Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

There seemed to be fairly universal support for the concept. As I have stated publicly, it is not a step we will take in the near future, but we will consider it strategically and carefully. As a significant party in Government, any moves clearly would have to be carried out with one eye on political stability and equilibrium built into the Good Friday Agreement. We would never put that in jeopardy.

To come to the constitutional issue regarding the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, a new Oireachtas committee will be put in place to oversee the issues flowing from that and we should all welcome that move.

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