Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste will know that the concern is that the Unionist parties, in particular, the Democratic Unionist Party, have put back the issues and the proposals from Dr. Richard Haass and Dr. Megan O'Sullivan until after the local government elections, which means until June, which is the marching season. There needs to be a very particular focus. It is not even that the British Government has been disengaged - I would be the last person to complain about British Government disengagement from Ireland - rather its engagement has been negative instead of being therapeutic or positive. As I have already enunciated and the Tánaiste has acknowledged, it has been in breach of agreements made in international treaties and in other agreements between this Government and the London Government and between people across the island.

The Tánaiste referred to the Downey judgment. The issue of on-the-runs, OTRs, is one of several legacy issues common to all conflict resolution processes. It is not solely an Irish issue because it arises wherever efforts are made to move from conflict into peace. The two Governments agreed in the Weston Park Agreement some long time ago that the issue would be resolved. However, it is a very graphic example of an issue that has not been resolved despite entreaties and representations by Sinn Féin over the years. It still arises and is used to negative effect on the process with a resultant stall. Will the Tánaiste agree that there has to be a very basic principle in peace-keeping that when agreements are made and commitments given, they have to be kept and that this must be a primary ongoing tenacious forensic focus of this Government with its counterparts in London, that they have to keep the agreements they made?

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