Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

They must not succeed.

The bedrock of our peace and of our common future on this island is the Good Friday Agreement. It is the founding document of a new era of peace, mutual respect and co-operation. It opened a new chapter of reconciliation and renewal and helped to bring to an end not just decades but centuries of mistrust and conflict. It ushered in a new era of tolerance and set out a template which affords respect and protection for all people and all points of view on this island. As set out in the constitutional amendment so emphatically endorsed by the people in 1998 it says that we will work in harmony and friendship to unite all the people who share the territory of the island of Ireland in all the diversity of their identities and traditions recognising that a united Ireland shall be brought about only by peaceful means with the consent of the majority of the people, democratically expressed, in both jurisdictions in the island. These are the principles that continue to guide Government policy today.

Through all the twists and turns of the last 11 years, it is the agreement to which we have always returned, not just to its institutions, although they are central, but also to the principles and aspirations that it embodies. Those principles and aspirations continue to guide us as we continue to work to make a better future and resolve never to return to the pain and suffering of the past. Crucially, as democrats we hold fast to the agreement because it represents the democratic will of the people of this island, North and South. The implementation of the agreement is not just an aspiration but a solemn duty given to us in an historic act of self-determination by the Irish people. I would like therefore to reflect on the progress we have made as well as the difficult challenges that still remain.

We have recently seen the second anniversary of the successful restoration of the institutions in May 2007. It is important to recognise that this is the longest period of uninterrupted operation of the institutions since the agreement. Certainly there have been disagreements and frustrations, including an extended period when the Executive did not meet, but the institutions have continued to operate and to carry out the work of government. That is a very positive sign for the future.

Alongside the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly, we have also had the benefit of the full operation of the North-South Ministerial Council, NSMC, and the British-Irish Council. Last week, we held the eighth meeting of the NSMC in plenary format since 1998 and the fourth such meeting in the past two years. A further plenary meeting will take place by the end of the year. There is also active work in each of the sectors of the council, with the number of sectoral ministerial meetings already this year running into double figures.

I have also met with the First Minister and Deputy First Minister on several other occasions for talks in Dublin and Belfast, at the British Irish Council summits in Edinburgh and Cardiff and in the United States on St. Patrick's Day. Alongside these important formal engagements there is now an unprecedented range of contacts between Ministers, Departments, agencies and other bodies with their counterparts in Northern Ireland on the many matters that are of mutual interest to people on both sides of the border.

I know that Members of the Seanad are also developing their contacts with their colleagues in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Meetings and contacts between Oireachtas and Assembly committees are becoming more frequent and much good work can and should be done in that way. We need to build actively on that work. In that regard, the proposed North South parliamentary forum is an integral part of the Good Friday Agreement and the St. Andrews Agreement. It can play an important role in building understanding and co-operation for the common good of everyone on the island. The Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil and the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly have been in contact about this on a number of occasions. Working groups have now been established in both the Assembly and the Oireachtas to take forward the necessary arrangements and the respective commissions plan to meet in October. I understand the sensitivities involved but I firmly believe we can reach agreement in a way that both respects and indeed benefits all concerned.

As with the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, improved links between elected representatives can only be of mutual benefit. In that connection, I warmly welcome the recent decision by the Unionist parties in Northern Ireland to participate actively in that forum, alongside representatives from the Oireachtas, Westminster and the devolved assemblies in Scotland and Wales. I also commend the work of the Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, which has already provided a very useful forum for discussing a range of matters. The involvement of Westminster MPs from Northern Ireland on that committee has given an innovative and valuable new dimension to the work of the Oireachtas. I hope we can build on that committee's work to help deepen co-operation and mutual understanding. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the very active participation of members of the Seanad in the work of that committee.

Alongside engagement at political and official level, it is also important to have a structured engagement between citizens and groups in civic society from North and South. While we have not yet been able to reach agreement with the Northern Ireland Executive on the establishment of the North-South consultative forum, the Government has made a proposal on how such a forum should operate. We will facilitate a further conference in the autumn with representatives of the social partners and interested organisations from North and South, which I intend will give further momentum to this important facet of North-South relationships.

Given the history of mistrust and conflict on the island, the mere facts of engagement and the building of new relationships are valuable in their own right. However, that should not be the limit of our ambitions or the sole purpose of our work. We can and must work together by agreement and for mutual benefit to deliver a programme of practical North-South co-operation that improves the lives of all the people we represent.

Last week's North-South Ministerial Council meeting reaffirmed and reinforced that objective. We noted very good progress on major cross-Border roads and telecommunications projects, health, education, tourism, trade and innovation and on regional co-operation in the north west and along the Border. We reviewed the significant co-operation on health and social issues, such as the issues of swine flu, child protection and suicide prevention, all areas which impact very directly on lives of citizens.

We had a good discussion of the economic challenges that we all face. Over the past year we have seen significant exchange rate movements and Senators are all keenly aware that many companies here have suffered from the adverse effects of that. On the Northern side, there is considerable and understandable concern about future developments in the Southern economy and the possible implications for the North in terms of the impact on cross-Border trade and the potential implications of the banking crisis. It is clear from those discussions that we must face this crisis together.

Despite the current difficulties and concerns there are also opportunities and I have no doubt that the only way forward is to develop the all-island economy to its fullest potential. The growing dynamic of the all-island economy and North-South co-operation can make a vital contribution to the economic recovery. I am pleased that practical co-operation between the trade and development agencies on the island continues to strengthen and that we are beginning to look at developing greater synergies in the area of innovation, higher education and the smart economy.

Infrastructure is also a key area of co-operation. A major policy which demonstrates the Government's commitment to mutually beneficial co-operation is the upgrading of the inter-urban routes from Dublin to the north west and along the eastern corridor serving Belfast and Larne. Both projects are proceeding on schedule, with the preferred route to the north west chosen and to be formally announced later this month in Omagh.

The Government's commitment to help with funding for these projects remains firmly in place. It is in the north west and Border regions, where once we saw the awful economic and social costs of partition and conflict most vividly, that we now see the enormous potential for transformation that the peace process has brought within reach.

As well as unprecedented levels of North-South interaction and all-island co-operation, we continue to develop the east-west dimension of the agreement, including through valuable work in the British-Irish Council. That has done some considerable useful work in areas such as the misuse of drugs, transport, road safety, sustainable travel, early years education, minority languages, spatial planning, housing and health.

A feature of the discussions at recent summits has been the commonality of the problems that confront all member Administrations. We are all striving to address the consequences of the downturn for individuals, families and businesses. As an example of how we can work together to tackle the economic crisis, we have good discussions on energy co-operation and the potential contribution green energy can make to future energy needs on these islands. I particularly welcome the initiative of Scotland in putting forward energy as a work stream for the British-Irish Council.

The British-Irish Council is an essential part of the architecture of the Good Friday Agreement. As well as providing a valuable expression of the east-west dimension of relationships on the island, it also allows us to deepen our historical links with Wales, Scotland and the other Administrations in these islands.

The process of devolution from Westminster to the Administrations in Scotland and Wales has been seen as very significant in changing the relationships within Britain in recent years. These changes have important implications for this State as well and the British-Irish Council will provide an ideal forum for addressing those changes as they evolve in the years to come.

In this way, too, the Good Friday Agreement provides the essential template and the flexibility that will enable us to successfully navigate the political, economic and social changes we will inevitably see across these islands in the years to come.

I mentioned earlier the very real threat of violence which remains and one of the key pillars of the Good Friday Agreement, and an essential objective of both Governments, is the elimination of the gun and the triumph of democratic politics on this island. As well as the construction of the new democratic institutions, and the key reforms in areas such as policing, equality and human rights, this found practical expression in the decommissioning of paramilitary arsenals and the ending of paramilitary activity. This in turn created the environment for the dismantling of military installations that were built up during the conflict. We have made historic progress in helping bring paramilitarism to an end.

The Independent Monitoring Commission report in September of last year made clear that the Provisional IRA was maintaining an exclusively political path, that the army council had been allowed to fall into disuse and that military departments had been disbanded. That gave everybody further assurance that the historic transformation signalled by the IRA statement of July 2005, followed by full IRA decommissioning later that year, was genuine.

The continued successful operation of the institutions, and the clear statements by Sinn Féin leaders of support for the police, are further clear evidence of how far we have thankfully come. I am also greatly heartened by the recent progress on loyalist decommissioning. The Irish Government welcomes leadership shown by those who have helped bring about decommissioning and we urge all concerned to bring that process to a conclusion also. We remain committed, as we always have been, to working with all traditions and communities on this island to ensure the peace process leaves nobody behind.

I now believe a vital next step is to complete the devolution of policing and justice to Northern Ireland so that locally elected leaders can deal with some of the most serious and central issues faced by our society. We have already seen a radical and hugely successful transformation of the policing and justice system in Northern Ireland. I welcome the progress made to date and urge the parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly to reach an early agreement on the completion of devolution. I assure them, and this House, of the full support of the two Governments in helping to put in place this last piece of the jigsaw.

Serious challenges to the peace and to a shared future remain. The recent murder of Kevin McDaid in Coleraine is a stark reminder of the divisions between the communities within Northern Ireland. Yesterday's violence was further evidence of the road we have yet to travel. Recent weeks have seen attacks on churches, Orange halls and GAA facilities. Families from both sides of the community have again had to leave their homes.

The continued existence of sectarianism, peace walls and deep communal divisions in parts of the North is an affront to democracy and to a civilised society.