Mr. John Bruton:

It is no secret that when I was Taoiseach I found it irritating beyond belief to be repeatedly asked the same question by journalists about something in respect of which there was nothing new to report. We were just continuing our work. At one stage I was asked whether I would welcome a gesture of decommissioning, such as the visible destruction of three or four machine guns. I said that I would. Sinn Féin got very upset about that because it believed I was accepting British preconditions. I was accepting no such thing. I was acting in accordance with Article 15.6 of the Constitution. It is almost as if, for the purposes of this submission, I had rediscovered Article 15.6. I never hear it mentioned. It rules out private armies in this jurisdiction. That was put in the Constitution by Mr. de Valera. If I may digress, we have a great Constitution. It is a terrific achievement.

It completely rules out private armies. I do not know if my successor as Taoiseach was ever asked that question. I got a bit of stick because of the answer I gave, but I gave the right answer.