Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I will take the last question first. I have no difficulty with the proposals agreed in the last Dáil and we should get on and try to reach agreement. The only caveat I would add, which I have stated repeatedly, is the true meaning of parity of esteem must be taken into account and this facility must be open to all parties. That must be agreed by the House. The original report was agreed some years ago and I am ready to be helpful and to progress this as quickly as people want, but it must be done with everybody's agreement and representation must be open to everybody in Northern Ireland rather than just one or two parties. This must be done properly.

On the Government strategy, the review which commenced last week will examine the operation of the Agreement, not its fundamentals, and it will provide all parties with an opportunity to discuss areas where difficulties have arisen and where work needs to be done. Our strategy is that there are areas that we classify as fundamental to the Agreement, which I can outline to the House, but they are clear, and there are aspects where we can make progress. There were difficulties over recent years in the operation of the Agreement in many areas. They should be dealt with under the review and that will help.

The mandates of all parties must be respected and that is our strategy in the talks. We, naturally, wish to work with all parties in the Assembly to secure a fully operational, stable institution. My meetings with all the parties have been constructive — my meeting with the DUP took place in a good atmosphere. We must wait to see what emerges in the coming weeks to assess whether the parties are ready to do business. Our strategy is clearly to encourage them to do business and to get the executive and the Assembly up and running.

The Agreement is inclusive and that means that everybody must do business together. The process cannot go on indefinitely and it must be focused. I have stated that we should try to complete this review by Easter, which is not long away, considering the amount of work that must be dealt with. Both Governments are committed to moving the process forward and progressing implementation of the Agreement. I note Deputy Ó Caoláin's comment that his party is supportive of efforts to see the end of paramilitarism, a sentiment with which I agree. We need to achieve that end to get people into a state of mind in which they will be prepared to do business and engage in an inclusive executive, and Deputy Ó Caoláin is aware of that.

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