Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 37, inclusive, together.

After three days of intensive discussion at Leeds Castle with the Northern Ireland parties in September, both Prime Minister Blair and I said that we believed we could resolve the issues to do with ending paramilitary activity and putting weapons beyond use.

Immediately after the Leeds Castle talks, all the parties, supported by the two Governments, engaged further on a range of issues, including the review of the Good Friday Agreement, on which it was not possible to conclude agreement at Leeds Castle.

I met Dr. Paisley and Peter Robinson of the DUP on Thursday, 30 September, the first time that Dr. Paisley had come to Dublin to discuss political matters. It was an important meeting which lasted two hours and at which we discussed how we could make progress without interfering with the fundamentals of the Agreement.

At my meeting with Sinn Féin on Monday, 4 October, we had a further opportunity to discuss outstanding issues and to try to advance matters.

I met Prime Minister Blair again in the margins of the treaty ceremony in Rome where we briefly discussed developments. I hope that we can have further discussions at the European Council in Brussels later this week.

It is clear what is now necessary. We want to see a restoration of the Assembly and the Executive as soon as possible which would take account of the review of the operation of the Agreement. There must be a genuine, lasting and stable commitment to power-sharing. There must be the complete end to violence in all its forms and decommissioning of weapons. We want to see support across all sections of the community for the new policing arrangements in Northern Ireland and, of course, we want to see full implementation of the Joint Declaration which will also allow demilitarisation to move ahead.

After so many decades of conflict and turmoil the outstanding issues, while difficult, are very few indeed. If there is a will on all sides to finish this once and for all, I believe sincerely that it can be done. If agreement cannot be reached between the parties when it is clear it should be, we have said that we will find a different way to move this process forward.

I was very grateful to the US special envoy, Mitchell Reiss, for his attendance at Leeds Castle and the constructive role he played. While I have no immediate plans to visit the US, I know the special envoy is keeping the administration informed of progress.

While any meeting of the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation is primarily a matter for the chairman and the parties, I would not anticipate an early meeting of this body.

I met Geraldine Finucane and the Finucane family on Thursday, 21 October. It has been my consistent view that this case necessitates a public inquiry. It was agreed at Weston Park in July 2001 that if a public inquiry was recommended following a thorough investigation of the allegations of collusion in this case, that recommendation would be implemented. Judge Cory's subsequent investigation stated that he was satisfied that there was a need for a public inquiry and that that inquiry should be held as quickly as possible. The inquiry announced recently by the British Government requires the introduction of new British legislation. It is obviously important that this legislation fulfils the Weston Park commitment and the requirements of Judge Cory.

See this speech in context