Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I share with the Taoiseach the hope that the efforts being made to get the Northern Ireland Executive meeting again will succeed. It is disappointing it has not met for quite some time. Is the Taoiseach optimistic that meetings of it will resume in the near future?

With regard to the Omagh bombing, what was contained in the "Panorama" programme was extremely serious. Apparently GCHQ was in possession of information which, if it had been passed on in time to the RUC, could possibly have prevented the Omagh bombing and certainly would have led to the detection of those responsible for it. Do I understand from what the Taoiseach said that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform will follow this up with the British authorities? Do I understand then that the contents of that programme have not yet been followed up with the British authorities?

What is the Taoiseach's attitude to the recommendation made jointly by the Irish Human Rights Commission and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission in early 2007 that a judge of international standing should be appointed by both Governments to review the available information about that bombing and the state of knowledge of the security services both on this island and on the neighbouring island in regard to it? Will the Government pursue that idea with the British Government to have a review conducted by a judge of international standing of the available information on it?

In respect of the North-South parliamentary forum that has been talked about for some time, what progress has been made to establish it?

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