The current situation presents us with difficulties and these difficulties are not easy ones to overcome. Devolved government cannot be made to work effectively in a situation where there has been a breakdown of trust and confidence between the parties. Restoring that trust is the challenge that we now face. It may not be easy and there are no doubt difficult challenges ahead, but I firmly believe that it can be achieved. However, one thing which must now be abundantly clear to all is that the use of force, or indeed the threat of force, does not have any place in the democratic politics of this island and offers nothing but misery and suffering to our people. That imperative applies to all paramilitary groupings, both republican and loyalist. We have all invested too much in this process to contemplate any sort of return to the failures of the past.