Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 January 2005
449 Mr. O’Connor asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his recent dealings in respect of the peace process in Northern Ireland; the contacts he has had with political leaders in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1065/05]
View answerOn 17 January last I met the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mr. Paul Murphy, at Iveagh House. This meeting was the first with a member of the British Government since the PSNI Chief Constable, Sir Hugh Orde, made public his assessment that the IRA was responsible for the December raid on the Northern Bank. Clearly, this assessment has very serious repercussions for the peace process. As the Taoiseach stated at the time, "If stable politics in Northern Ireland is to be secured, there can be no doubt or ambiguity about the total commitment of all concerned to exclusively peaceful and democratic engagement, including desisting from involvement in criminality in all its forms."
Together with the Taoiseach, I had a series of meetings yesterday, 25 January, with representatives from Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the UUP. These meetings provided an opportunity to assess the seriousness of the current situation and to address the political implications of the raid. The Government told Sinn Féin that serious damage had been done to the process and that major steps will be required if trust and confidence is to be restored.
I expect consultations with the parties will continue in the coming days and the Taoiseach and British Prime Minister, Mr. Blair, plan to meet next week to review the situation and discuss possible options for the way forward.
The two Governments will continue to work together to advance the implementation of all aspects of the Good Friday Agreement, including important commitments in the areas of policing, criminal justice and human rights. To give renewed impetus to this process, the Secretary of State and I will co-chair a meeting of the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference next month in Dublin.
All of our ongoing contacts are focussed on the need to rebuild confidence and trust, and to restore engagement and momentum in the peace process. The achievement of inclusive, partnership government in Northern Ireland remains our objective. That is what the people of this island endorsed when they voted in referendums on the Good Friday Agreement. At the same time, it is clear that there can no longer be any vestiges of ambiguity about the commitment of all involved to exclusively peaceful and democratic means, which includes the need for an immediate end to all forms of paramilitary and criminal activity.
