Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am not suggesting that the British Government wants to see the situation slipping backwards or any of the rest of it. Of course it does not. If the Taoiseach wants an example of the British Government’s behaviour in those issues over which it has complete control, he has only to consider the flag. It is a British flag. It is the Union flag.

Arguably, the British Government could have authority over that. The Pat Finucane inquiry is an inquiry which the British Government agreed to set up and which the British Government is blocking. The refusal of the British Government to co-operate comes despite two Oireachtas motions on the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.

If we then come to why these particular talks did not get through, substantial progress was made, although it might not have been thought there would be republican or Sinn Féin support for a process of information recovery, which is very important. Fine Gael is very fond, as are Labour and Fianna Fáil, of sniping snidely at Sinn Féin around incidents in the past. Here, Sinn Féin is saying, "Yes, we will co-operate with this and we will work with this".

Why did the Unionists not agree to that? Unionists did not agree to that because a society called the Royal Ulster Constabulary George Cross Foundation, which is made up of former RUC officers, lobbied them extensively in the course of all of those talks - the leaderships of the DUP and UUP told us this. They do not want the light shone on the type of activities in which the old RUC was involved, which is why the British Government has to face up to these matters. They were also lobbied extensively by the Orange Order, apart from the fact some of the people in the talks were from the Orange Order. In the Belfast context, they were also led by a small sectarian group coming from an alliance of the Orange Order and the UVF, which put on the pressure. They would not agree to a simple code of conduct which would be binding upon everyone organising a parade or a protest, they would not agree on a commission on identity to discuss Irishness and Acht na Gaeilge is not even mentioned in the communique which came out of those discussions.

Why am I saying all of this? It is not to score points. I agree with the Taoiseach entirely that the Irish Government, Fianna Fáil and all of the parties here should be sewn into the fabric of life in the North, in a non-threatening way that is neighbourly and fraternal. That is my very strong view. It is also my view that the majority of people in the North, including Unionists, want to see continued progress. They do not want the antics we see in Belfast city centre, with people wrapping themselves in union flags, engaging in sectarian remarks, urinating outside churches and tormenting people because they happen to be from the Catholic religion. The majority of people do not want that.

My argument, and I come back to this again and again, is that if Deputy Kenny does nothing in his term or terms as Taoiseach except educate and inform, it would be something. The British Government and others in Britain are open to ideas and suggestions. However, if I forensically interviewed the Taoiseach about how often this is being placed on their agenda at executive level, I believe we would all be disappointed because he is doing so many things and is busy with so many issues. The way to get unionism to move is to get a British Government to enter into its obligations and to fulfil those obligations.

My last point, which is a point in kind, is one I made to the Taoiseach at the time. I said the Narrow Water bridge would happen if he made it happen, and he did not. I know there are costs and so on, but it will not be any cheaper the next time around and this issue will not go away. It is an issue that did not involve the British Government. It was a clear-----

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