Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I would put a slightly more positive construction on Articles 2 and 3 in the context of the 1937 Constitution and subsequently, than the Minister. They were a denial of legitimacy to Northern Ireland in circumstances where the balancing elements in the 1921 settlement had all been removed and, in particular, the Boundary Commission which turned out, effectively, to be a complete fraud. It was reasonable for us to maintain that denial of legitimacy until such time as we had a comprehensive settlement, as in the Good Friday Agreement, which dealt with all the issues and concerns we had. I can understand Senator White and, indeed, many other people feeling disappointment at this particular point and perhaps asking themselves whether our participation was worthwhile, or if we sold our cards too cheaply. One has got to take the medium and long-term views. I remember making a mental note to myself in the shrubbery outside Stormont when I went for a walk to clear my head at 7 a.m. on Good Friday in 1998. I could see political trench warfare as far as the eye could see. Many obstacles have been worked through and there will probably be more. Nonetheless, it is an extremely worthwhile project and we should not allow ourselves to become depressed and despondent.

At lunch time I was talking to a member of the victorious party in the Northern Assembly elections and, needless to say, he does not take a gloomy view of current conditions. In fact, he sees positive advantages in the DUP having to take some responsibility and face some hard choices because the responsibility is now at their door. I urge Members of the House and the public who are tempted to become despondent in the present situation to keep their confidence. As the Minister said, there is no alternative project anywhere in sight that would remotely get agreement among the parties. It is a question of finding the way this will work. I have no doubt whatsoever that it will work; the only difficulty is that I cannot say in how many weeks or months, or whether it will take more than a year. I have absolute confidence, however, that it will happen.