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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 8 Dec 1998

Vol. 498 No. 1

Ceisteanna—Questions. - Northern Ireland Issues.

John Bruton

Ceist:

13 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting in Cork with Senator George Mitchell. [26349/98]

John Bruton

Ceist:

14 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting with Mr. Harri Holkeri. [26416/98]

Ruairí Quinn

Ceist:

15 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach the meetings, if any, he has had in the past week in relation to the impasse in the peace process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26524/98]

Proinsias De Rossa

Ceist:

16 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Taoiseach if he has received a report from the British Prime Minister, Mr. Blair, on his talks with Northern Ireland parties in Belfast on 2 December 1998; the plans, if any, he has to meet Mr. Blair to discuss the prospects for progress in the aftermath of Mr. Blair's visit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26741/98]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 to 16, inclusive, together.

As the House will be aware, the Governments and the parties made a major effort last week to reach agreement on the North-South Implementation Bodies and related matters. As I indicated last week, I believed that this was within reach and I would have hoped to have been in a position to brief Opposition leaders this week on developments. In the event, it did not prove possible to bring matters to a definitive conclusion. While this is naturally disappointing, it is not the first time in this process that matters have not gone as well as we would have hoped and we have to simply keep on going until we succeed, just as we did in the negotiations on the British-Irish Agreement. The people who voted in such overwhelming numbers for the British-Irish Agreement expect nothing less, and that is what we — the Governments and all the parties — have to deliver.

I met the Sinn Féin president, Mr. Gerry Adams, last Friday and the Deputy First Minister Designate, Mr. Seamus Mallon, earlier today. In both meetings, we reviewed the current situation and the possibilities for making early progress.

As the House will be aware, I reported on my meetings with Senator George Mitchell and Prime Minister Harri Holkeri last week.

I will meet bilaterally with Prime Minister Blair at the European Council in Vienna this weekend. In the meantime, as always, we continue to keep in close contact by phone.

What does the Taoiseach make of reports that the army convention of the IRA has decided there will be some decommissioning of Semtex?

I have no information other than the speculation which has arisen. I believe there was a meeting somewhere during the weekend but I have no information on what conclusion was reached.

How many North-South bodies will there be?

There will be at least six North-South bodies. Last week, at one stage, we thought we had agreed eight bodies but that changed. There are still eight on the table. Three weeks ago in discussions we were talking about eight bodies.

The deputy leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Mr. John Taylor, made it clear to Prime Minister Blair at the very end of the meetings in the early hours of Thursday morning that he believed there could only be six bodies.

Has the Taoiseach any reason, other than the newspaper and media reports, to believe that a meeting of the Army Council did take place and that the Army Council decided, among other things, to make some sort of positive move in the area of decommissioning?

On the basis of the information which he has, could he indicate if he is optimistic about meeting the timetable to enable the British-Irish Agreement to go live in February?

We have to be optimistic. We have lost a great deal of time. I had hoped that what happened in the early hours of Thursday morning would be the final arrangement of the position at which we were four weeks ago. Nothing changed until the last minute of the meeting.

We have lost two months and have not moved an inch in four weeks. The danger is that we may lose more time. The perception outside could be that enormous change is taking place. I want to be constructive but things have not changed in four weeks. We need to conclude this but, as we lose time, we are not getting down to finalising legislative matters. Each time we have not reached agreement that work is postponed and the February date becomes difficult.

The unfortunate thing about next week is that the Assembly is sitting on Monday and Tuesday but the parties will not be back until Sunday night, placing horrendous difficulties in the way of completing this business. You play the cards you are given and I will do my best with the cards I have.

Would the Taoiseach not agree that the question of the impasse at present in the entire array of the talks is, in part, related to the perceived lack of movement on decommissioning? On the basis of information he has received from sources other than the media, is he optimistic about a possible movement in relation to decommissioning by the IRA?

On the question of decommissioning, I am always careful not to mislead the House. I would be more optimistic about information from sources in connection with the recovery of the bodies of the missing people.

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