Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

In respect of the St. Andrews Agreement, one party insisted that an election should take place and that it should take the form of a full election in respect of the Northern Ireland Assembly. All the other parties were satisfied that the main matters with which the new agreement deals — consent, equality, etc. — are covered in the Good Friday Agreement and that an election would not be required. It was not possible to deal with that issue. An election could have created difficulties for some political parties.

A referendum could perhaps have represented another way of testing support for the agreement. Following the discussions, it is obvious that the British Government strongly believes — I am not of the same opinion but I would not go to the stake in respect of this issue — that an election should be held. The Assembly will remain in place until the end of January and an election then will be held prior to the new agreement coming into operation. In my view, other parties — although I am not sure they will be very enthusiastic — will go along with it.

We were advised that if a referendum were to take place in the North, one would almost certainly have to take place here. The holding of elections in Northern Ireland will not affect our position. The Attorney General wishes to see the final legislation before making his observations known not only on that issue, but also in respect of any other changes that might be made and how these might affect the international agreement reached on Good Friday in 1998. To date, the indications are that the new agreement will not alter anything in its 1998 predecessor.

Regarding the referendum on matters relating to children, the Deputy will be aware that this is not a new issue. It has been raised by the Ombudsman for Children, the Children's Rights Alliance and the Law Society and it dates back ten years to the deliberations of the Constitutional Review Group. The Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, has raised the matter on several occasions, particularly in the context of the United Nations children's rights group. He reiterated during the summer that we would be obliged to deal with this issue. I understand that not only has the Minister of State given consideration to this matter, but he has also spoken at length to many groups and bodies. I am sure he has a wording in mind. Having been involved in dealing with many constitutional issues, I am aware that if the wording is produced, people start to unpick it and state that it is not correct and that proper consultation did not take place. Deputy Sargent would probably lead the posse in that regard.

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