Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree that in some cases there seems to be a feeling of utter hopelessness and despair about where this now appears to be headed. For that reason, I asked the Prime Minister to consider speaking to the First Minister. He was to speak to the Secretary of State but I cannot confirm whether he spoke to the DUP leader.

I note the report the Deputy mentioned about the implications for young people regarding education and so on. There is also a decision to be made in respect of welfare reform which could lead to a substantial cutback in finance for facilities of up to €650 million, which clearly has implications for the Executive and the way it goes about its business. That was partly the reason additional moneys were put in under the PEACE IV agreement arising from the Presidency last year - to deal with the sensitive communities mentioned by the Deputy.

I do not have any difficulty arranging a meeting with the British Prime Minister if that is necessary. I agreed with him on Sunday that we would both continue to monitor this closely from Dublin and London and to engage with the parties, and I committed myself to that in the meetings and discussions I had yesterday. I have not spoken directly to the First Minister. Obviously, I recommended that the Prime Minister engage with him in the first instance, but it is a case of hoping to get through this weekend without any escalation of violence and making contingency arrangements for what is best for the future. This is a sensitive period and, clearly, the period ahead between September and Christmas is crucial to putting the peace process and the move to fully implement the Good Friday Agreement back on track.

See this speech in context