John Dardis (Progressive Democrats)

I welcome the Taoiseach to the House, and welcome his words. I echo the congratulations to him on the work he did to bring us to this happy point. I will mention others who deserve congratulations later. When these events were discussed in the other House last week the Taoiseach made the important point that we should greet them not in a spirit of elation but fully conscious of the burden placed on our island by the actions of the IRA. Those words must be endorsed.

There are mixed emotions in the response to these events. While there is relief that the large cache of arms has been destroyed, there is also great regret for the number of people killed over 30 years and the effect of that on their families and loved ones. Those emotions will permeate my words.

We all express gratitude to, and have faith in, General de Chastelain and his colleagues on the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning. They have done this island a great service and one that will not be forgotten. We should compare the phrase, "not a bullet, not an ounce" with the statement from P. O'Neill last week following decommissioning, "the IRA leadership can now confirm that the process of putting our arms beyond use has been completed". The gulf between those positions was bridged by the work of General de Chastelain, Andrew Sens and Tauno Nieminem.

The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning proved its credibility throughout the process. I accept without reservation the general's word. I also accept the commission's assertion that confidentiality was necessary to ensure that decommissioning happened.

Despite that necessity we heard the compelling evidence of the two independent witnesses. I stated here last week our appreciation for the work of Reverend Harold Good and Father Alec Reid. Their experience must have been quite distressing because not only did they have to witness the acts of decommissioning in the presence of people who had been terrorists but they put their words and reputations on the line. They were scrutinised by the world's media. Their evidence was compelling, vital and very truthful. Everybody accepts that large quantities of arms have been decommissioned and there is no doubt about that.

The general and his team reported that a large arsenal of ammunition, rifles, machine guns, mortars, missiles, handguns, explosives, explosive substances and other arms, was put beyond use. That is a significant achievement.

Whether this represents every single piece of IRA weaponry is a more debatable issue. The IRA may not even know what or where is the totality of its weaponry. In any event, as a criminal outfit, the IRA has recourse to serious moneys to acquire new arms just as any criminal group can. That will always be the case. The point is that a large quantity of arms has been decommissioned and IRA volunteers have been instructed to engage in the democratic process through exclusively peaceful means. That is a welcome development.

Senator Ross referred to the phrase "the IRA has gone away". It may be true in a military sense but not in other senses. Sinn Féin may use decommissioning to paint the triumph of constitutional nationalism over violence as some kind of victory. It may even try to use it to airbrush from history the Northern Bank raid, the McCartney murder, the Rafferty murder and many more. That should not be allowed to happen because week after week in these Houses, as many of us can recall, we heard about Le Mon, Loughinisland, the Miami, Enniskillen, Narrow Water. That should not and cannot be forgotten.

It remains to convince the people that all IRA paramilitary and criminal activity has ended. Scepticism is understandable given that the scepticism which some of us expressed about major events in the past, for which we were criticised, proved to be well-founded, even when significant advances were made. The Government has made it clear that the Garda Síochána will continue with all ongoing investigations and undertake its responsibilities to the fullest in respect of IRA criminal activity.

I await the next report of the Independent Monitoring Commission to be published later this month and the full report next January. They will be key moments. Judgment on the character of Sinn Féin and the so-called republican movement will rightly be withheld until positive reports from the Independent Monitoring Commission are received and decommissioning is an accomplished fact on the ground.

It is incomprehensible that people would not want to control their own affairs and govern their society. The people of Northern Ireland deserve to see their political institutions restored, loyalist paramilitary and criminal activity ended and outstanding police issues resolved. While scepticism is understandable and to a degree welcome, politicians in Northern Ireland must act in the interests of their constituents and respond to their needs. I urge all to do so and to respond positively where they can.

If we are to look optimistically to the next 30 years we should consider the responses and confidence-building process in Northern Ireland in the context of the 30 years of tragedy that befell families on these islands.

I salute all those who took part in this process, the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister for their patience and diligence in pursuing this matter, and Senator Mansergh. Other names have been mentioned but I wish to add Sam McAughtry and Senator Gordon Wilson who brought a great degree of wisdom to this House on these matters. There are many unsung heroes in public and private life who helped too. I wish they may see the final reward of their work in permanent peace and the emergence of stable domestic democratic politics, based on mutual respect and the principle of consent.