John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Powell for appearing before us and we really appreciate it. John Smith died in 1994 and was on course to be prime minister in 1997. Tony Blair came though as a result and Mr. Powell first started working for Tony as his chief of staff when he was the leader of the Opposition in 1995, if I am correct. In those years of opposition between 1995 and 1997, was Tony Blair and Mr. Powell's team thinking about Northern Ireland? Was Northern Ireland very much on his agenda then? Was it more about circumstances around when he came into government with such a landslide in 1997 and they looked at Scottish devolution, House of Lords reform and Northern Ireland? Was it that once they got into government, they were looking at big issues with which to deal? At what point in Tony Blair's leadership between opposition and government did Northern Ireland become big on the agenda?