Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

We have heard a number of views during this debate, all of which have been broadly supportive of the motion before the House. Several speakers referred to the need to support a party's electoral mandate, which strikes me as a fundamental issue. The Green Party thought the issue was dealt with at the time of the referendum on the Good Friday Agreement, which it supported wholeheartedly. My party is willing to work in any way it can to help to implement the Agreement. I hope those from the physical force tradition will recognise that the mandate that was given by the entire island in 1998 supersedes the mandate from the 1918 election, to which they always claimed allegiance. That there seems to be some ambiguity about the timing of the ending of violence, which was supposed to have been dealt with in 1998, is a great disappointment. I do not doubt that there is some foot-dragging about the implementation of the Agreement.

As we call for an end to violence, perpetrated by a state or otherwise, it is important to remind ourselves that the Agreement put in place practical and beneficial forms of cross-Border co-operation in 13 areas. Such co-operation in the agriculture sector, for example, saved us from the worst ravages of foot and mouth disease. The tourism industry has benefited from marketing on an all-island basis. The Irish and Ulster Scots languages are undergoing vibrant renewal and development as a result of cross-Border co-operation. The energy sector will be absolutely essential because we are at the end of a Siberian natural gas pipeline.

There are other areas in which practical co-operation is needed, such as the health service. The crisis in health care in County Donegal would be alleviated significantly if services in Derry's main hospital were available to the people of Inishowen, for example. I appeal to the representatives of the British Government, who may be observing this debate, to do what needs to be done in respect of this issue. While it does not relate to bombing or any other form of violence, the need to develop health care systems on a cross-Border basis is certainly a matter of life and death. The Green Party is interested in such practical issues that affect people on the ground.

The peace process has to be pursued and its key elements need to be implemented. It is important to focus on what has been achieved, rather than concentrating on what remains to be done. The Green Party is playing its part in this regard by planning on becoming an all-island political party in the future. Its beliefs are shared North and South, as well as by the Green Parties of Scotland, England and Wales.

The development of the peace process has been delayed significantly by a lack of cohesion within the Government, which seems to be adopting a good cop, bad cop approach. The Taoiseach seems to be going soft and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, has predicted a role for Sinn Féin in Government. On the other hand, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, is constantly talking about how such involvement is not possible because of ongoing instances of criminality. People like the leader of the DUP have exploited the breakdown in the cohesiveness of the Government's approach by adopting a "sackcloth and ashes" view of the peace process. The raid on the Northern Bank in Belfast made things worse, of course.

Sinn Féin needs to reflect on its position in respect of policing. If it grasps the nettle by participating in the policing board and being part of the investigation into the robbery, the allegations it is making about some kind of set-up could be investigated. It is no longer possible to straddle both sides of the fence. Sinn Féin needs to move on. The kind of courage that has been shown in the past needs to be shown again.

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