Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The amendments to which the Deputy referred were agreed between the Governments, the DUP and Sinn Féin as part of the 2004 comprehensive agreement that dealt with the operational strands one, two and three of the Agreement. They were discussed throughout 2004 as part of the ongoing review of the operation of the Agreement. Some of the operational changes were rather technical but they formed the basis on which the DUP were prepared to work the Agreement in early December 2004. They did not form part of the recent legislative changes passed by the British Government and were excluded from the new Bill. We will inevitably have to revisit them in the coming weeks. I assume most will form part of the DUP demands during the negotiations. The British emergency legislation which provided for the return of the Assembly on 15 May did not address the matter so further legislation will be required if any of the amendments are subsequently agreed. There are sensitivities over the issues and the SDLP had very strong views at the time. In the context of an assured restoration of the Executive, I hope it will be possible to reach agreement on these amendments. At the moment, however, they are not law. They are not under discussion but I assume they will come back into play during the year, most of them from the DUP side. In fairness, it must be remembered that it was the DUP's right under the review clause of the Good Friday Agreement that there would be a review after a period of years. The amendments emanated from that review and had to be compatible with the Agreement. Since the DUP had not supported the Agreement in the first place, it was obvious that it would seek legislative changes on some issues.

Last week, the Oversight Commissioner published the 16th report on policing reforms in Northern Ireland. The report broadly spelled out a positive assessment of the pace of policing reforms there. It is clear that much progress has been made in implementing the Patten recommendations. The report shows that 124 of the 175 Patten recommendations have been confirmed as fully achieved, which is an enormous success. It is clear that progress still needs to be made in a number of key areas, including the one the Deputy raised concerning the primacy of MI5, the impact of the RPA's part-time policing bodies and the police college. Agreement has not been reached on these matters among others. We have spelled out our position on the primacy of MI5 and what should happen but there have been no new developments in this regard. Those who watch overall policing matters in the United Kingdom tell me it is unlikely that the British Government will move away from what it has decided. This was decided in the context of what will happen in the UK. I understand there is no great appetite on anyone's part to move away from this position, despite the arguments that have been made in Northern Ireland.

A number of concerns have been raised about restorative justice committees, including how they would function, who would be involved and the strictures under which they would operate. While the committees have a role in encouraging people to engage in their communities, they can only work effectively and safely where there is a direct link with policing, otherwise all kinds of extraneous issues will arise. There have been some good pilot schemes but such committees can only function properly if the police are involved, rather like neighbourhood watch, community alert and the various policing forums which operate under the aegis of Garda chief superintendents. Some people may argue that it is possible to make progress otherwise and I do not deny that but, ultimately, restorative justice committees must have a direct police input to work effectively and stop trouble in communities. That has been my view all along on the matter.

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