Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 November 2004
30 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the potential for agreement in Northern Ireland before the end of November 2004; if agreement that would see the resumption of the work of the Assembly will be reached; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30063/04]
View answer100 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position with regard to resolving the outstanding issues from the Leeds Castle talks; if he has presented a document co-authored by the British Government concerning the way forward to the political parties in the North; the steps, in the event of this document being rejected, which he will take towards restoring the institutions created under the Good Friday Agreement and suspended since October 2002; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30096/04]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 30 and 100 together.
In the past two months, the Government has been working intensively with the British Government and political parties in Northern Ireland in an effort to resolve the difficult issues remaining from Leeds Castle. Considerable progress has been made, the outstanding issues are few and the differences between the parties are, in my view, not insurmountable. If the remaining gaps can be successfully bridged, we will then have reached a comprehensive agreement on all of the key issues.
Last week, the Governments outlined to the political parties a set of proposals we believe have the capacity to address all outstanding issues and thereby secure the required comprehensive agreement. We are confident that agreement on these proposals can bring about stable, partnership government within Northern Ireland; the resumed operation of all of the political institutions of the Agreement; an end to IRA paramilitarism; definitive, verifiable decommissioning of paramilitary weapons; and completion of the Patten project on policing. If accepted, they represent the best path forward for peace and political stability in Northern Ireland. We have urged the parties, therefore, to reflect very carefully on them.
We have now reached a critical juncture and the time frame for agreement is narrow. Both Governments are convinced of the importance of securing agreement now and have emphasised this to the parties. All of our efforts are focused on making the current engagement work and conjecture regarding an alternative to a comprehensive agreement would not be helpful at this point. Whatever the end result in the short term, both Governments are committed to the Good Friday Agreement as the mandated framework for political progress in Northern Ireland.
