Maurice Hayes (Independent)

It is quite moving to follow the last two speeches, which were very strong. I commend Senators Minihan and Ryan on their contributions. I join other Senators in thanking the Taoiseach and paying tribute to him for the work he has done. It has been pointed out that he is one of a long line of taoisigh, Ministers for Foreign Affairs and others who have kept this process going for so long. As someone who lives in the North, I may have a more vested interest than most in this matter. Many of us think that the bipartisan policy in this jurisdiction has been one of the great stabilising factors during the process. People in this State have not made the North a political football. That tradition has been continued in the tone of the debate in this House and elsewhere. It has been a hugely important contribution to stability.

In examining the current difficulties in the North, it is easy to forget from where we have come. Ten years ago, Christmas in the North was marked by the sound of shattering glass, as towns and cities were blown apart. It is now marked by the rattling of tills, particularly in places like Newry and Belfast, as people travel across the Border for cheap booze. Progress has been made, the parties have moved an enormous distance and guns have remained silent. We are moving towards an endgame. I am encouraged by the approach and remarks of the Taoiseach.

Two or three aspects of the process need to be addressed. I refer to the question of trust, for example. We need to find a means of validating decommissioning that enables the DUP to satisfy their sceptical followers and others without causing republicans to feel they have to jump through the hoops of public humiliation. The issue of guns is becoming less and less important as time goes by. The need for decommissioning exists in the areas mentioned by Senators — criminal behaviour, intimidation, oppression and domination of communities, rough justice, extortion and involvement in various forms of criminality. I am not saying all republicans are criminals. I was interested in a definition I read the other day to the effect that no republican could be a criminal. This is very pleasant news.

The paramilitary organisations on both sides of the divide have used criminal methods and others both to impose themselves on communities and to raise funds. Some have not grown out of it and cannot desist from it. We will not see an end to criminality. A problem in much of Northern Ireland is that one is not sure whether the criminal organisations are smugglers moonlighting as paramilitaries or paramilitaries moonlighting as smugglers. This view will continue to be held. However, it is important that there be no organic connection between any political party and any organisation tainted by criminality.

How can an organisation demonstrate this? Sinn Féin could do so in a very marked way by getting involved in the policing arrangements and not waiting for some possible date, perhaps two years down the line, when everything else has been put into place. If it did so, it would be much easier for it to convince the sceptical public of its bona fides on decommissioning. There can be no higher proof of one's commitment to the values of a state than one's willingness to enforce the laws of that state. Sinn Féin could adopt this principle now.

Enormous changes have been made in policing in recent years. The report of the Oversight Commissioner, whose function is to implement the recommendations of the Patten report, states that it is now critical to have the involvement of all parties, by which the commissioner means Sinn Féin. One may say one has abjured criminality, knee-capping and vigilantism, but one must ask who will engage in policing. Who will protect old ladies and children if the policing arrangements have not been signed up to? My main appeal to Sinn Féin is that it get involved in policing. This would carry the party a long way.

I was pleased to note the Taoiseach's refusal to do nothing. There is a very dangerous canard circulating in respect of devolution. I do not blame people in the South for losing patience with the peace process because it is generally the case that the process of clearing up after a war takes much longer than the hostilities themselves. This is particularly true of civil war, as we know only too well in this country. We must not expect miracle cures but, at the same time, the worst thing we could do is say the various parties involved should be left to their own devices and that they are happy enough with devolution. This actually discredits very rapidly those people who have, through great effort, convinced an organisation that saw no other approach but the gun to begin to espouse the way of democratic politics, even if it has not done so as quickly or as fully as some of us would like.

Conflicts such as that in Northern Ireland seem to operate on a cyclical and generational basis. If the people who convinced the paramilitaries to espouse the way of democratic politics are discredited, another group of younger, more radical and disaffected people will say they have had their go at politics and failed and they will turn to violence. It is vital, therefore, that we make politics work. I commend the Taoiseach in this regard. It is a great pleasure and honour for me to congratulate him on his work, support him and encourage him and the other parties to keep at it.