Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Taoiseach if he will provide details of his meeting with family members of the Kingsmill massacre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45658/12]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Taoiseach when he next plans to meet with the British Prime Minister. [45661/12]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Taoiseach the issues he will raise with the British Prime Minister when they next meet. [45662/12]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Taoiseach if he is meeting Liberal Democrats Leader Nick Clegg when he is in Dublin next; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45692/12]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Taoiseach if he has spoken to Prime Minister Cameron recently about Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45689/12]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Taoiseach the issues he intends to raise at the next meeting of the North South Ministerial Council on 2 November 2012. [47229/12]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Taoiseach if he has met the leader of the SDLP recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47321/12]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Taoiseach the programme of meetings with groups from Northern Ireland which he has undertaken in the past six months. [47371/12]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Taoiseach his plans to meet with the families of the victims of the Ballymurphy massacre. [47443/12]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the plenary meeting of the North South Ministerial Council on 2 November 2012. [47586/12]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Taoiseach if any progress was made on identifying further areas for north south cooperation at the North South Ministerial Council plenary meeting on 2 November 2012. [47587/12]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Taoiseach if he has spoken to Prime Minister Cameron recently; if justice and home affairs were discussed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48026/12]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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To ask the Taoiseach if he will meet with Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48418/12]

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meetings with victims of the troubles in Northern Ireland and his plans for future meetings. [49708/12]

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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To ask the Taoiseach if he will report back on his recent meetings with the political leaders in Northern Ireland. [49709/12]

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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To ask the Taoiseach the issues that he raised at the next meeting of the North South Ministerial Council on 2 November. [49710/12]

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent discussions with British Prime Minister David Cameron. [49714/12]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Taoiseach the plans he has to meet the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg. [49775/12]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent visit to Northen Ireland. [50985/12]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 19, inclusive, together.

I have initiated a series of meetings with families of victims on all sides of the community in Northern Ireland as a sign of the priority my Government attaches to helping to find a lasting resolution to the hurts of the past. On 13 September, I met with the sole survivor and with family members of the ten Protestant workmen killed in the 1976 Kingsmill massacre in south Armagh. I invited the families to meet me so that I could hear at first hand how their lives had been affected by one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles.

This is a very important process. Many of these families and relatives are only speaking about what happened to them for the first time, and I was deeply touched by their stories.

I expressed my sympathy with the families for the indescribable loss they have suffered. I assured them that there is no hierarchy of victims and that their concerns are every bit as important to me as the concerns of other victims and their families. I emphasised to them that the IRA was the common enemy of all the people of Ireland, of all traditions, North and South, and that its campaign of violence was strongly resisted by successive Irish Governments.

I also met a delegation from the South East Fermanagh Foundation, led by Minister Arlene Foster, on 16 October. These were mostly farming families from Fermanagh whose lives and livelihoods were affected by the malign activities of the IRA. I promised both groups that I would reflect carefully on what they told me.

Officials from my Department met representatives from the Ballymurphy families in Belfast on 11 October. This meeting, which included a tour of the sites of those killed in August 1971 in Ballymurphy, was held to prepare for a meeting I intend to have with them myself in Dublin in the near future.

I also attended a Remembrance Day ceremony in Enniskillen on Sunday, 11 November. I went to pay my respects to those from all traditions who gave their lives in the Great War and in particular to remember those killed in the Enniskillen bombing as they attended the corresponding ceremony on Remembrance Sunday 25 years ago. I also attended the service of remembrance in St. Macartin's Cathedral at which the former Archbishop, Lord Eames, delivered a powerful homily on the need for reconciliation. After the service I met privately with some of the families of the victims and those injured in the bombing. I also met members of the British Legion and their families at the British Legion hall in Enniskillen where representatives of the Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen and Women were also in attendance.

I attended the 15th plenary meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council, NSMC, in Armagh on 2 November which was co-chaired by the First Minister and Deputy First Minister. We discussed a wide range of shared issues, including the economic challenges we both face and the work being undertaken to address the economic crisis.

On our forthcoming EU Presidency we discussed our priorities for our Presidency term and the potential for co-operative actions during the Presidency. The importance of engagement within the NSMC to maximise mutual benefit from the Presidency was also recognised. We discussed challenges in the banking sector, NAMA, corporation tax and the benefits of working together to build stronger trade links with economies such as China. Our ambassador in Beijing has been helping the Northern Ireland Executive in this area and with their recent trade delegation to China. We also discussed the importance of tourism to both economies and the benefits of major initiatives such as the UK City of Culture celebrations and The Gathering 2013. Farm safety on both sides of the Border was also discussed. We also discussed the St. Andrews Agreement review and it was agreed that senior officials would meet and prepare proposals before the end of the year.

I will see the British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron, at the forthcoming European Council meeting later this week where the focus will be on the EU budget multi-annual financial framework. I expect to speak to him on this topic in advance of the summit. We have also committed to meeting together at annual summits to review and oversee progress in the broad areas outlined in the joint statement we agreed last March.

I was unable to meet with the British Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Nick Clegg, during his most recent visit to Dublin. However, the Tánaiste had a very positive engagement with him when they met at Iveagh House. I will also be attending the British-Irish Council summit in Cardiff on 26 November where the main item to be discussed is early years policy.

The Tánaiste also addressed the SDLP party conference and met the party leader, Dr. Alasdair McDonnell, in Armagh on 10 November.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Answering 19 questions together is not acceptable. The questions are quite different, ranging from Kingsmill to the Taoiseach's meetings with the British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron, and with Mr. Nick Clegg, and Northern Ireland issues. We need to look at this. We are not getting the detailed replies required. No one can cover the ambit of 19 questions. Sometimes a Deputy might ask five or six questions on the same topic, but some of today's questions are distinctly different and merit detailed consideration.

I am glad the Taoiseach met the relatives of victims of the Kingsmill massacre. I regard that day as one of the blackest in Northern Ireland. The report of the historical enquiries team, HET, is particularly revealing. It clearly says this was a purely sectarian attack. It was calculated slaughter by the Provisional IRA, although at the time there was a failure to admit it. The report also says the same weaponry used at Kingsmill was used in successive Provisional IRA attacks. Six other individuals were convicted in different circumstances using the same weapons to do different deeds. Of course, they cannot be implicated in what happened at Kingsmill. It does, however, indicate the culpability of the Provisional IRA at the time.

The Taoiseach mentioned dealing with the issues of the past. The coldly sectarian nature of this calculated slaughter of people because they were Protestants flies in the face of the civilised principles we espouse, in terms of uniting people of different traditions and backgrounds. Has the Taoiseach any sense from his sources of any movement by Sinn Féin or by republicans to account more honestly for what occurred on that day and to try to give a better degree of closure to the relatives than they have had to date?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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In respect of Deputy Martin's last question, I do not. The occasion of my meeting was the first time for some of the relatives of those involved in the Kingsmill massacre to come to Dublin or to have an engagement with members of the Government. The description given by the sole survivor of the massacre was both poignant and riveting. These were ordinary people coming back from work when they were stopped in their minibus. The single Catholic worker was separated out. The man who survived described putting his hands on the side of the minibus and the instruction being given to start shooting. As he felt 18 bullets rip into his back and he fell to the ground, he described, very graphically as if it happened yesterday, how the boots of one of these murderers nonchalantly walked up and down the line. He said the face of the young man next to him exploded when bullets were fired into his head. He described this to me for 30 minutes, and made the point that these were all working men going home. In some cases, their mothers, brothers, sisters and relations were at the meeting and the tears flowed as openly as if it had happened last week. They had never had the opportunity to express that well of emotion in the way they did. It was very powerful.

The east Fermanagh people were farmers and farmers' sons and daughters. They were ordinary people. They were subject to pressure and what is now called ethnic cleansing.

They were subject to taunting and to being shot. They struggled and tried to keep their businesses going or their farms intact and working. It did not prove possible in quite a number of cases. They outlined on the map and graphically the incidents that had happened. In some cases, the land is still in their names but it has never been possible to farm it they way it should be farmed. In other instances shops were closed up and people had to move.

There are others who want to meet as well. When I was in Enniskillen, I met with Mrs. Joan Wilson and others who lost loved ones in the Enniskillen bombing and they made the point about the report being available shortly in respect of what happened there. One survivor told me he was standing between his father and mother at the wall across the road from where the cenotaph now stands and when the explosion happened, half of his father's head was blown off and his mother lay beside him, dead. These are real stories. That bomb was put behind that wall and there are people who put it there, who ferried it there, who constructed the bomb, who put in place the detonator. No one has been brought to justice and the raw emotion is palpable. If anyone from the Provisional IRA wishes to salve his conscience and ease the pain and emotion of these people, he has an opportunity to do that. I would hope the historic analysis and inquiry might bring forward some new evidence that might enable these people to be brought to justice.

Deputy Martin met some of these people over the years and the rawness and the pain is as obvious and as powerful as if it had happened last week. Since I met the Kingsmill people, the Fermanagh people and those from Enniskillen, other requests have come in from people who want to talk about what happened. That is a legacy of a very sad saga. They all said that their issue was that in their view the State here at the time and over the years was negligent. I dealt with that by saying the IRA was the common enemy of the people here. Its members shot gardaí and Army personnel, they shot and blew up innocent people and our prisons were full of them. They appreciate and understand that and it is for those who carried out these atrocities to have the courage, if courage it be, to stand up and say so.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Taoiseach for his detailed and graphic reply. I welcome the fact he met with the various groups concerned, in particular to facilitate, in terms of Kingsmill, the relatives and the surviving member with an opportunity to spell out in detail what happened on that day. This goes to the very heart of what we are about in this House, the challenge of uniting communities from different backgrounds and traditions. When the Taoiseach heard what he did face to face, he no doubt got a sense of the enormous mountain there is to climb when witnessing at first hand the impact of such atrocities on whole communities. Rhetoric becomes redundant in terms of the challenge to build genuine links based on forgiveness and reconciliation but also accountability and honesty in terms of what happened.

The Taoiseach is right in saying that people know the culprits who did this and have chosen not to share that with others. The republican philosophy espouses the unification of people, not territory or land, of different backgrounds and traditions. I welcome the fact the Taoiseach laid a wreath at Enniskillen and I welcome the fact the Tánaiste was in Belfast.

I recently attended the funeral of prison officer David Black, another appalling atrocity, and again saw at first hand the impact of that murder on his community in terms of the sense of being under siege. The Taoiseach might indicate if in his discussions either on the NSMC or with the Prime Minister and others in terms of the work of the HET, there were any further ideas emerging about how there can be greater accountability for those atrocities in terms of those who are primarily responsible for carrying them out. That is where the focus must remain. Were there any fresh ideas emerging in terms of how there can be greater accountability?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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No one would disagree with the comment this is about the opportunity for united communities and that can never happen while that seam of pain and emotion is in there. Personally, the reaction and the reception of the people of Enniskillen and those who attended the British Legion centre, both from the local area and from Cavan and other places, was very powerful. Lord Eames, the bishops, the clergy and Viscount Brookeborough, who was there on behalf of Her Majesty, appreciated the symbolism and understanding we tried to give on behalf of people here in regard to that atrocity.

The North-South Ministerial Council was dominated by the murder of David Black. I have since had a briefing on that and the level of inquiry between the Garda and the PSNI is at a very high level in terms of sharing information. There was no discussion except on a superficial level of the work of the HET but that is a matter for another day. The requirement was to deal with a range of issues on the agenda that I outlined. The question of those who planted that bomb at Enniskillen and who carried out other atrocities is still open, as the Deputy knows, for people to stand up and say they are sorry and that what they did was wrong and deprived people of loved ones. As I said when I met with the groups, we do not have any hierarchy or victims here. Someone who was shot, maimed, bombed and killed, regardless of the community he comes from, is a loss to families and to people.

Perhaps within the areas of those who supported and were members of the IRA, some might decide to have the courage to acknowledge the atrocities they conducted. It would be in the interests of communities being able to get on with their lives and heal those wounds of the past. Some of the people from these communities pointed out to me that they know or suspect very strongly the persons who conducted some of these atrocities. That is difficult to live with in communities that are pressurised.

In respect of the HET inquiries, we will follow up on that. The report on Enniskillen is due shortly.

I intend to go back to Enniskillen. I had a request from the survivors to meet them and I intend to do that.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome that the Taoiseach has met those families - the victims of the Kingsmill massacre and also other families from the south Fermanagh area. I have also met many bereaved families. I come from a family that was bereaved twice during the course of the conflict. Many of those killed were my friends and neighbours. This is not a mere debating point in this Chamber - this is a real life experience. As one of those who has survived the conflict and survived a number of attempts to kill me, I believe it is really important that we continue to engage with bereaved families and other victims. We need to resist what the Fianna Fáil leader did very sneakily a moment ago when he said that Sinn Féin needs to account more honestly. Let us be careful about how we bandy about words on these issues.

What happened at Kingsmill was certainly wrong and the relatives of those who were killed are entitled to the truth. The Taoiseach said something on which we need to follow through, which is that there can be no hierarchy of victimhood. Every family regardless of the perpetrator of their bereavement or injury needs to be assisted, which will not be easy. There was never a truth and reconciliation process in this State. There was never a peace and reconciliation process into the events of the Tan War or the dreadful Civil War. I still meet families who anguish and agonise over the fact that loved ones were tied to landmines and taken out on lonely roads. This phase of the dreadful horror of war is not new - that is war and the nature of war. I thank God every day that we now have a peace process and that it is working. I have never distanced myself from the men and women volunteers of the IRA and do not do so today because it would be wrong. Of course things were done that I regret very much. However, governments were also guilty of that behaviour including successive Irish Governments.

What is to be done? Some 19 questions, eight of them mine, have been tabled on this issue, which we could discuss for days. There needs to be some way of looking at how we deal with these matters. People do not trust each other. Some families get help through the HET and some families do not. Some families are really annoyed about how the HET has proceeded. Sinn Féin's position is that we are agnostic on this issue. If the HET can help, we do not try to influence people and suggest that they work with that body if that is what they can do. However, to get over the distrust we need to bring in an independent international agency. It is for the Government to approach the British Government to facilitate that. We need to try to ensure it is independent of any state, combatant group or political group, and also independent of civic society and economic interests. It should initiate a process whereby those who want to from all sides - those responsible for collusion, the IRA, Unionist paramilitaries, those responsible for actions that happened in this State and so on - can come in and assist in inquiries and investigations into what happened. Of course there are those with vested interests who do not want the truth and of course that will be a very painful process. Closure, in so far as it is possible, requires that we do that. Otherwise what we will do - the Taoiseach spelled it out very graphically - is to try to take blood from a stone and we could do that for ten years. We need to move beyond that and provide a process to bring about healing.

I will now deal with some of the other issues, but they are also connected with this. In October, the Taoiseach told us that his officials had met the Ballymurphy families. He might know that an inquest established by the North's Attorney General has just been suspended. The first inquest was a complete shambles and cover up. Thirteen people were killed and I know the Fianna Fáil Deputy met their families and heard their graphic story of what occurred. The North's Attorney General ruled that inquest was not a proper inquest and established another one. Now it has been suspended, which is very upsetting for those involved. So we still do not have a date for that meeting. Since I became a Member of this House, the Taoiseach has been promising to meet them, but he has still not done it. I have also argued for the position taken by the former British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, in co-operation with the previous Government of putting together a file on cases such as the Ballymurphy case, as Mr. Blair did in the Bloody Sunday case.

I actually sent the Taoiseach a file on Martin Corey and Marian Price. Marian Price went into custody in May 2011 without charge or trial and has been held in solitary confinement for almost all that time. I wish to know what the Taoiseach has done on that issue. She is very seriously ill - I sent him the medical file. Now that Ireland has a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, will the Taoiseach ensure the matter is raised there?

I also note the Taoiseach, in a letter to me, has refused to meet with Justice for the Forgotten - the relatives of those killed and injured in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. They are very upset by that refusal to meet.

There are other issues, such as the North-South Ministerial Council. Will I leave it at that and come back?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Yes, please.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy covered a range of issues. When I said there was no hierarchy of victims, this is an issue that was raised by the groups I met because of our persistence on calling on the British Government for a public inquiry into the death of Mr. Pat Finucane. As I outlined to the House previously on many occasions, we requested that because Mr. Justice Cory made that recommendation arising from his findings. That was an international agreement that has not been followed through by the British Government. I understand that the da Silva findings will be produced very soon.

The Deputy ranged through a number of issues. The problem here is that the Deputy is now an elected representative for the people of County Louth.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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That is not a problem - it is a privilege.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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It is not a problem. I am saying the Deputy is fully entitled to be elected by the people here. The problem is that he speaks of truth and reconciliation when all of this started throughout the entire spectrum in the late 1960s. He is right that it is not the first time we have had difficulties in this country. When people look at the political impact of the Sinn Féin Party in Northern Ireland, they would associate the IRA with being the military wing of a political party. Furthermore they would have associated Deputy Adams as being a member of that group. I do not know whether that is true, but the Deputy does. From a truth and reconciliation point of view, were he called before such a body what would he say?

The Deputy has made it clear that he never disassociated himself from people whom he knew and knows were members of the IRA. When we start this business of community and cross-community bridge building, one of the questions that is always raised is that question. The Deputy is the president of his party but the connection made in the public mind was that this was a military wing of a political party which assumed the name of Óglaigh na nÉireann, of which there is only one, which is the Army of the State. The Deputy might like to comment on that.

The Deputy sent me the file on Marian Price. I have read it and I am not a doctor but it speaks for itself. This is a matter I am following up and I will advise the Deputy if any new information or new progress is made in this regard.

It has been agreed that the meeting with the Ballymurphy families will be in Dublin. Given that we are involved in multi-annual financial framework discussions that may or may not last, we have to find an opportune time for them and I to meet. I hope that can be done before Christmas, and I will advise the House of that.

I am not aware of the reasons for the suspension of the inquest by the Attorney General but I will have that followed up. I expect to speak to Prime Minister Cameron before the European Council meeting this week and I will also see him there and have the opportunity to raise that matter with him.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I said earlier that I have never distanced myself from the men and women volunteers of the IRA and I never will. Until the day I die, I never will. That is not to say that I am not critical or, as I have said, that they were not guilty of actions that I regret very much. Mine is a genuine sorrow for these incidents in which people were injured or lost their lives.

I would, however, make the following point to the Taoiseach in a positive way in terms of how we can deal with this issue, and it is a point I have made quite a few times. I have also said that I will co-operate and will do my best to influence other republicans to co-operate with a genuine independent process of truth recovery. The Taoiseach spoke about the 1960s. I was a child at that time and Sinn Féin was banned in the North in the 1960s. The special powers Act was what was used to run the place. I come from a poor working class community which was denied any rights whatsoever, and let there be no equivocation about that. That is not said in justification for what happened since, because those responsible must take responsibility for their actions. The point is, where were successive Irish Governments on all of these issues? I have tried to be benign about this because the Irish Government obviously was dealing with partition in the same way. An Orange Tory conservative state was established in the North and a Green conservative State was established in the South. The elites who used to run the place were replaced by a native elite and the great heroes of 1916 and their Proclamation came to nothing. It is not visible anywhere on this island except in the hearts, genius, intellects and will of our people.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Perhaps the Deputy could return to questions.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I will, but I know the Ceann Comhairle will appreciate the seriousness of these matters.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I have been very tolerant.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Go raibh maith agat. The Ceann Comhairle was very tolerant with the Taoiseach as well.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Exactly.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Go raibh maith agat arís. We must deal with these matters not as part of 19 questions once every five or six weeks but as part of a strategy by the Government. Why does the Government not take on board the suggestion I have made or else say it is nonsense and we will do it some other way? Why do we not examine the issue of victims and look after them? Now that the war is over, why do we not start to deal with this issue properly, as we discussed earlier, in some manner that can have the confidence of all the victims, if that is possible, but which particularly can bring about the type of healing process that is required?

I will leave it at that with this last remark. We are going to celebrate a decade of centenaries. We think about, perhaps, Thomas Ashe, James Connolly, Tom Barry or Michael Collins. From my generation, I think about Bobby Sands, Francis Hughes or Mairéad Farrell. Those in 1916 had no mandate and all the difference there is between them is time. We now have a peaceful democratic way to go forward to unite our people. If I can get time out, I am in Belfast every single weekend. I am busy at the weekends there as well. I deal with people at loyalist grassroots level, Unionist communities and people who were bereaved or hurt by the IRA. I will continue to do that until the day I die. Let us say what we want about the IRA, or about Sinn Féin for that matter, but let us try to position it in an acoustic and narrative which is about closure and about healing.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I had a row with the Deputy First Minister a number of years ago in Belfast, in Stormont, about whether he was a member of the IRA, and he told me that he was and he has said that publicly. My question to him was about the army council of the IRA and if it was it in existence or stood down. We had a long argument about that and he said it is no longer in existence.

I am not asking Deputy Adams to disassociate himself from people with whom he grew up. How could he? He knows them. As he said, in his childhood, this was a very pressurised, denied community, and I understand that breeds resentment, frustration, anger, rage and reaction. We know what happened on streets of Belfast and all the reasons associated with that, but I did not ask the Deputy about that. The question I asked was that in the context of truth and reconciliation, people always say Deputy Adams was a member of the IRA. He has been asked this question on many occasions over 30 years and he has never said "Yes", although people would say he was, and not only that but that he was a member of the army council.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Who are these people? Does the Taoiseach count himself among them?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I read Voices from the Grave and I do not know whether that was real or not.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Dissident republicans now dead.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I understand, but maybe the Deputy might want to comment on it at some stage.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I have already commented.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Dissident republicans?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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It would probably be helpful.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I have already commented.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Was the Deputy, then?

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I have already commented. My position is very clear and consistent.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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When it is the view of dissident republicans.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy said that he would never disassociate himself from the people who he grew up with and why would he.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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We are on Question Time.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The question is, if we are talking about people who put detonators together, who put bombs together-----

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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What about the suggestion I made to the Taoiseach? Will he answer that?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Yes, I will. I will come to it but I am talking about what happened behind the wall in Enniskillen, that persons probably now alive - some of them may be alive I do not know - put this together, inserted those detonators and put the timing mechanism in place when they knew they were going to cause mayhem. Would it not be in the interests of healing if some people would say: "We admit that we carried out these atrocities?" It is 25 years on. While I cannot speak for the Deputy, in his own position this is a question he has never answered. The Deputy should never deny the people he grew up with because he cannot.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Taoiseach answer the question?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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That is an issue and it will not go away.

On the issue of grouping the questions, I would say to Deputy Adams and to Deputy Martin that I do not mind if we separate them and take all the questions relevant to the British Prime Minister and the issues about the North-South Ministerial Council separately. It does not matter because they cover generally the same thing and overlap on one point or another.

It has been the tradition here, but I do not mind changing it if it would lead to greater discussion in the House about issues. Nor would I object to us having a much longer session where we could interact on issues dealing with victims and what might be the best way of following through in a way that would go further to healing the past with regard to the very obvious emotional and raw pain which is still there on all sides. I am certainly open to looking at this. I am not speaking about a truth and reconciliation committee as was established in South Africa but there is certainly a need on all sides of the communities to follow through in some fashion.

I am glad Deputy Adams stated that each weekend he goes to Belfast and works with communities there. On the occasions I have been there I have been very heartened to see members of his party working diligently with communities to build a sense of understanding, and the same applies on the other side of the community. This is something we must keep alive. It is why we have all discussed the PEACE III funding for vulnerable communities and we would like to keep it as a priority.

The next time such a list of questions arises I am amenable to changing the structure of how they are taken, perhaps grouping them relevant to the Prime Minister, the North-South Ministerial Council, other issues relevant to Northern Ireland, and where they overlap. It might lead to more meaningful interaction where ideas and proposals might come from Members of the House in general.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I would welcome that but each time we have discussed this issue I have put a proposition to the Taoiseach on the two Governments asking an international body to facilitate the process spoken about by the Taoiseach but he has never answered me on it.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I said that arising from the revelation of people who have never been to Dublin or had any engagement with Government representatives, and who clearly have very graphic and emotional stories to tell, there is an opportunity here to follow through and I am sure the same applies on both sides of the community. I am not sure what the eventual outcome should be but I am certainly willing to explore it.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy Boyd Barrett has asked whether the Taoiseach will meet the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Mr. Nick Clegg, MP.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I concur on the point about all the questions being grouped together. It is reasonable enough to group questions on EU summits although they may have different aspects, but this group contains quite distinct issues and it does not make much sense to group them.

Given that the discussion has focused on the victims of conflict and violence, the point about truth and reconciliation and giving all victims on all sides the opportunity to speak out and get justice is right. This is what we should do. It is important for politicians of all varieties, and not only those who are directly involved in the conflict, to recognise that war and conflict break out when politics and the political authorities fail. We all bear a responsibility when this happens. The Taoiseach recounted genuinely moving meetings and the terrible trauma that families and victims have suffered. In this context I ask genuinely in the spirit of trying to work together out of concern about such terrible things happening that the Taoiseach show urgent concern about the same appalling things happening to young children, women and families in Gaza at present and raise it with the political authorities in Britain-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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That is not on the agenda.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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-----and with Mr. Nick Clegg, MP, because we on this island have a special responsibility given our history. Whatever different perspectives we take on this history our country has a particular responsibility to speak up, speak out and intervene to ensure these horrors do not continue as they are continuing day in day out. The photograph of the al-Dalou family with four young children laid out dead-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Thank you, Deputy

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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-----with huge holes in their bodies as a result of artillery being fired by the Israeli authorities was the most appalling photograph I have ever seen. I do not know whether the Taoiseach has seen it. We need to do something about this. I received a letter today from the-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Please, Deputy, co-operate with the Chair. This is questions to the Taoiseach.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I will finish on this point.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy asked whether the Taoiseach will meet the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Nick Clegg, MP.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Yes, I would like him-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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We are now going into a whole new area which is-----

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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-----to raise this with him.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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No, the Taoiseach is not meeting Mr. Nick Clegg, MP, and he told you this. The Deputy already has his answer. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade will meet tomorrow to deal with this issue and the Deputy can go there and raise these issues.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Ceann Comhairle gave quite a lot of leeway to the other speakers.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I did because their questions were relevant. I remind Deputy Boyd Barrett that Deputy Martin tabled six questions, Deputy Adams tabled eight questions and Deputy Boyd Barrett's colleague Deputy Higgins tabled four questions. Only 11 minutes remain and we will not get into a debate on Gaza. I am sorry but it is not on the agenda. Please stick to the agenda, thank you.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I am nearly finished.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I am telling you-----

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I have two more sentences.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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You are inviting the Taoiseach to stray into an area that is not covered by these questions.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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With respect, we were discussing Northern Ireland and the conflict there-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Yes.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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-----and the consequences-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Yes because the questions were relevant to it.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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-----for human feelings and victims. To make a point there is some connection between this and what is going on in Gaza is reasonable.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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It is not reasonable. It is totally different. Please put your question to the Taoiseach on the matter you tabled. In fact, the question you tabled has been answered, but go on.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I have a letter from the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Sorry Deputy, I have already asked you to co-operate with the Chair.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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-----and he asks whether the Taoiseach would-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I ask the Deputy to resume his seat.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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It is very unfair.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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No. You are not getting away with this.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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It is relevant.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I will have some order. I was very lenient today because-----

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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With them, but not with me.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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-----of the importance of the topic and because it was a very awkward situation. I appeal to the Government and those asking the questions to be more precise because it leaves me in an impossible position. I am trying to be fair and reasonable. I am certainly not going to introduce a new subject matter.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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In view of what I have heard from the Taoiseach as the leader of Fine Gael, from the leader of Fianna Fáil and from the leader of Sinn Féin during the first 40 minutes of Question Time, will the Taoiseach admit that not only was the IRA paramilitary campaign an unmitigated disaster for the people of Northern Ireland but so also was the loyalist paramilitary campaign, the sectarian gunmen and bombers who inflicted massive suffering and division on a suffering people and the actions taken by the predecessors of Mr. Cameron, MP, whom the Taoiseach will meet in a few days? Does he also agree that the oppression exercised by previous British Governments, including their failure to prefer any solution and the failure by successive Governments in this State, including Governments of the Taoiseach's party was also a disaster?

Those Governments were incapable for decades of constructing anything here except a sectarian state with a significant economic crisis that was a repellant to people in Northern Ireland, particularly those in the Protestant community. Would the Taoiseach agree that what the parties here, between the lot of them, have delivered is in reality a power-sharing Executive in Northern Ireland that is an institutionalisation of sectarian division, that thrives on sectarian division and that will use sectarian division to bolster the position of its component parts when it suits them, and that they are capable of doing so? Would he agree that the ordinary people in the North, suffering enormous economic hardship and, indeed, problems related still to sectarian division, might feel cynical and revolted if they listened to this first 40 minutes, with the leaders of Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and Fine Gael raking over the past but apparently incapable of learning from it?

I ask the Taoiseach to focus on the issues confronting the working class people in Northern Ireland. Will he raise with the British Prime Minister, Mr. Cameron, the acute suffering caused by the economic policy of austerity that his Government is imposing and that is being implemented through that same power-sharing Executive, on the people of Northern Ireland? Will the Taoiseach make him aware of the significant poverty, worse than anywhere in the United Kingdom? Fewer adults, as a percentage of the work force, are employed in Northern Ireland compared to the United Kingdom and income distribution in the North is the most unequal in any region of the European Union.

Would the Taoiseach agree that in the North, in particular, because a disproportionately high section of the economy depends on the public sector, savage cuts to the public sector, imposed by the austerity of the Conservative-Liberal Democrats Government in London and implemented by the power-sharing Executive, are having a devastating effect on the lives, living standards, jobs and services of the working class communities there? Would the Taoiseach agree that these are real, vibrant and critical issues that need to be brought centre stage and will he ask the Prime Minister to desist from austerity and to change policy to investment instead in the North to resolve the problems, including the problem of sectarian?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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We have come a long way in Northern Ireland where the people of the Six Counties are entitled to vote in a democratic process to elect who they wish to the Assembly. It took a long time to arrive at a position where the Executive and the Assembly are in operation and where the trust has come to a point where particular responsibilities have been and are being devolved to the Assembly for decision-making in respect of dealing with the issues in Northern Ireland.

I have the privilege of attending at the North-South Ministerial Council. These are not talking shops to the extent that people might often imagine. There is a great deal of co-operation, for example, in respect of Common Agricultural Policy reform, which is a major issue of the multi-financial framework. If agreement can be reached this weekend, it would mean that the general agenda that Cyprus is following through with might in part be concluded which would allow the Irish Presidency to finish that off as an issue. We had a person appointed from Northern Ireland onto the permanent representation in Brussels so the Executive and the Assembly, and the people, would be fully informed and fully acquainted of their concerns and issues as this process goes through.

When one speaks to groups in the agri-sector, they are interested obviously in the impact that is being made here in jobs, exports and the growing of the economy. As a small part of the European Union, we would say that the agri-sector has never been recognised to the full extent in delivering jobs and growth in the economy. The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McEntee, for instance, was able to report to the North-South Ministerial Council about the ash tree disease and what the Department is doing, in co-operation with Northern Ireland, on an issue that is part of the economy and part of jobs. There exists that level of co-operation. For instance, they want co-operation between the south-western hospital in Enniskillen, which is a state-of-the-art facility, and Sligo, and between Altnagelvin and Letterkenny. The taxpayer here, by decision of the Government, funds in part the radiotherapy unit that is going into Altnagelvin and we have had discussion previously about contributions for the major roadway connecting Derry and beyond. These are issues that are real and practical.

Of course, Deputy Higgins is correct in stating that the traditional impact for jobs was in the public sector in Northern Ireland because of a range of circumstances. What are often referred to as "the Troubles" limited the confidence for investment and the creation of jobs. We had discussions at the North-South Ministerial Council on the intention in regard to a reduction of the corporation tax rate levels that apply in Northern Ireland which, if it were to happen and be approved by the Chancellor across the water, would make the island of Ireland, from a corporate tax perspective, the same area.

We contribute, for instance, to many of the major tourism entities. We are supportive of Derry being selected as a city of culture and being the location for Fleadh Cheoil na Éireann next year. Those two major events in that city will attract an enormous - if I dare use the word - "gathering" to the region which will be of benefit to the economy and jobs. When one looks at the case where we discussed banks and NAMA with them, the Minister for Finance was able to report to the members present on views and progress being made there.

When I saw First Minister Robinson and Deputy First Minister McGuinness working in the interests of the communities and being forthright about that when they decided to go to China with their trade mission or to meet the personnel, we appointed our ambassador, H.E. Kelleher, in Beijing to work with them. Speaking fluent Chinese, the ambassador has an advantage over many in understanding the mentality and the approach. That is in the interests of giving them the opportunity to attract jobs to Northern Ireland for young men and young women throughout the country.

When I spoke to Deputy Martin at Question Time previously about the strategic partnership agreement that we have with the British Government, one of the issues it discussed was the making of an amendment to their own green investment bank which would allow investment to take place in Ireland without territorial boundary, in other words, that they could invest here, provided there was opportunity in the area of renewable energy or sustainable jobs, but that there might be the possibility of selling direct into the British market. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Rabbitte, is concluding work on a memorandum of understanding with his counterpart across the water, Minister of State for Energy, Mr. John Henry Hayes MP, in that regard. That would be of interest, both North and South, in terms of investment in green developmental sustainable opportunities. I think Deputy Higgins would support that.

Obviously, it is an issue that must be worked on constantly. Through the work of the Ceann Comhairle and Speaker Hay, we have the parliamentary forum. Through the work of the sectoral groups under the North-South Ministerial Council, there is a number of valid proposals being followed through with an impact, North and South.

The Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, is dealing with his counterpart on a number of education issues which are of importance North and South. The answer, of course, is jobs and growth. Northern Ireland has suffered, no more than many other areas throughout the European Union. It is a case of not lying down before the wave of cynicism out there, but of doing something about it. Good politics and clear decisions can make an impact. That is why we all have a duty to work with communities and see that investment is made where it will have an impact on jobs, growth and economic development. There is a very high level of co-operation between Departments and Ministers, which we will continue, hopefully with an impact on jobs down here and in Northern Ireland. I hope the examples I have given of great co-operation at departmental, ministerial and international level will pay benefits in due course.