Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy asked a number of questions and I will answer the last one first. I know the arguments the DUP makes but they cannot say it is an arbitrary date because it is one the British Government fixed at Cabinet level and enshrined in legislation which was passed by the House of Lords and the House of Commons. They cannot blame the Irish Government if it is a date embedded in their own legislation via a legislative assembly in which they have considerable participation.

We argued from January until spring this year that a reasonable amount of time should be allowed for serious dialogue with the parties in the absence of the issues which previously existed, such as the IRA being active or the International Monitoring Commission's inability to produce accurate reports on the progress of decommissioning. We suggested we leave it for the entire year so the end of the November was fixed as a suitable date and transposed into legislation. On that basis I put considerable effort into persuading parties to agree to the recommencement on 15 May of the Assembly so that dialogue could take place and committees meet. If I had not been able to say that, more than one party would have refused to enter into the Assembly to get things moving again and to stay with it for a prolonged period. That was the right call. The date is set in legislation and people cannot keep pushing it back. The British Government is as firm as the Irish on that.

The North-South bodies and other mechanisms that exist have been operating on a temporary basis and in their own way have proved satisfactory and led to some progress. However, it is nothing compared with what we should have achieved. The North-South bodies should have been much enhanced and more progress made. They have existed on a caretaker basis which has held back a number of decisions, including some legislative measures we were to deal with in this House. That is an unsatisfactory position.

Deputy Rabbitte asked what would happen if we had to move on to a plan B. We have held detailed discussions with the British Government on how to deal with new arrangements on the basis of partnership. It is not my preferred way but we have made constitutional changes and made concessions in many areas. The North-South element is very important and new partnership arrangements must embrace those issues in a very substantive way. As the Deputy pointed out to me previously, including in written form some years ago, there are legislative implications which we cannot just set aside. The Attorney General has consistently made clear that they are important issues and I made that point very clearly to the British Government at the meeting in November.

I hope it does not come to that but all the parties in Northern Ireland must decide in the next few months if they really want to share power based on the strength of their parties, which is the basis of the Good Friday Agreement. That is the only way of governing Northern Ireland because of the unique situation there. It is not like this State or other places and the Agreement is the basis for it so people cannot stand back from it.

On policing, it is important that Sinn Féin commits completely to policing in the context of an agreement, which is necessary in Northern Ireland. There has been ongoing dialogue on that issue but I cannot be sure what Sinn Féin will do. I hope we can make progress in that area. It is essential because we will not persuade the DUP or others to agree unless that is resolved.

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