I am sure the House will agree that we expressed a sense of grave disappointment at the failure to conclude the talks in Hillsborough yesterday in respect of the completion of the Good Friday Agreement. I received a telephone call earlier this morning from the Department of the Taoiseach to request the Taoiseach be allowed to stay away from the House for a while, as the talks concluded late last night or early this morning. Arising from that can the Tánaiste outline a timetable to resurrect the talks to the point where they might be completed?
Given that both the British Prime Minister and the Taoiseach were very much against the postponement of the elections beyond 1 May and the real possibility that an invasion of Iraq might take place which will obviously divert the attentions of the British Prime Minister, is there not now a serious possibility that these talks and all the work, discussions and deliberations that have taken place over the past five years will begin to unravel? This is very serious for the entire island of Ireland following the consent given in a referendum by the people, both North and South, to the Good Friday Agreement. Does the Taoiseach intend coming in here today to give a statement to the House and allow us to discuss this? Can the Tánaiste indicate the timetable set out by both Governments to attempt to resurrect the talks to a point where they can be concluded successfully?