence. It is worth noting a change that would have been inconceivable 20 years ago, namely, that a woman, Arlene Foster, took over, albeit on a temporary basis, the role of First Minister. Also, a second woman, Margaret Ritchie, became leader of a Northern Ireland party. Dawn Purvis, already heads up the PUP. The role of women in Northern Ireland has largely been marginalised and male supremacy was seen as the way Northern Ireland coped. This kind of change is very welcome and I hope it will develop further.

People now have very different expectations of their politicians. I was very struck by the comments I heard made in the vox pops on local Belfast radio. People were extremely angry that the politicians were not doing a deal and coming to an agreement. The general view was they should get on the job because people wanted to ensure they were dealing with the real issues affecting them on a daily basis, such as unemployment, the chance of getting a decent house and security in terms of policing. These are the daily concerns of people on this island. It really does not matter whether people are North or South, they have the same concerns to a great extent. It was an indication of a healthy society that the people wanted a deal to be struck in order to ensure that these issues were confronted. The old quarrels were being put in their place to a great extent. Yesterday, when attending the funeral of Tomás Mac Giolla, I was conscious that he was very far-seeing in terms of his political view. He expressed the view many times that the issues of unemployment and housing should bind people together and that sectarianism was the evil that prevented people uniting on issues central to their lives.

Northern Ireland has many other challenges to meet. One of the major issues for the future will be how far it can depend on ongoing funding from the British Government. This funding has sustained Northern Ireland for a long time, but it is unsustainable into the future and this must be recognised by all, regardless of their persuasion. It is important we are straight and acknowledge that the DUP has moved considerably from its position in the past, as has Sinn Féin.

I propose we concentrate on what we can do well together, North and South, east and west. One area in which we have proven we can work well together is infrastructural development. Most people are not aware, for example, that we have an all-Ireland electricity market. This was done almost subterraneanly because it was not seen as politically difficult. However, it was a milestone and it has worked well and to consumers' benefit, North and South. We need to consider ways we can build infrastructure, particularly in the renewable area, that will be of benefit to all of us. The wind does not stop at the Border nor in the Irish Sea. There is a way to ensure we work for the benefit of our communities, whether in Scotland, Wales, England, Northern Ireland or Ireland. That is the future. The world is getting smaller and we have opportunities now that we did not have before.

We should not lose sight of the opportunities in terms of policing. While there is always the fear of paramilitarism and general criminality, I have no doubt but that devolved policing and better communication between North and South will benefit everyone on this island.

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Deputy Micheál Martin)

I thank Deputies for their contributions this afternoon and welcome the expressions of support and goodwill across the Chamber for this agreement. Such unity of purpose in this House has been a great strength of the peace process and will remain important as we encourage the parties in Northern Ireland to build on the progress reached at Hillsborough.

The spirit of partnership which has marked the relationship between the two Governments as guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement was once again demonstrated at Hillsborough. I pay tribute to the role the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister played in convening the talks and creating the conditions that enabled the parties to break the deadlock. The Taoiseach and Prime Minister worked very closely throughout this period and stayed in close touch with the talks throughout, applying appropriate and judicious degrees of encouragement, advice and pressure as we moved to final agreement. In particular, I want to pay tribute to my counterpart, Secretary of State Shaun Woodward. He and I have worked together to secure the devolution of policing and justice not just for the past two weeks, but for the past 18 months. His commitment has been extraordinary and I thank him for it.

However, it was the Northern political parties that were at the centre of what happened at Hillsborough over the past fortnight. This is their agreement just as it is their Executive and their Assembly. This deal was essential to enable the Executive and Assembly to move forward. Its implementation is the primary responsibility of all of the parties in Northern Ireland. Reaching agreement on a timetable for the devolution of justice and policing powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly was the centrepiece of this agreement. This was a major item of unfinished business from the St. Andrews Agreement. The transfer of these powers on 12 April will represent the consolidation of devolution at Stormont and the completion of the transformation of policing begun with the publication of the Patten report in 1999. The appointment of a Minister for Justice, accountable to the Northern Ireland Assembly, will signal a strong vote of confidence in the robustness and sustainability of the devolved institutions.

The DUP and Sinn Féin occupy a joint office which is at the heart of devolved government in the North and, thus, their capacity to engage with each other and reach accommodation is crucial to the stability of the institutions. The fact that they, facilitated by the Governments, have been able to conclude this comprehensive agreement around a number of contentious and sensitive issues is, therefore, a major step forward. I want to also put on record appreciation for the leadership and political will displayed by the First Minister, Mr. Peter Robinson MLA, and the deputy First Minister, Mr. Martin McGuinness MLA, that made this agreement possible.

Government is about more than concluding agreements — the real business of government is implementation. In that process of implementation, the role of the other parties in the Assembly and the Executive is a key element, as several Deputies have articulated. This was already acknowledged by both Sinn Féin and the DUP in last Friday's plenary meeting. Questions such as the better functioning of the Executive and progress on the outstanding issues from the St. Andrews Agreement can only be taken forward successfully on an inclusive basis, taking advantage of all of the talent, expertise and goodwill available in the Assembly.

In that context, I again offer my appreciation of the leadership role Mark Durkan MLA has played over the years. He has made a most notable contribution to the peace process and we look forward to his continued advice as he devotes his career to the Westminster Parliament. We offer his successor, Margaret Ritchie, every best wish as leader of the SDLP. I have been in contact with her and will be meeting her shortly to facilitate ongoing consultation and engagement between the Government and the SDLP.

There are a number of areas which will be covered in the working group to be established on outstanding commitments from the St. Andrews Agreement. One of particular interest to this House is that of the Irish language. The Good Friday Agreement and the St. Andrews Agreement recognised the importance of respect, tolerance and understanding of the linguistic diversity and culture of Northern Ireland. The Irish Government is committed to assisting the development of the Irish language in Northern Ireland and the implementation of outstanding commitments made in the St. Andrews Agreement, including an Irish language Act. We also look forward to early agreement on an Irish language strategy. Since language issues are a devolved matter, this is an area where the Government works directly with the Northern Ireland Executive, including through the North-South body, Foras na Gaeilge.

Engagement continues with the British Government on relevant non-devolved areas such as broadcasting and through the British-Irish Council. I am pleased that, only last week, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and his British counterpart signed a memorandum of understanding which will facilitate the continued availability of Irish television services, including TG4, in Northern Ireland after digital switchover.

As the House will be aware, the promotion and protection of the Irish language is a key priority for the Government in this jurisdiction and the work in this area can have a positive effect on the island as a whole. The 20-year strategy for the Irish language will have a beneficial impact on speakers of the Irish language on the whole island, and the Government will look at how these synergies can be optimised.

I also want to reiterate the need for tolerance and respect for both the Irish language and Ulster Scots language and culture in Northern Ireland. I have previously urged a more open approach to the Irish language by those who erroneously see it as something threatening. Far from being feared, the languages and cultures of this island ought to be shared and celebrated. I look forward to a more mature and less politicised discussion about the Irish language, building on the improved dynamic and mutual respect that enabled agreement to be reached in Hillsborough last week.

In moving forward, we need to build and consolidate trust between communities in a spirit of equality and tolerance for each other's political aspirations, cultural expression and inheritance. Much has already been achieved in building sustainable relationships where once there was mistrust. However, more needs to be done to knock down the barriers which physically and metaphorically separate too many in the North.

One of the issues which goes to the heart of the remaining divisions is that of parading. While most parades pass off peacefully, there remain a handful of contentious parades and another small few which retain the potential for difficulty. Against this background, the agreement between the parties at Hillsborough sets out a process for an improved framework for the management and regulation of parades. Their aim is to bring forward agreed outcomes which can achieve cross-community support. This, in itself, will be a significant step forward. The core point is that any enhanced framework would have at its core the principles of local people providing local solutions and respect for the rights of those who parade and those who live in the areas through which parades pass. This includes the right for everyone to be free from sectarian harassment. Until new arrangements have been agreed and put in place, the Parades Commission will continue to do its valuable work.

An ambitious timeframe has been set for this work. The First Minister and deputyFirst Minister have now appointed representatives to the working group provided for in theHillsborough Agreement. It will report back with agreed outcomes within weeks. These outcomes will, in turn, provide the basis for widespread public consultation, leading to responsibility for parading being devolved to the Northern institutions and Assembly legislation before the end of the year. The agreement between the parties to move forward on an agreed basis has the potential to transform the situation, lifting the stresses and pressure on communities arising from parades.

Realising this potential will require generosity of spirit and respect for others on the part of all stakeholders. There is also a duty of care on those who take this work forward to ensure that the rights of all are equitably accommodated. The Government will remain close to this process as it progresses through the various stages.

As colleagues have recognised, the Hillsborough agreement provides a new platform upon which we can build stronger and deeper North-South co-operation over the months and years to come. There have been more than 50 meetings of the North-South Ministerial Council since the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly in May 2007. Every one of those meetings has included Ministers from the Unionist and Nationalist traditions in Northern Ireland, as well as their Irish Government counterparts. This is a hugely significant level of engagement between elected representatives in both parts of the island on the economic and social issues of most concern to those we represent. The era of "back-to-back" development has truly been consigned to the past. Ministers, North and South, no longer hesitate to pick up the phone or meet in person, discuss common challenges, argue options and agree shared approaches to the difficulties we face. That is politics as it should be. The political compromises reached at Hillsborough will free up time and space to tackle the bread-and-butter issues of most concern to ordinary people.

The Government is determined to work closely with our Northern Ireland Executive colleagues to tackle those issues on an all-island basis, wherever possible and helpful. We will continue to take a North-South approach to meeting the infrastructural needs of the island, as evidenced by our support for the upgrading to dual carriageway status of the new A5 road to Derry and Letterkenny. We are also stepping up our efforts to build a smart and dynamic "innovation island" by increasing our collaboration through the US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership and under the EU's seventh framework programme. We are intensifying our co-operation in areas like health and education, with North-South studies completed or in train on how we can achieve economies of scale and deliver improved services. We are looking forward to examining closely with our Northern Ireland Executive colleagues ways in which both our administrations can save money by eliminating duplication on the island. It is simple common sense that we can do more together, for less, if we pool our talents, resources and time in the many areas in which we have shared ambitions and targets.

We look forward to completing the review of North-South bodies, as set out under the St. Andrews Agreement, and areas of co-operation as soon as possible, thus ensuring Ministers can address issues of most pressing concern through the North-South Ministerial Council. We are also determined to bring into being the North-South consultative forum and the North-South parliamentary forum, which will each have a valuable role in advising the Government and Northern Ireland Executive on socioeconomic and cultural issues with a North-South dimension. The time is now right to make progress on all these outstanding issues and we look forward to doing that over the months ahead.

I thank all Members for their contributions. We will take on board many of the constructive suggestions that have been made, not least the comments made by Deputy Ruairí Quinn in terms of exploring the possibility of a shared history of these islands being developed in curricular terms for children in both Ireland and Great Britain. That idea has merit and, while some historians would relish such a task, it would be a significant one. I will not hazard a guess on whether consensus could be achieved on that as quickly as we have achieved consensus in terms of the political framework we have just developed and elaborated upon.

Deputy Ruairí Quinn

It would be a start.

Deputy Micheál Martin

I assure Deputy Flanagan that the Garda and the PSNI are working very effectively together to deal with the threat posed by the so-called dissidents and criminal elements that are out to undermine the progress that has been made in Northern Ireland in recent years. The Hillsborough agreement is the best answer to those few people who remain determined to undermine the situation and are very much rooted in the past. These people have no mandate or support and nothing to contribute and cannot succeed.

I thank Members for their constructive comments.

Dáil Éireann debate - Tuesday, 9 Feb 2010

Northern Ireland: Statements.

Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 9 Feb 2010