Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

As long as the lowest common denominator in the political process continues to demand additional concessions from both Governments in all of our names effectively, we will not get the type of progress we need. I know this to be the view of the Taoiseach. For example, the concessions sought by the DUP on the policing board are unfair and unworkable. They should be rejected on this basis.

Decommissioning was a great event for Ireland. Successive Irish Governments have sought to bring it about and the Taoiseach deserves credit for his role over the past number of months in helping to persuade people to make that move. However, decommissioning must take place at other levels. We must witness decommissioning of the substantial criminal empire that alleged republicans have put in place on these islands. Do we need any additional evidence of this reality when today, on the very day we are meeting to discuss this important matter, we discover that the Assets Recovery Agency in Northern Ireland has obtained a warrant of the High Court in London to investigate the ownership of 250 houses in Manchester with a net asset value of £9.6 million sterling? This is property that is allegedly in the ownership of the IRA. It is astonishing that republicans who wanted to fight absentee landlords for many years are now going into the business of renting accommodation in a very large United Kingdom city.