Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As Deputy Adams said, the Taoiseach is meeting the British Prime Minister today. This is now part of a regular, annual summit meeting between the Taoiseach of this country and the Prime Minister of Britain to discuss issues around our bilateral relationship. The issues of trade, tourism, investment, our bilateral relations and the issue of Northern Ireland will form part of those discussions.

Immediate issues need to be addressed. I am disappointed - as I am sure is Deputy Adams - that there has been insufficient progress in the discussions following the work done by Dr. Haass and Dr. O'Sullivan prior to the new year. I was reasonably satisfied that progress was being made in the discussions among the party leaders in Northern Ireland. That progress has, to some extent, been derailed recently arising from the Downey judgment and the subsequent controversy and fallout. I would hope that following the St. Patrick's Day period it will be possible to get those discussions back on track and to make progress again because the three critical issues which arise in that area include how to deal with the issue of flags and identity, how to deal with the controversy surrounding parading and how to deal with the very controversial area of the past. These are issues that have to be grappled with.

I have discussed these issues on a number of occasions since the new year with the Secretary of State and as recently as yesterday. I plan to meet her again following the St. Patrick's Day events and I hope that it will be possible shortly after the St. Patrick's Day period to have the regular quad meeting which the Secretary of State and I have with the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister. The meeting is overdue. The format of this meeting will be a useful forum in which to try to bring things back on track.

As Deputy Adams said, there are issues about non-implementation. There is unfinished business from the agreements which the Irish Government continues to pursue with the British Government.

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