Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for what he said. I support what the Government is attempting to do and has been doing for some time, building on the work of previous Governments.

It is important that we keep reminding ourselves that we have a peace process. I was elected to the Oireachtas in 1987 and on every occasion between that date and 1994 when we discussed matters north of the Border we spoke about bombs, killings and terrorist atrocities of the worst type. There has been dramatic progress which we should not forget. Matters in Northern Ireland are not yet perfect. The unacceptable face of paramilitarism is still evidenced in punishment beatings, kidnappings and exclusions. This cannot continue but we cannot ignore the fact that huge ground has been covered. Who would have thought in the autumn of 1993, not a full decade ago, the progress that would have been made ten years later? We must acknowledge that all Governments and all parts of the Northern equation have played their parts in that process. We must now turn the successful peace process into a long lasting political one. People have travelled many miles down that road and gone almost as far as is necessary. Everyone who has taken steps in that direction should be commended.

If we were living in a perfect world, all of the paramilitary organisations would, some day, announce their surrender. However, that is not going to happen. This does not happen in any process throughout the world, it did not happen in the Ireland of the 1920s and 1930s and it is not going to happen now. We are not going to hear an official statement of surrender from any group. In a perfect world the paramilitary groups on all sides would tell us where the arms are hidden and those arms would be destroyed on one dramatic day. Because we live in an imperfect world that is not going to happen either. We must ask ourselves how do we get around these factors and put in place the mechanism to assure everybody that the war is over.

The most recent IRA statement was very significant. Its language was significant. A short few years ago we would not have believed that such language would be put in print. I am not a wordsmith and do not know how the language can be tweaked further to bring about what is required. I readily accept what the Minister and Senator Mansergh have said. A little extra step remains to be taken. Let us encourage everybody to take it. To bring an end to the political vacuum and ensure there is no going back to where we have come from we must ensure the Good Friday Agreement is fully operative.