Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Ormonde for sharing time. I join with those who paid tribute to the Taoiseach, not only for his fine contribution to the House but for charting the vision for the future in Northern Ireland. It was symptomatic of the leadership he has shown throughout the whole process. I welcome the decommissioning and acknowledge it must have been a difficult decision to subscribe to for many who had served within the IRA. It was a prerequisite for the normalisation of society in Northern Ireland. If aspirations are to be advanced the normalisation of society was one of the first steps in that regard. I would hope that the encouragement, criticism and pressure that many constitutional politicians brought to bear on Sinn Féin and the IRA to advance to the decommissioning decision will be brought to bear with the same level of commitment to ensure the loyalist paramilitaries follow suit and disarm and terminate the criminal activities in which they are involved. Civilised society demands no less from those who live within those societies.

The issue of policing has been raised. Undoubtedly, Nationalist confidence in policing would have been given a major boost by the manner in which the police dealt with the loyalists in the North. I realise there was criticism from the Unionist community of the enthusiasm of the police. Nonetheless it was a step forward.

There are further steps to be taken by the police. The whole issue of sectarianism which was alluded to by Senator Maurice Hayes and others is a blight on society in Northern Ireland. According to reports it appears that not every area in Northern Ireland gets the same even-handed approach from the police in tackling that cancer in society. There is further progress to be made. The participation of all on the Nationalist and republican sides in policing will be a step in advancing an even-handed acceptable policing of society in Northern Ireland, which is essential.

With regard to Oireachtas representation for Northern Ireland representatives, I caution against developing a partitionist mentality in this regard. Some of the comments I have heard would appear to indicate we are becoming partitionist in our thinking. I would welcome active and full participation from Northern Ireland representatives in these Houses. As Senator Maurice Hayes has said it is important that is done in a way that does not alienate Unionists. The objective should be to have Unionist representation here to make its case in the Houses of the Oireachtas as part of the dialogue and interaction that is needed between communities, North and South, and between communities in Northern Ireland in order to lead to the reconciliation that everybody recognises is the way forward.