The events of Friday night last have cast a dark shadow over the peace process. The announcement of the ending of the IRA's complete cessation of military activities at 6 p.m. was followed quickly by a brutal and senseless bomb attack in London. The images that filled our TV screens on Friday night and Saturday were of a kind which we had all hoped had been consigned to the past. The bomb attack in Canary Wharf resulted in two further unjustifiable deaths in pursuit of a campaign of violence first initiated more than 25 years ago. That attack has also resulted in inflicting horrific injuries on many more innocent victims.
Our sympathy and first thoughts must go to the relatives of those who have died and to the other victims of that attack.
We also need to consider how we respond to that attack both politically and in security terms. The Government has always opposed the use of violence for political ends. Successive Governments have responded to such violence by doing all in their power to protect the people. As our statement on Saturday makes clear, the Government remains resolute in its determination to end terrorism from whatever source.
The Government, accordingly, announced a full review of security to that end. The decision to order that review was taken following a briefing which the Government received from the Garda Commissioner. It was immediately put in hand and those steps which the Garda authorities considered necessary have now been taken. Continuing vigilance will be required and I assure the House that the position will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and any further steps considered necessary will be implemented as circumstances require.
The Garda authorities are also in close contact with the London Metropolitan Police and the RUC and will provide any assistance required in connection with the investigation of Friday's atrocity.
Successive Governments have ensured that the Garda Síochána have been equipped to deal with the terrorist threat. Close co-operation exists between the Garda, the RUC and other police forces for this purpose. The measure of our response and our commitment to cross-Border security co-operation is to be seen in the commitment of resources, in the enactment and application of legal measures and in the successes of the security forces in countering terrorist activity. The high level of co-operation achieved within the framework of the Anglo-Irish Conference has long been recognised. The benefits of that co-operation have already been seen in successful operations that prevented earlier attempts to disrupt the peace process by groups opposed to it. The British Prime Minister acknowledged the closeness of that co-operation in his remarks in the House of Commons on Monday. That policy will continue to inform our approach.
It would be contrary to long-established practice and manifestly counter-productive to go into details on security precautions or ongoing security reviews. It is important, however, that I should issue a word of caution about reliance on media or other speculation as to what measures may or may not be involved.
In this connection I refer to two suggestions which have been made to the effect that the London atrocity has resulted in the diversion of Garda resources from anti-drugs activity and from an operation recently mounted to counter the problem of attacks on elderly people in rural areas known as Operation Shannon. There is no basis for either of these suggestions.
I have decided to comment on them specifically, and quite exceptionally, because they have been a source of public unease. I emphasise that certain other rumours and comments attributed to unnamed sources concerning the security response are also without foundation. I am not, by selecting two alleged responses which have given rise to concern, confirming others.
A security response to the recent event is very far from being the whole answer. The tragic years that preceded the ceasefires have taught us all that real solutions to the Northern conflict can only be found through political action.
We in this House and those outside must ensure that the events of Friday do not mark the start of another tragic phase in our history. We must reassert the determination and commitment that existed within both Governments and among the parties in the North to find a way through dialogue to resolve our differences. We were making progress, albeit slowly, but we can resume and strengthen our joint resolve.
The Government firmly believed the IRA statement of 31 August 1994 represented a new departure and a new beginning. Both the present and former Government acted on the basis that that was the case and that the cessation of violence was permanent. The Government responded to that new situation in all of the ways that were open to us. That response was evidenced by such developments as the establishment of the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation in which Sinn Féin was engaged in seeking to build on the peace, the ending of the national emergency early last year and in the positive approach which the Government took on the prisoners issue.
Peace brought with it enormous benefits. The economic benefits are there to be seen in the results of the initiatives undertaken by the United States administration and the European Union. Those benefits are also to be seen in the increased revenues from tourism throughout the island. Peace also made possible a security response. Measures which had been considered necessary by the campaigns of violence were relaxed both in Northern Ireland and in this jurisdiction. Those changes brought immediate benefits to people in Border areas. They are now put at risk again because of Friday's events.
More than that, the new situation created by the August 1994 statement, and by the subsequent decision of the combined loyalist military command in October 1994 to universally cease operations on its part, created an unparalleled opportunity to secure a political settlement of the Northern Ireland conflict. The ending of the use of violence for political ends made possible the prospect of fully inclusive negotiations for the first time in 25 years aimed at achieving such a settlement. It meant that all views could be represented in those negotiations and that all sides would have a stake in the process. It also ensured that the atmosphere in which such negotiations would take place would not be poisoned by the spectre of continuing violence. The prospect of achieving a political settlement of the long-standing problems of Northern Ireland were never more favourable. Friday's events serve only to put all of this in jeopardy.
Both this Government and the previous Government have worked unceasingly towards the objective of securing a political settlement based on consent. We have worked closely with the British Government in seeking to construct a basis for securing such a settlement through agreement on the Framework Document which was intended to inform all-party negotiations. The Government has also worked long and hard with the British Government to construct a basis on which all-party negotiations could be launched. We have also worked closely with the political parties both here and in Northern Ireland over a wide spectrum of political opinion and allegiance to seek to bring forward all-party negotiations. We remain committed to that agenda and we remain ready to continue our efforts to that end. That approach is and remains the best way forward for the people of these islands.
Violence, on the contrary, has had no successful outcome over 25 years. No community has escaped its effects and no one community has a monopoly of suffering. We have had too many deaths and too much suffering as a result of the campaigns of violence. There simply has to be a better way, and there is.
The use or the very threat of violence has the capacity to reverse the economic and social benefits which the peace process has brought. Those benefits have been widely felt and have been seen in the quality of life enjoyed by each and every individual on this island. The ending of violence created an unprecedented opportunity for economic and social development in this island. Is that now to be squandered? Violence can only serve to undermine the confidence and trust necessary for negotiations aimed at a political settlement. That trust and confidence has been slowly built up since the cessations announced in 1994.
The Government is clear as to what is now necessary. It is clear that the basis for democratic negotiations must now be restored using every opportunity and every good idea proffered as a means to achieve progress. All those who seek all-party negotiations and a political settlement of the Northern Ireland issue must therefore work to create the conditions in which democratic negotiations become possible.
The Government believes that the restoration of the IRA ceasefire is an urgent requirement. Such a step can again create the basis for fully inclusive all-party negotiations. I would therefore appeal to the men of violence to desist from the course on which they have embarked and to reconsider the consequences of their actions for the people of Ireland as a whole. Violence means turning their backs on their families and neighbours and on negotiations and the search for a fully inclusive political settlement.
I would equally appeal to those who have influence on the IRA to use that influence to secure the restoration of the ceasefire. The IRA needs to be convinced that the path of non-violence offers the only means by which it can hope to influence the terms of any political settlement which will be the product of a negotiation process.
That appeal is directed to Sinn Féin, in particular, who must understand that the announcement and events of last Friday fly in the face of the prospect of negotiations which it seeks — and we all seek — and only serve to frustrate such a prospect upon which so much time and effort has been expended.
Establishing a broadly acceptable basis for all-party negotiations will require openness by all sides to new ideas. The Government has been and remains open to such ideas. The Government's recent proposal for proximity talks was made in that spirit. We saw a need for the various issues which require to be settled as part of the preparatory talks process directed to all-party negotiations to be brought to a conclusion and proximity talks as a means to do this. We saw such talks as an utterly consistent and logical step. We saw it, first, as a way of widening out the bilateral and trilateral talks that had already been taking place, for those who wished to participate in other formats. We also saw it as the most efficient way of advancing discussions on all the issues that need to be discussed between parties prior to inclusive negotiations. There would be no need for parties to meet others whom they did not wish to meet.
All of them by coming together at a convenient venue would have the opportunity of dealing in the most effective and efficient way with the business that needs to be done.
The Government has equally consistently stated that it does not exclude the idea of an election playing a part in such a process. We have, however, made clear our view that it is for those who favour this approach to show how it can lead to all-party negotiations and how it can be integrated into the three-stranded negotiations to which the two Governments are committed. Other ideas may equally have a role to play in creating a basis for all-party talks. Some ideas have been expressed in this debate and no doubt we will hear others during the course of today and tomorrow.
The Government has decided in the light of the IRA announcement and the bomb attack in London that it would be inappropriate for it to continue with meetings with Sinn Féin at ministerial level. To do so would be inconsistent with longstanding policy, as Sinn Féin must recognise. As the Taoiseach made clear yesterday, that is not to say that the door has been closed to communication with Sinn Féin. Contact will be maintained at official level and existing channels for that specific purpose remain available. The sincere hope of the Government is that those channels will be used to create the basis for progress and bring about the situation we all want to see — the restoration of the IRA ceasefire.
What the Government is saying to Sinn Féin therefore is not that it wishes to see them excluded from the political process. Far from it. What we are saying is that they must make it possible and credible for us to resume contact without delay at political level by restoring the confidence we all enjoyed for 17 months that violence had truly ended as a means of advancing political objectives.
Official channels remain open to enable Sinn Féin to convey information and ideas which would help to restore that confidence. If, of course, confirmation were forthcoming from the IRA that the ceasefire had been restored, then that in itself would immediately open the door to the resumption of full political dialogue with Sinn Féin.
Each of us has a duty not only to reject violence as a political option but also to create the conditions in which recourse to it is rendered impossible. My appeal is therefore also directed to the people of this island who can make their own rejection of violence and their commitment to a negotiated political settlement both as individuals and as members of parties and groups in which they participate.
The Government for its part will continue its efforts to chart a way forward and to create a basis for inclusive all-party negotiations aimed at a political settlement based on consent. We will continue to pursue proposals and ideas which we believe can contribute to making such negotiations possible in the short-term and will continue to work closely with the British Government with that objective in mind. We will recommit ourselves to that work in the hope that the events of last Friday can be put behind us and that a basis for moving forward in which all can engage can be found.
Rebuilding the peace process will require the commitment of all parties. It will require those parties who have to date failed to engage fully in preparatory talks to embrace that process and to give their fully commitment to it. Parties who purport to believe in democratic negotiations can no longer have the luxury of standing aside. They must demonstrate their commitment by showing themselves ready to engage with both Governments and other parties in establishing a broadly acceptable basis for negotiations.
Friday's bombing brought tragedy and suffering into the lives of countless Londoners. We grieve and suffer with them. Friday's events also represent a serious setback to the peace process and, if we are to avoid a recurrence and a slide into the mindless and pointless violence of the past, we need to act.
Action is demanded of us all. It is required first and foremost from the IRA and those who exert influence over that organisation. Real leadership has already been shown by the leaders of the loyalist parties in their response to Friday's events. I hope that those who exert influence on loyalist paramilitary groups will continue to use that influence to prevent any return to violence on their part. Both Governments, and all the political parties in Northern Irealnd, need to act to create the conditions in which all party negotiations become possible on the broadly acceptable basis, about which I have spoken.
The task which faces us is not an easy one. It has been made both more difficult and urgent by Friday's terrible events in London. It will require the determined efforts of everyone to move the present difficult situation forward. The Government will not shirk that task. It remains the single greatest priority that we have, and I earnestly appeal to the political representatives of both communities to engage with us in this task at this critical time on behalf of all the people on this island.