Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

There was a far greater degree of trust in the Northern Ireland peace process than might have been known about at the time, certainly behind the scenes.

Achieving an agreement is very difficult and there are many challenges and hurdles. That said, the feedback we are receiving suggests both leaders are putting on the table their genuine personal desire to see an outcome. President Abbas has been weakened significantly over the past two years by a variety of incidents. I will not go through all of them again. He has the support of the Arab League and the Arab states, which support is essential. These states make a call in terms of what is possible for him in respect of his ability to emerge from the talks with an outcome.

I have made the point to anybody I have spoken to that every effort should be made to try to make space for the talks to proceed and to allow people to get into detail. I do not disagree with the Deputy in this regard. It is a matter of the United States trying to broker a formula that would keep the two leaders talking.

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