Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Seanad for this opportunity to report on the latest developments in the peace process. Members on all sides of the House have always expressed their overwhelming support for the Good Friday Agreement. I share the sense of regret and frustration that we have so far not succeeded in achieving the definitive progress that is essential to underpin the Agreement and assure the stability of the political institutions in Northern Ireland.

The Good Friday Agreement was negotiated by representatives of all traditions on this island – Nationalist, republican, Unionist and loyalist. The Agreement truly belongs to all people and all traditions on this island. The pro-Agreement parties and both Governments have a fundamental obligation to uphold the will of the people and secure the Agreement. We all have a collective responsibility to make the Agreement work. This is not a policy option; it is the will of the people of both parts of the island, democratically endorsed in the 1998 referendum. I assure Members that this is what the Government has been seeking to do in recent months. I assure them further that this effort, despite the current setback, will continue.

Following the suspension of devolved Government last October, Prime Minister Blair and the Taoiseach expressed their commitment to the full implementation of the Agreement. At that time, however, it was clear that devolved Government could not be made to work effectively in circumstances where there had been a breakdown of trust between those involved. We simply could not go on as we had done in the past. There was an obvious need to move forward decisively and bring completeness to all the outstanding issues if we were to guarantee the future. The issues can be distilled down to two points, namely, the necessity to remove concerns around the commitment to exclusively democratic and non-violent means and the need for each community to have confidence in the commitment of the representatives of the other to the full implementation of the Agreement.