I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 10, 12, 16, 32, 41, 48, 71, 83 and 84 together.
At the next meeting of the Anglo-Irish Conference, which is to take place within the next week, I shall discuss with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how the two Governments can best take forward the peace process initiated by the Joint Declaration, and promote political progress.
We are determined to pursue a lasting political settlement through dialogue across all three strands and building on the achievements of the Joint Declaration. We would like to see such dialogue get underway as soon as possible. It is, however, a political reality that the rivalry and pressures of the European elections seem to be an added obstacle in the way of the Unionist parties returning to the table. I hope the situation will improve once the elections are out of the way.
We also wish future dialogue to be as comprehensive as possible. The Joint Declaration states that democratically mandated parties, which establish a commitment to exclusively peaceful methods, will be free to participate fully in democratic politics and join in dialogue in due course on the way ahead. The manner in which this would be done has also been set out clearly by both Governments.
It is up to the Republican leadership to decide whether they will agree to a total cessation of violence, thereby opening the way for the processes envisaged in the declaration.
There is no change in the consistent position of the Government that agreement in Ireland must be pursued and established by exclusively peaceful, democratic means and that, consequently, there should be no negotiation with Sinn Féin-IRA on the basis of the "armed struggle". Respect for the democratic mandate cannot be a matter of mere tactical choice, and we cannot accept that it may be supplanted by recourse to violence, whenever that appears more expedient.
The Joint Declaration removes the last vestige of justification for resort to violence. I hope that the Republican movement will heed the unmistakeable wishes of the people, North and South, which are clearly for peace and the pursuit of an honourable accommodation through the political processes which are now available.
A cessation of violence would transform the political landscape and greatly enhance the prospects for a successful outcome to negotiations. We have also, however, made clear that no party can have a veto on progress, and that continued recourse to violence should not be allowed to block the quest for agreement.
In the absence of progress among the political parties, the two Governments have a responsibility to do everything in their power to advance the prospects of agreement. Officials are currently engaged in intensive discussions of ideas and proposals on various aspects of a possible future agreement, building on the Joint Declaration and the three-strand process. New arrangements could include devolved structures with widespread support throughout the community, which is a shared policy objective of both Governments under the terms of the Anglo-Irish Agreement. It must be recognised however that this could be achieved only with the support and cooperation of the political parties in Northern Ireland.
These discussions include matters which are properly for decision by the two Governments in strand three, and a framework which we hope might guide future negotiations with the political parties towards a successful conclusion. It would, however, be inappropriate at this stage for me to go into details of these ongoing discussions, or of the structures which might be envisaged to enhance cooperation between the two Governments and to develop closer North-South relationships. The Secretary of State and I will review progress at the forthcoming meeting of the conference and give directions for further work. We are determined to press this forward as speedily as possible. An agreed framework document of the kind we are working on could make a valuable contribution towards future talks, since agreement between the two Governments would offer the best possible basis for the search for agreement between the political parties.