The fact of the matter is that circumstances in Northern Ireland are very different from this jurisdiction. The devolved institutions of the Agreement were specifically designed to operate on an inclusive basis, with automatic representation in the Executive for those parties which achieved the required electoral mandate. All of the parties to the negotiations signed up to this arrangement which was endorsed by the people of Ireland, North and South. We are in a transition period in Northern Ireland from a destructive and divisive conflict to a more peaceful and democratic society. In our own history in this State, a similar transition was achieved many decades ago.