Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I agree with the call from some of my colleagues for a debate on Northern Ireland, which would be helpful because it would allow us the opportunity to ventilate to some degree the significant progress that has been made. We must recognise that over the course of the past ten years or so there has been transformation beyond description in the politics and the lives of the people of Northern Ireland. It appears now that another deadline has come and gone but that should not be a cause for any long-term disappointment. The significant political progress which has been made between the parties will inevitably result in a solution with which every side can live. It is most unhelpful to go down the route of defining humiliation and trying to cast blame. We must recognise that attitudes have changed greatly and that allows everybody the opportunity to move forward.

The second issue I want to raise, as I did a month or six weeks ago, is the ongoing crisis in Sudan. Over the past few months, hundreds of thousands of people in that unfortunate country have either been killed, died from famine or have been displaced. It is the greatest international tragedy yet it is not the subject of the same type of debate as happens on other regions of the world currently under the spotlight. A debate in this House on Sudan would be helpful.