Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)

I wish to share time with Deputy Crawford. The purpose of the British-Irish Agreement (Amendment) Bill 2006 is to amend the provisions of the original Act relating to the special European Union programmes body which was set up in 1999. This body was established with the specific purpose of putting into action for communities in Northern Ireland the international support that was offered by the friends of Ireland overseas.

I welcome this Bill. I accept that, very unfortunately, for the people of Northern Ireland it has been some time since they had normality in many ways, including in their political structures. While the people of Northern Ireland do not have political normality, they have experienced an increase in prosperity in business across all communities because of the relative peace that has existed there for the past decade. Businesses, determined community leaders and many individuals in Northern Ireland have been the driving forces behind this prosperity.

We must do anything we can to support further economic development in Northern Ireland. The people and their representatives rightly associate economic prosperity with political stability, and vice versa, and recognise that it is a real and tangible dividend of political stability. The INTERREG and PEACE programmes have played a major role in bringing about political stability. A total of 6,000 community-based projects have benefited from the €868 million spent on the PEACE programme. These projects have had a positive effect on all communities. I understand that €182 million has been spent through the INTERREG programme, making a positive difference to people's lives. This Bill will allow the continuation and expansion of these programmes.

The Food Safety Promotion Board, InterTrade Ireland and Waterways Ireland have done excellent work while playing their part in promoting prosperity in Northern Ireland, with positive benefits for the whole island. I welcome the St. Andrews Agreement and the progress made in recent times. All participants must see the big prize at the end of a time of great frustration. Prosperity can be achieved only by taking the next step to have the Northern institutions up and running, with all political parties co-operating in a normal political atmosphere.

I pay tribute to those of all shades of political opinion who have been involved in resolving the conflict in Northern Ireland, especially members of my own party, including former taoisigh Liam Cosgrave, Garret FitzGerald and John Bruton who were involved respectively in negotiating the Sunningdale Agreement, the Anglo-Irish Agreement and the Framework Document. These agreements have been central to the whole process.

My party, in Opposition, has supported this Government's efforts to achieve the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. Fine Gael supported the Government in the negotiations that led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. We campaigned vigorously throughout the country for this agreement to be accepted in the referendum that followed. The principles that underpin the Good Friday Agreement are those that Fine Gael has espoused for many years: devolution, power-sharing, mutual respect and understanding and the absolute and total rejection of violence as a means to achieving political objectives.

Since the Good Friday Agreement was negotiated, signed and endorsed by the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland in the referendum, Fine Gael has supported all efforts to see the agreement being fully implemented. The Leader of Fine Gael, Deputy Kenny, has visited Northern Ireland several times to meet with political leaders and encourage compromise, co-operation and progress on this issue.

I also welcome the progress made at St. Andrews. Although the original deadline has not been met, all parties appear to recognise that full and unconditional support for the police and the justice system is essential for any durable settlement. Progress on this issue must be made soon. We should remember that the St. Andrews Agreement is an agreement between two governments and that reaching agreement between the parties is now an even greater challenge. I reiterate my party's support for the St. Andrews Agreement and express the hope that all difficulties can be overcome before the retirement of Tony Blair as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and before the next general election here. I ask the Government to announce its programme of investment as a result of the St. Andrews Agreement as the British Government has already outlined its proposals.

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