Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I concur with the points made by Senators Bradford, O'Rourke and Ryan. The Bill is technical and short, but it is important to ensure that the bodies established under the North-South Ministerial Council can continue to operate.

I have just finished David Trimble's biography by Henry McDonald. In the context of the talks that took place, it was interesting to note that there were 18 proposals originally for 18 different bodies, and I think Mr. Trimble took great pleasure in narrowing them down to six. So says the biography.

Sinn Féin representatives listening to this debate should remember that under the Sunningdale agreement of 1973, the Council of Ireland, which was an attempt to represent and legislate for the North-South dimension, was totally opposed by the IRA and Sinn Féin and by the Ulster Unionist Party, and was ultimately brought down by the loyalist workers' strike. It is of historic interest to realise that the Council of Ireland was much more substantial than today's bodies in terms of its authority and power. One must ask what the violence on our streets and the appalling terrorism that we witnessed for 30 years was all about when one considers that we had the equivalent of the Implementation Bodies and more in 1973.

Much more significant powers existed in the Council of Ireland. There was a much greater all-Ireland dimension. To take Senator Ryan's point, there was also greater accountability if one looks at the history of that period in terms of parliamentary accountability. I am not making this point from a prurient party political point of view but to illustrate to Republicans that a resolution could have been achieved in 1973 and that we did not have to go through the past 30 years to arrive at this point. However, we are here now and we all welcome the fact that we are, and we want the process to continue. Certainly the six Implementation Bodies have done tremendous work. I heard the Minister of State's speech and he rightly praised the work that is taking place in the six key areas. That work should continue.