Brendan Ryan (Labour)

It can be difficult for somebody from Cork particularly, but the South generally, to follow Senator Hayes as they might say things which are trite. Various thoughts come to mind when one listens to a Minister as erudite as the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Nobody has ever disputed his abilities, he is a very capable man and the negotiations on Northern Ireland are in capable hands.

There is a danger from ratchet politics. I say that as a reflection, not to lecture anyone in this House. We should not always say we have reached a plateau from which we cannot retreat. As one moves through the fog of the previous problem, one identifies a new problem which must then be disposed of because the others have been got rid of. I do not think this is a characteristic of any community in Northern Ireland, but a classic quality of any process of conflict resolution.

People have both small and large agendas. If they deal with the horrific parts of a large agenda, like murder and violence, then the matters that look trivial, perhaps flags and emblems or the badge of a police force, become more significant. That is a reason a phrase from a police officer, perhaps unintentional, can become a recipe for distrust for those who are wary of the police. I am thinking of comments made by a senior RUC officer during the controversy in Belfast during the marching season which were, to say the least, unhappy. I choose to believe they were inept rather than politically inspired. Some of Gerry Adams's phraseology about the reaction of republicans to recruits to the new Police Service of Northern Ireland was similar, but I do not believe there was an implied threat. A ratchet is being used in such circumstances.

Matters are being taken for granted that could not have been even five years ago. I remember debates in this House 20 years ago in which there was a sense of eternal despair. People agreed then that the solution was what we agree now. The real problem was how to start the process in a way that would not descend into recrimination. There is a Senator present who contributed enormously to the starting of that process. There were many delicacies involved in making contact with people who were, to a large extent, outside the political firmament. No conflict will be solved by leaving a major participant to the conflict out of the solution. It took almost 20 years for us to realise this. It took us time to realise that painful compromise, not just trivial compromise, is the stuff of conflict resolution.