I join Deputy Quinn in welcoming the new police service of Northern Ireland and wishing it well. I particularly wish the best to Chief constable Ronnie Flanagan who has done an enormous amount of work. He deserves credit for bringing about such changes and I hope people row in and support him. A proper policing service requires cross community support in all areas and I hope that is achieved.
I also agree with Deputy Quinn and welcome today's election of David Trimble and Mark Durkan. I wish them well and wish also for a speedy resumption of the work of the Executive and the North-South bodies, the British-Irish Council, and the other institutions of the agreement. They can now work towards May 2003, which is the mandate of the institutions, to achieve political progress and they can get on with the politics rather than all the preconditions and the difficulties they have had.
I congratulate the Alliance Party. It found itself in a difficult position. It looked at what the Women's Coalition did successfully and David Ford as a new leader moved quickly and speedily and was extremely helpful. I agree that what the Alliance Party has achieved by redesignating members is admirable. Mark Durkan, also in a new position, was brave in his decisions last weekend. As both Mark Durkan and David Trimble have said, it was not the tidiest of arrangements but it had to be done that way. I congratulate both and hope we can get cross community support to maintain progress. I also acknowledge the support of the House for the various developments.
In reply to Deputy Noonan, I would like to think we have seen the end of terrorism but from briefings I have had it is certain there are some units of the real IRA in Britain. There is some reason to believe it is the same one or two units operating for some considerable time. They have not yet been thwarted and will not heed our efforts to stop them. I hope they will be apprehended. We have had more success here. There is a small, dangerous and violent group, determined to continue making life difficult for all. The British media has made comments that perhaps Sinn Féin could control them. That is totally wrong. I wish it could be so simple. It will take the security forces of Britain, the North and here to thwart them and we will continue to give room and resources to the Garda to do that.