Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

——to co-operate with the police service, and to take its place on the accountability mechanisms set up on foot of the Patten report, namely, the policing board and district policing partnerships.

It is also the case that the Unionist parties, and particularly the DUP, have to accept when Sinn Féin makes that move that they will be part of those policing arrangements. In the comprehensive agreement of December 2004 it was clear that the one issue on which the DUP and Sinn Féin could agree was not to move forward on the issue of policing — for Sinn Féin because it was too big a step at that particular time but also the DUP did not want what are termed the "Shinners" having anything to do with policing. One way or the other, if these parties are to go into an effective Executive and all that entails, it cannot happen that either of them would not commit to the agreed structures whereby policing can be moved forward and that the executive government can have adherence and support for the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Political engagement and proper accountable law enforcement are key to a stable society. What about the stability of the economy? The political stability and economic prosperity of this island are intrinsically linked. That is the case more than ever. While we work with the parties towards restoration of the institutions, we are forging ahead with North-South economic co-operation. I have consistently made this a priority in my discussions with the Secretary of State. I cite many times the report carried out in the Republic, "Ahead of the Curve: Ireland's Place in the Global Economy" headed up by Eoin O'Driscoll, which shows clearly that the presence of stable and accessible Government in Ireland in recent decades has been one of the key reasons for our economic climate. Investors can see clearly that we have a politically stable situation here. The same cannot be said about Northern Ireland where, in effect, all the political parties have been in opposition for the past 40 or so years. It is one of the important reasons the parties in Northern Ireland should engage and get their hand on the tiller of power in order that they can make not only the nice decisions we are able to make these days in governing this part of the island, but also take the tough decisions that previous Governments had to make in the Republic.

Yesterday, in London at the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, we discussed how we can give practical expression to our agreed aim of developing an all-island economy. We announced that we will undertake a comprehensive study to identify areas where future economic co-operation would deliver mutual benefits. As one who lives in the Border area I can remember the bombs that blew up the electricity interconnector, which drove the two parts of this island further apart, and the rail connection, maiming and in some instances killing people, pushing those of us on this side of the Border further apart from colleagues in the North. The whole aspect of North-South co-operation is vital.

We have agreed to undertake a comprehensive study to see in what further areas we can co-operate with each other. This study will draw on the joint contribution we have already prepared under the revised Lisbon strategy. It will examine ways of developing economic co-operation in a strategic way so that we can build up the elements of an all-island economy. It will look at areas such as skills, research and development and innovation, competitiveness, trade promotion and investment. It makes no sense in this day and age of the global world that a small island of 5.5 million people, which is extremely productive, particularly in the Republic, should operate as two separate economies. There is enormous potential for this island. Only last month the Taoiseach invited Northern businessmen to participate in a trade delegation he led to India. The mission was highly successful and we are now looking for further opportunities to work with the North on trade promotion to our mutual benefit.

A world class and joined-up infrastructure will be an important element of a competitive all-island economy. We had a good discussion yesterday on all-island co-operation on infrastructural development and spatial planning. Where I live I find it incredible that the cross-Border motorway is being continued from Ballymascanlon into the heart of Newry. This project is funded by taxpayers on both sides of the Border. It is the first major infrastructural project that has been carried out under this process. It is probably the harbinger for future similar major infrastructural developments. Both Governments are conscious that infrastructural investment on the island over the next ten years will be in the order of €100 billion. This represents an enormous opportunity for us to work together to get maximum return on our investment. For example, we are already working closely with the authorities in the North to make sure that the investment that we are making under the Transport 21 plan into key cross-Border routes is linked into what is happening on the other side of the Border.

North-South co-operation is a vital pillar of the Good Friday Agreement. It brings balance to the political settlement that the Agreement represents. We should not forget that the North-South dimension was a key priority for the Government in the negotiations on the Good Friday Agreement, given that in endorsing the Agreement, we removed Articles 2 and 3 from our Constitution in exchange for progress on the North-South dimension.

When it was up and running, the North-South Ministerial Council saw Ministers from both parts of the island, representative of both traditions, taking decisions together on a regular basis for the benefit of the people of the island. I was honoured to be part of that process. We made decisions that affected ordinary people on bread and butter issues with which nobody could query. Ministers from both parts of the island made outstanding efforts in the operation of the North-South structures. While we came to those meetings from different political cultures and traditions, we had a common commitment to advance co-operation to the mutual benefit of our people. I am determined, notwithstanding the continued suspension of the institutions of the Agreement, to sustain that co-operation, which has brought us so far, and which makes so much sense.

Next Monday, when Peter Hain and I sit down in Hillsborough for a full day of talks with the parties, we will clearly set out our intentions for the process. We have mapped out dates in our diaries for a number of other meetings in the not too distant future. I accept that progress may not be immediate, but we are determined to try and build the confidence needed to move politics forward. At all stages in negotiations — in Northern Ireland or anywhere else — periods of progress tend to alternate with stalemate, optimism with pessimism. It is the job of the two sovereign Governments to take the rough with the smooth and to lead the process forward. Starting at the talks next week, the Governments will work to convince all sides of their political responsibility, as leaders of society, to finally complete the journey to our shared goal of a fully inclusive, stable and peaceful Northern Ireland.