Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I reiterate that the Irish Government has been inclusive in the process. It has tried to involve all parties and none and to encourage and promote the idea of dialogue. The British Government seems to have adopted a different position. The night that Deputy Gerry Adams was arrested, they were having a drinks party with the DUP. The British Government may be meeting unionism on a regular basis, but it is not meeting the wider parties which is a weakness in its approach. It is positive, however, that the meeting with Sinn Féin is taking place for the first time today. The worry is that the British Government is more concerned about the next election and coming closer to unionism in that regard rather than about building on the peace process itself.

Does the Tánaiste believe this is a genuine process or are we just going through the motions? There is a view that the talks up to now have merely involved parties laying out their stalls without any genuine attempt to resolve the issues which are still outstanding from Haass. There were talks after Haass, but it appeared to be a matter of going through the motions. Does the Tánaiste believe this is a real opportunity which sets the mood music in relation to the contentious marches and what is facing us down the road?

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