Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The establishment of the North-South forum is a strand 2 matter, which is a matter between the Executive and the Government. The British Government has no problem with its establishment, but the mechanics of establishing it require consent and agreement on the structure by the Executive and this Administration, and we would like to proceed with that quickly. A review is currently taking place within the joint office on a civic forum in Northern Ireland, and this should inform our progress. As soon as the review is completed we will get on with it. That is what we want to do. These are the procedures that are in place and the decisions that have been taken in order to make progress.

As Deputy Ó Caoláin said, the forum has been in gestation far longer than any of us would have contemplated ten years ago. The Deputy's point is taken. We will need everyone to buy into the process. It is not true that in every aspect of political culture in Ireland this is seen as an important contribution to the public life of the country. We think so, the Deputy thinks so, and others are gradually coming to the view that it is a good thing that has benefits. In order to bring along other people who are not as enthusiastic as we are, we need to ensure the work of the forum is incremental.

I do not want to take away from the Deputy's view on the matter, but to bring common currency issues to the forum as a main topic of discussion would be more negative than positive in terms of momentum because in the view of others it is beyond the remit of the forum at this time. I am not closing off the possibility of discussion or of people having views, but I am making the point that we need to have a clear view of what it can achieve in the medium term. The question of a common currency is a huge issue, as the Deputy can see. How to have a common currency in two different jurisdictions is a major challenge. While one can see the benefits of such a decision from a certain perspective, one must also recognise that such a decision lies elsewhere in terms of having an all-Ireland application. Certainly one would have a lot of persuading to do to make it happen.

Let us get on with the work the forum can do and should be doing to reinforce the common approaches and perspectives which will, in time, change the culture and the nature of the relationship between North and South. That is the benefit it can really bring, it can open up new perspectives. It is not a matter of "open minds as open as a trap", as Séamus Heaney has said. We must all be genuinely open to the possibility of reconfiguring that relationship in the 21st century.

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