Dr. Alasdair McDonnell:

I thank the chair and apologise on two fronts. First, because of events and commitments I have not been to the committee for a while but I intend to remedy that henceforth. The discussions took up an inordinate amount of time and I was not able to attend because at times I wanted to be in three places at once. I also apologise for being late this morning but not only is there a need for a Dunkettle roundabout, there is a need for a number of roundabouts on the northside of Dublin. I thought I could sneak my way through relatively quickly but hundreds of motorists conspired against me to ensure I did not get through quickly enough. I am sure the Minister of State will raise with the Cabinet the need for a number of roundabouts on the northside, particularly at Drumcondra.

There are many loose ends left around legacy issues but they must be pushed forward. The issues must be put to bed because there is a great deal of hurt and there are many victims who need answers. Those answers run right across the spectrum and everybody needs to be prepared to tell the truth but the British Government is using a national security fig leaf, or flag of convenience, to cover up things that do not need to be covered up. There is a broad acceptance that when real issues of national security are involved, they have to be dealt with accordingly. However, national security has been used on many occasions when it was inappropriate to do so.

I want to pay a warm and unconditional tribute to the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Sherlock, to the Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan, and to their entire staff. The entire Irish Government team was outstanding. We entered into this process where the British had, in the past few years, tried their damnedest to squeeze us all out, saying it was just a British problem which they would sort out. They not only excluded the parties but tried their damnedest to exclude the Irish Government. The whole team deserve a huge compliment for the way they elbowed their way back in. I know how difficult it was and we could all see and read the tea leaves about how difficult Ms Villiers was, particularly at the start, but in time she realised the tremendous role the Irish team was able to play and she came to respect it.

I find it difficult to cope with the endurance test, day in and day out, despite the fact that I only had to come from six or eight miles down the road. I do not know how the Irish team kept it up and I hope their constituents in Cork East and Laois-Offaly respect the effort they made. We certainly do. I want them to stay engaged and I want the legacy stuff to be seen through to the end. I meet people regularly, sometimes daily, and they need satisfaction. We are counting on the Minister and his team to hold the line on that. If they cannot do it, the Brits will not deliver. I am probably dumping a large responsibility on the Minister of State but I thank him and his entire team because it was a pleasure working with them all.