Mr. Brian Gormally:

Some people involved in our group have had conversations with officials in recent days, where the indication was that consultation is probably going to go ahead. Apparently, the view was that if there is an agreement, then the idea would be for the two major parties, or all the parties, to ask the British Government to bring it forward. If there is no agreement, it will be brought forward in any event. However, we have been told that kind of thing by officials before, so it should not be taken as gospel. It has been a while since we talked to the Secretary of State about these matters, although it was not terribly valuable even when we did.