Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 36, inclusive, together.

The Government remains fully committed to the peace process and the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. We have seen very real progress in recent months. There are, of course, continuing difficulties. This is not surprising following such a prolonged conflict, and indeed centuries of division on this island, but the progress that has been made deserves to be acknowledged.

The Independent Monitoring Commission, IMC, report, which both Governments requested and which we published on 1 February, reflects the complexity of the transition which is taking place within the Provisional IRA. In a key conclusion, the IMC say it is of "the firm view that the present IRA leadership has taken the strategic decision to end the armed campaign and pursue the political course which it has publicly articulated".

The absence of evidence of IRA paramilitary activity since last July including authorised attacks, recruitment, training, targeting and involvement in rioting is of particular note and obviously welcome. At the same time, the commission identifies issues of concern that must be addressed, particularly regarding criminal activity and gathering of intelligence. The Governments do not minimise the importance of these concerns but it should be noted that in light of the progress made, the IMC recommended that the financial measures against Sinn Féin, which the commission had previously recommended, should be lifted.

We also published a further report from the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, the IICD. The IICD's report dealt with decommissioning of loyalist weaponry and matters relating to IRA decommissioning last September. It reported on the continuing engagement of the commission with representatives of loyalist paramilitary organisations. The IICD investigated reports that the IRA had retained some of its weapons. However, following investigation of these reports, it concluded that its assessment last September regarding the decommissioning of IRA arms remains correct.

The IICD will continue with its work, as will the IMC. The Government does not take lightly the negative matters raised in the IMC report. The Garda, Office of the Revenue Commissioners and other agencies will continue to pursue illegality from whatever source. They will continue to co-operate actively with their counterparts in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in this task.

I met Prime Minister Blair in Farmleigh on 26 January. The close and concerted co-operation between the two Governments remains vital as we seek to bring finality to outstanding issues and achieve full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. In our joint statement following this meeting, we emphasised the importance of making progress in 2006 and indicated that the forthcoming talks with the Northern Ireland political parties would have the aim of setting out the arrangements and timetable for the restoration of the institutions as soon as possible. We made clear that the early restoration of the devolved institutions is in the best interests of everyone in Northern Ireland. If we are genuinely and permanently to bed down progress in Northern Ireland, we cannot leave things as they are at present. We must bring matters to completion.

The talks between the Governments and the Northern Ireland political parties got under way on 6 February and are expected to last several weeks. These talks were attended by all the political parties. The Minister and the Secretary of State made clear the Governments' determination to achieve early progress through an inclusive process of negotiations with all the parties. The meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in London on 1 February reflected the ongoing and growing agenda of North-South and east-west co-operation. Ministers discussed a joint paper on infrastructure development and spatial planning on the island. They noted the scope for further practical co-operation on the development of an all-island economy and agreed that a full review should be undertaken to identify existing co-operation, to analyse what is working well, to identify areas where future co-operation would deliver mutual benefits and to examine how such co-operation might best be taken forward. They agreed that there is significant potential for further co-operation on a range of infrastructure and spatial planning issues and requested responsible Departments and agencies or regulators to identify further projects for North-South co-operation and bring these forward. It was also agreed that further opportunities for joint trade promotion would be explored.

I met US Special Envoy Mitchell Reiss on 30 January. We discussed the two Governments' plans for advancing the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. The US Government remains fully supportive of the position of the Irish and British Governments. We also discussed my forthcoming visit to the United States for St. Patrick's Day.

I expect to meet President Bush during my visit to the United States for St. Patrick's Day. The programme for this visit has yet to be finalised. I expect discussions on the peace process will figure prominently, in addition to other issues. I also expect to participate in the traditional ceremonies at the White House and on Capitol Hill and to meet the Ireland-America Economic Advisory Board in the course of my visit. It has been the practice in recent years to meet the board during the course of my annual visit to Washington over the St. Patrick's Day period. My Department maintains contact with the board primarily through our embassy in Washington, as well as through annual visits and meetings. As the House will be aware, board members give voluntarily of their time and expertise in a number of ways. In addition to visiting Washington, I also expect to visit San José, California, while I am in the USA.

I met the Chief Constable of the PSNI, Sir Hugh Orde, on 22 December 2005 regarding the so-called "Stormontgate" affair. There were some detailed exchanges but as the briefing and exchanges were confidential, it would not be appropriate to go into detail. I welcomed the fact that the Chief Constable had briefed the Northern Ireland Policing Board and urged that the maximum possible information be shared with the public. There was also a helpful exchange regarding policing generally in Northern Ireland and the continuing progress on full implementation of the recommendations of the Patten report.

The "Stormontgate" case, along with a number of other issues, contributed to the collapse of the power-sharing Executive in 2002. However, the primary focus of the Governments and parties must now be on the future and the priority of restoring the devolved institutions in 2006, and contacts with all the political parties will, as previously, continue with this aim in view.

On the question of the so-called on-the-runs, OTRs, when the UK legislation was published last November, proposals for dealing with the handful of cases that might arise in this jurisdiction were announced. It was indicated that such a scheme would operate in tandem with the operation of the provisions in the United Kingdom. The withdrawal of the UK legislation means the proposals for dealing with the matter in this jurisdiction are now in abeyance pending the issue being revisited in both jurisdictions.

The question of further sessions of the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation will be kept under review. As of now, there are no plans for a further meeting.

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