Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is important to state that the Irish Government has continued to be very closely involved. I have regularly met all the party leaders in Northern Ireland and maintained regular, ongoing contact with them by telephone and through officials. In many cases, it is contact which has never been brought to public attention. I have maintained a very regular dialogue with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The two Governments are the co-guarantors of the Agreement and we work closely together. Both Governments share the view that the talks should succeed and both are encouraging that. I have had these discussions with the Secretary of State, Ms Theresa Villiers, on a number of occasions. My most recent discussion with her took place on 24 June 2014.

We will stay in close contact with the talks which are taking place. I hope they succeed. What is important is to get an outcome from the two three-day sessions taking place this week and next week, respectively. I am very familiar with the issues and where the gaps and differences are in respect of particular issues. Those gaps are perfectly capable of being bridged and I hope they will be.

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