Maurice Hayes (Independent)

Like Senators Ó Murchú, Mansergh and Coghlan, I too wish the Taoiseach and Prime Minister, Mr. Blair, well.

I accept the statement of the IRA leadership in this case. It would be entirely irrational for it to have been involved and this is obviously a view shared by Mr. Donaldson. Along with the process it is the big loser. Their difficulty is that it is not this House they have to convince but the DUP. I take some hope from a statement by Sir Reg Empey this morning stating that Northern Ireland politicians would have to find a means of getting over these things so they were not destabilised when such events occur. It gives me some hope that we could look for the primacy of politics as our colleagues have advocated.