Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

A couple of years ago, the BBC broadcast an interesting television series entitled "Endgame". While it may have been premature, recent events prove that we have reached the endgame. Sadly, there is another phenomenon unique to Northern Ireland is also ongoing, called "wordgames". It is clear that in the last couple of weeks, culminating in the second statement by the IRA, we are involved in word games. It is regrettable that the second IRA statement was not produced a little earlier.

It is time to look forward. I am glad there will be a period of reflection and that recrimination has been confined to words. It is a matter of rhetorical flourishes rather than riots in the streets. I compliment the Nationalist population in Northern Ireland, who feel deprived as a result of the deferral of the elections, that it did not take to the streets in the numbers in which they have done over the past 30 years leading ultimately to violence in many cases, which in turn has spread to loyalist areas.