Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1: To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on recent developments in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15528/09]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 2: To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent contacts with the British Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15529/09]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 3: To ask the Taoiseach when he next expects to meet the British Prime Minister, Mr. Brown; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15530/09]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 4: To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his contacts with the political parties in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15568/09]

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 5: To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his contacts with the British Prime Minister in regard to the ongoing implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. [16426/09]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 6: To ask the Taoiseach when he next expects to meet the British Prime Minister; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16602/09]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 7: To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his contacts with the political parties in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16603/09]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 7, inclusive, together. I visited Northern Ireland on 26 March and met with First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in Stormont Buildings. We discussed recent developments, including the attacks by dissident groups, the unified response of the political parties and the excellent co-operation between the PSNI and the Garda and progress on the devolution of policing and justice.

Later that evening, I addressed the CBI Northern Ireland annual dinner in Belfast. In the course of my speech, I highlighted the importance of North-South co-operation and the contribution the island economy can make to economic recovery and the co-operation between Government Departments and agencies on both sides of the Border which are actively engaged in attracting foreign investment, on overseas trade missions, building our higher education capacity and training and skills development. I also reiterated the Government's commitment to investment in infrastructure projects that will benefit everyone on this island.

I met with Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the European Council meeting in March and I expect to meet him again at the next Council meeting in June.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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It is perfectly obvious that cross-Border unity has been displayed since the murders of British soldiers, Mark Quinsey and Patrick Asimkar, and subsequent murder by the Continuity IRA of PSNI officer, Stephen Carroll. The Taoiseach will be aware of the Garda Commissioner's statement in January that the threat from dissident republicans should not be underestimated and is a cause for concern for both the Garda Síochána and the PSNI. He will also be aware that these groups have been engaged in extortion and serious gun crime. Many of the pipe bombs in the Republic last year were INLA related. I understand that in 2008 there were 106 incidents involving pipe bombs, grenades and other improvised devices in Dublin alone, an increase of 340% since 2007 when there were 24 such incidents. From speaking to people who know something about this issue, there should be a real concern about the recruitment into dissident republican groups of vulnerable young men who are led by some daft, romantic notion that this is the thing to do.

It is necessary for the political process to ensure the Good Friday Agreement is implemented in full and we fully support the Government in its actions in this respect. It is only in this way, when people understand and see co-operation and the peace process being implemented properly, that communities can live their lives as they should. The resources needed to deal with this issue must be given to the security forces, that is, the Garda Síochána on this side of the Border and the PSNI on the other side of the Border.

Based on the reports given to him by the Garda and possibly the Army, what is the Taoiseach's current assessment of the threat posed by dissident republicans? What additional steps have been taken since the murders at Massereene Barracks to increase monitoring activities along the Border in view of the activities taking place there? Does the Taoiseach have information as to whether or to what extent republican groups are actively recruiting?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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As Deputy Kenny said, there is full co-operation between the PSNI and the Garda Síochána in relation to dealing with this threat. The Garda Commissioner has confirmed to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform that he is happy with the level of co-operation.

The intelligence services of the State have kept a close monitoring eye on what is going on among They threaten our democracy for so long as they exist. They seek to defy the will of the people, North and South, on the basis that the Good Friday Agreement and the St. Andrews Agreement constitute the agreed path forward for peace and reconciliation and, from our point of view, ultimately, we hope, unity of the country.

Anyone who is engaged in violent activity or threats or planning of criminal acts - I do not give them the adjective "dissident" at all as these are criminal activities and they do not have any political philosophy that is worth the name - is clearly intent on seeking to defy the will of the vast majority of the people of all traditions, North and South, and the security forces have been successful in deterring them from engaging in violent activities or planning events that would have caused serious harm to people and property. It is a continuing requirement on our security forces to try to ensure that they do not succeed at any time.

This threat is something that must be contended with. The Garda Síochána has been dealing with this sort of threat for decades and has built up a great degree of expertise, and its intelligence services are very effective. As I stated, level of co-operation levels with the PSNI are strong and that is as it should be.

I share with the Deputy the need to continue to be vigilant. There is never any room for complacency. I assure the House and the country that this is an issue that has the highest priority among our security forces.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Government received the 21st report of the Independent Monitoring Commission on 1 May last. It clearly stated that the Continuity IRA and the Real IRA were particularly active in recruiting and carrying out their activities. This resulted in a concentrated period of attempts to disrupt the state, North and South, and were it not for the vigilance of the police, both North and South, matters could have been much worse. The report also notes, as the Taoiseach will be aware, that the dissidents themselves were hoping that from this period of concentrated activity there might well be an overreaction from authorities, North or South, which would play into their hands from a publicity point of view. Does the Taoiseach have any reflections on the report?

I happened to be visiting the Border areas in the past few days on other activities in which the Taoiseach was engaged in different places. It was evident in some of the towns in Leitrim and north Roscommon that many of the retail shops are being wiped out. I am aware of the impact of the difference between sterling and euro, but what I refer to came about because of the perception that the increase in VAT here and the reduction in VAT by the British Government would lead to real consumer bargains. If one stands in an electrical shop in Boyle, Manorhamilton or Carrick-on-Shannon,-----

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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We cannot go into that now.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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It is a big issue.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I will tell the Ceann Comhairle why.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy Kenny knows well that-----

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Thousands of jobs are being lost as a result.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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-----I cannot start discussing matters relevant the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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This causes much frustration and pressure on young people. If I cannot raise the matter one way I will do so in another.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I am aware of that but under Standing Orders we must stick to the questions tabled.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I asked the Taoiseach if he will report on recent developments in Northern Ireland, and if he will make a statement on the matter. Developments in Northern Ireland are such that the British Government has reduced VAT and many of the retailers do not offer the proper euro-sterling exchange rate. These have resulted in a wipe-out of business in many of the retail stores south of the Border.

In the House, the Tánaiste stated that she intended to introduce legislation to protect consumers and regulate price controls. In view of this continuing situation and the fact that the Minister for Finance stated that he had made a mistake in raising the level of VAT, has the Taoiseach considered the implications for small retailers south of the Border of the decision made by the Government to increase VAT rates and the failure of the Tánaiste to introduce the legislation? Hundreds of retail units are now lonely places because no one is going into them. They cannot compete because the playing field is not level. The Government can do something about that and, in the context of Northern Ireland and cross-Border economics, I ask that it would.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I do not think that matter was envisaged by the questions, to be honest about it.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Businesses are being decimated. That is the reality.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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In relation to the 21st report of the Independent Monitoring Commission published on 7 May, I welcome that latest report, which clearly highlights the moral bankruptcy of the so-called dissident republican groups. These groups have no mandate from the people of Ireland, North or South, for their murderous activities.

Political progress in Northern Ireland is continuing and I am confident that the attempts of dissident groups to drag us back into the past will be futile. Their activities have rendered all of us more determined to preserve the peace we have won. I commend the work of An Garda Síochána and the PSNI in continuing to counter dissident terrorists, including the very high level of co-operation between the two police services.

Regarding economic matters, it is true that, certainly in recent times, we have seen policies being pursued by the British Government that are effectively bringing about a depreciation of sterling vis-À-vis the euro to the extent in recent months of probably more than 15%, taking everything into account. That differential has exacerbated the situation regarding the equilibrium of trade one would expect in a cross-Border situation. It is suggested that the 0.5% increase in VAT was the reason for that as against the 15% depreciation, but they are the same percentages and the same mathematics that apply in terms of value. It is important to point out that, from our point of view, we will continue to do whatever we can to make this economy more competitive, to reduce costs and to ensure that we can get that equilibrium of trade back in our direction in the way it was in the past.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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If the Taoiseach says that this is due to the British Government-----

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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No, I must call Deputy Ó Snodaigh. Deputy Kenny must be brief because he knows how supplementary questions work.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Does the Taoiseach agree with the Minister for Finance that it was a mistake to raise VAT by 0.5%? The implication was that people assumed they would get better bargains than they actually do. Does he intend to examine the cap on retail space on this side of the Border because we must now compete with massive developments in Newry, Enniskillen and Armagh? There will be further serious economic difficulties for retailers within a 20-mile belt of the Border.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Paraphrasing what the Minister for Finance had to say, he made the point-----

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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He said "I was wrong."

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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-----that the subsequent decision of the Chancellor of the Exchequer to go in the opposite direction meant that that was something that he would be mindful of in the context of his further budget proposals.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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He said that it was a mistake.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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He did not change the VAT rates in the supplementary budget at all.

In relation to the other question about prices and their variation, I am glad to see that there are some developments in the Republic in terms of food prices, etc., which are coming down as a result of increased competition. The need to drive greater transparency in relation to pricing arrangements is something on which the Tánaiste is continually working.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Last Sunday, 17 May, marked the 35th anniversary of the bombings of Dublin and Monaghan in which 33 people died. The Taoiseach will recall that the British Government refused to co-operate with a series of Oireachtas investigations into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and other fatal attacks in this State. The spectre of collusion was raised in our first report and we now have enough information to be fully satisfied that not only did collusion occur, but that it was widespread.

The Taoiseach may recall that, in July 2008, the Dáil unanimously passed a resolution calling on the British Government to allow access by independent international judicial figures to all original documents held by it on the atrocity in this jurisdiction. That request continues to be denied. What has the Taoiseach done to impress on the British Prime Minister the importance of this matter and the totally unacceptable attitude of his Government and its refusal to act on the request from the Oireachtas? Has the Taoiseach devoted any time to addressing this issue with the British Prime Minister?

Has the Taoiseach recently discussed with Mr. Gordon Brown the need to transfer policing and justice powers from London to Belfast as soon as possible, given that this is a very important outworking of the Good Friday Agreement, which is long overdue?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I note the question tabled by Sinn Féin in this group of questions relates to contacts with the British Prime Minister on the ongoing implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. In that respect, progress continues to be made on the devolution of policing and justice. It is an issue I have discussed with the British Prime Minister on a number of occasions in past and, indeed, during the course of this year.

Legislation to facilitate devolution was passed at Westminster in March. Discussions with the British Government on the question of financing are ongoing. The next step is for the Executive and Assembly to approve the necessary Northern Ireland legislation. I anticipate significant progress towards this after the election. I do not think there have been any further developments in respect of the Dublin-Monaghan Bombings since those I put on the record of the House on the last occasion this issue was raised.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The report of the Independent Monitoring Commission drew attention to the fact that although, to a certain extent, it did not see the Real IRA or the Continuity IRA posing a fundamental threat at this time, it noted both groups were heavily involved in crime. It listed crimes such as drug dealing, tiger kidnapping, robbery, extortion, smuggling, fuel laundering and, specifically in the case of the Continuity IRA, running brothels.

The Taoiseach knows working class parts of Dublin, in particular, and the outer reaches of Dublin are under assault from criminal gangs. We have so many murders it is difficult to keep up with them all, including the horrific one reported this morning on RTE. Does the Taoiseach see the Criminal Assets Bureau, or some organisation like it, having a role on an all-Ireland basis? Money is the fuel that allows these people to continue what they are doing. The difficulty is that the problem is not just along the Border, where there have been horrific murders, including the murder suffered by young Paul Quinn and the aftermath for his family, and also what has happened in Crossmaglen.

There are working-class communities suffering the tortures of the damned because of the crime links to dissident organisations. One can put what has happened with dissident organisations together with the crime wave the west and north-west side of Dublin, and my own constituency and that of Deputies Carey and Shortall, are enduring. Is the Taoiseach sure it is realistic to say that the Garda is satisfied with how it is containing these people? They may not be very active in Northern Ireland but are wreaking havoc in the Republic.

On the reference by the Independent Monitoring Commission to running brothels, such an activity, as the Taoiseach probably knows, is now heavily associated in this Republic with people trafficking and the horrendous consequences involved with that. Does the Government have a strategy to address that part of the IMC report?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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A detailed response in respect of any particular aspect of the IMC report would be best directed to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern, who has the front line political role in respect of the security matters and criminal issues arising. Those people have shown a degree of moral bankruptcy that is breathtaking, not only in respect of their subversive activities through misguided political thinking, but also the fact that many of them are associated with or involved in simple criminality. I am not giving any hierarchy of respectability to those groups in terms of calling them "dissident republican" groups. I do not regard them as anything other than criminal elements who are trying to engage in mayhem and murder at any opportunity to try to destabilise the democratic structures that have been painstakingly built and constructed in the context of the divided society that is Northern Ireland and in the interests of trying to promote peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland.

On the question of a North-South body similar to the Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB, which has been a strong and effective mechanism in seeking to hurt those people where it matters, namely, in terms of the ill-gained assets and wealth they have built up in respect of their nefarious activities, there is a similar type of body in Northern Ireland that draws from that experience. I understand there is good co-operation between both agencies and there is no reason to be unhappy with the level of co-operation that exists.

In terms of providing sufficient resources and powers to the Garda to deal with this serious threat to the stability of our society in the immediate term, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has indicated his intention to bring forward legislation that will seek in judicial terms to give an opportunity for people to be tried under a legal framework similar to that with which subversives had to contend in terms of the Special Criminal Court and non-jury courts, given that we have seen not only the intimidation of witnesses but jurors as a result of the efforts by criminals to undermine the basic democratic structures of the State, including the independence of the Judiciary and the effectiveness and effective working of the criminal justice system. Additional legislative proposals are to be brought forward to assist the Garda further in that respect. Continuing expertise is available within the intelligence services regarding so-called subversive activities, and within the Garda Síochána there is the serious crime squad and the people who are monitoring and committed to bringing to justice those involved in gangland activity, both those who are associated with subversive groups and those who are not. The same determined effort is being made and will continue to be made because we are all agreed on the serious threat posed by those people.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The crime that the north and west side of Dublin in particular is experiencing is beyond parallel, as the murders are savage and violent. People believe there are strong links with dissident republican groups. The Independent Monitoring Commission stated in its report that the Continuity IRA and the Real IRA are heavily involved in all the crimes I listed, the crimes that specifically torture decent law-abiding communities so that people live in fear. I accept it is helpful that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is bringing forward legislation to deal with criminal gangs. However, does the Taoiseach agree that in addition to putting some of those people behind bars, we must take the oxygen of money away from those groups? If it is the case that, as is described, they are heavily involved in running brothels - the sex trade in this country-----

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I remind Deputy Burton that we are dealing with recent developments in Northern Ireland and contacts with the British Government and the British Prime Minister.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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-----is a billion euro business - in the context of this report, will the Taoiseach agree-----

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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We cannot discuss that matter in the context of these questions.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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-----to consider additional actions by the CAB and its counterpart in the North?

At the meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council at the end of January, a decision was apparently made to establish two working groups to look at the issue of the North-South parliamentary body that was proposed in the Good Friday Agreement. Has a deadline been set for the two groups? What sort of timeframe is envisaged?

Like Deputy Kenny, I was in Boyle yesterday and I visited Dundalk a couple of weeks ago. The retail trade is suffering terribly. Would a North-South parliamentary body not offer a useful mechanism for the alignment - in a Border sense - of economic policies between the two parts of the island? I know that the SDLP recently ran a successful conference about an all-island economy. To be honest, I do not think there are many other solutions to restoring stability to trade on both sides of the Border. I have been in the empty shops and have spoken to the traders as well. They are lucky now if five people per day purchase their messages in their shops. It has gone that bad. People can go to ASDA in Enniskillen, where the car parking is free, but if they do their shopping in Sligo town centre, the parking is not free. There is a range of issues we must address and this North-South parliamentary body could be a useful mechanism to do this. Does the Taoiseach have a timeframe for its establishment?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Any joint parliamentary forum is a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly and Dáil Éireann. Following discussions between the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Ceann Comhairle, two working groups were established to develop proposals for such a body, one in the Assembly chaired by the Speaker, and the other in the Oireachtas chaired by the Ceann Comhairle. The work of these groups is under way and their proposals will be considered by the Assembly and the Oireachtas in due course. I am pleased to see that progress is being made on that important initiative.

I also understand there has been a fuller representation across the Unionist political family in respect of the British-IrishParliamentary Assembly in recent times, which is very welcome. I hope those bodies help to provide a forum for trust and confidence, and that better relationships can be established between parliamentarians, and by extension, between both sides of the island. When I was on the original British-Irish parliamentary forum in the late 1980s, there were many misgivings and misunderstandings on all sides about the role and capacity of others to see issues in a broader perspective. That forum played its own minor but important role in bringing along a process of engagement which ultimately led us to where we are today. All the institutional bodies envisaged in the Good Friday Agreement and the St. Andrews Agreement should be up and running and used to their full potential, in order to carry out that limited but important role in helping to provide a good foundation for further political progress.

Trying to find economic and fiscal parity between both sides of the island is an ongoing task and is one that can best be undertaken by the engagement through these North-South bodies, as they would help people understand the full picture and the mutual benefit involved. However, the hand of the Treasury is very strong on these matters in Northern Ireland. The party leaders and the leaders of the Northern Ireland Executive are engaged in discussions with the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer about the level of funding they can expect in the years ahead from their central administration. The Treasury has not, it claims, much room for manoeuvre, a debate which is in the first instance internal to the Executive, the Assembly, the British Government and Westminster Parliament. What derives out of that relationship will determine what will emerge.

The business community has put questions in regard to similar corporation tax rates to the authorities concerned. The Prime Minister has responded, not in terms of agreeing that is the solution but by suggesting there are other variants he could propose. That is an ongoing issue for the future. From my point of view, it is important, arising out of this turbulence, financial and economic, we achieve stability in terms of exchange rate policy that will enable people to invest with a greater degree of security than the recent changes in the exchange rate have allowed for. That is an important issue. It is hoped the exchange rate issue will stabilise as soon as possible in the interests of both sides.