Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The Government considered and discussed the IMC report last Tuesday, before its publication. These reports are normally given to both Governments some days beforehand. Obviously, the report highlights the need to keep the implementation process on track and to continue with all aspects of the Good Friday Agreement, even if it takes some time to make progress on the political issues, given the impending local elections and possibly the Westminster elections.

As regards the McCartney killing, the PSNI has refused to comment on the basis that the investigation is ongoing. Therefore, there have been no reports or intelligence on this matter, other than what has been in the media. As the Deputy said, the president of Sinn Féin, Gerry Adams, has repudiated the killing in very strong terms, and has said that people who have reservations about assisting the PSNI should give any information to the family's solicitor or any other authoritative person or body. The chief constable of the PSNI stated that it was not a crime by some political group in furtherance of its objectives but that it involved people who belong to illegal organisations. That is as far as he went.

The issue for us, as we prepare for the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, is to take the issues on which progress has been made and, over the next few months, make as much progress on them as we can. We hope to have a substantive agenda for the conference, which the Secretary of State, Mr. Paul Murphy, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs will attend.

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