Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

That is no problem. The Cathaoirleach is also a busy man. I am delighted to have this opportunity to address the Seanad which has always been such a consistent source of encouragement and support for the Government's efforts in the peace process.

As Senators are aware, I was in London yesterday to co-chair a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference with the Secretary of State, Peter Hain. I was accompanied at the meeting by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Michael McDowell.

The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference is an important institution of the Good Friday Agreement. It is one of the ways in which the two Governments co-operate bilaterally to great effect and it particularly recognises the Irish Government's special interest in Northern Ireland and the extent to which mutual issues arise in that regard. We had very useful discussions on a range of important issues, including policing, security issues and North-South economic co-operation. I will brief Senators in more detail on our discussions, particularly on the latter issue, later in my statement. It is timely that Northern Ireland is on the agenda today. We are at a critical moment in the peace process where politics must reassert its primacy as paramilitary activity ends.

The Eighth Report of the Independent Monitoring Commission, which was published by the British and Irish Governments yesterday, clearly signals that the time is ripe for politics to come to the fore again. I acknowledge once more the valuable work of the commission. Yesterday's report gives us the first comprehensive assessment of the IRA since its statement of 28 July last. It outlines that significant progress has been made in the switching-off of the IRA's paramilitary machine, the ending of paramilitary activity and the directing of the membership of the IRA towards exclusively political engagement. The report indicates that there have been no shootings, no assaults, no so-called "punishment attacks" or other authorised paramilitary attacks, no sanctioned robberies, no evidence of recruitment for paramilitary purposes and no evidence of paramilitary training on the part of the IRA since last July's statement.

When documents of this nature are published, people sometimes home in on their negative aspects, which is unfortunate. Some people have lost sight, to a certain extent, of the fact that the IMC report is peppered with statements of confirmation of the positivity that is a feature of the political and physical landscape of Northern Ireland. The report contains some genuinely positive indications regarding the IRA's strategic intent. In particular, it states "the present PIRA leadership has taken the strategic decision to end the armed campaign and pursue the political course which it has publicly articulated". However, the IMC has also highlighted some indications of continued criminality on the part of current or former IRA members. We cannot ignore reports of intelligence-gathering that is illegal or outside the bounds of conventional political activity.

I wish to state clearly, as I did at yesterday's press conference, that we take such findings very seriously. It is essential that they should be addressed and resolved by the leadership of the Provisional IRA. The IMC report acknowledges that a great deal has been achieved, but continued efforts are required if the restoration of the institutions in Northern Ireland, which is vital, is to take place. The law enforcement agencies in both jurisdictions will continue to pursue vigorously the elements of paramilitary organisations which are continuing to engage in criminality. The ongoing work of the Criminal Assets Bureau and the Assets Recovery Agency is clear testimony of that. The IMC's comprehensive report should be read and assessed in a comprehensive manner, taking into account its findings as a whole.

The two Governments have also published a report compiled by the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, the IICD, to which the Governments have given responsibility for overseeing the decommissioning of weapons. The dedication, commitment, professionalism and authority of the IICD are beyond question. The IICD's report, which was published yesterday, focuses on the main loyalist paramilitary groups. It notes that some progress has been made in respect of contacts but, regrettably, there has been no actual product in terms of the decommissioning of arms. The IICD also referred to reports of the retention of arms by some individuals and groups within the IRA. Having investigated such reports, the IICD concluded that its previous assessment — that the IRA decommissioned the totality of its arms last September — remains correct. We were surprised by the initial news reports yesterday.