Northern Ireland

My Lords, I thank the Minister for repeating the Statement made by the Secretary of State in the other place. We shall want to look carefully at the details of the emergency legislation that the Government intend to bring forward very soon. Broadly, however, we are supportive of the initiative announced by the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach in County Armagh on 6 April. We share the desire of Her Majesty’s Government to see devolution restored to Northern Ireland on a fully inclusive basis. We want to see locally accountable politicians taking most of the decisions that affect people’s everyday lives. As the Secretary of State reminded the other place, it is now four and a half years since the Assembly was suspended. It would clearly be wrong for us to have another set of elections in May 2007 to an Assembly that not only is not sitting but which shows no sign of sitting in the foreseeable future. So we back the recall of the Assembly next month and hope sincerely that it will be possible for an executive to be formed by the end of November. However, we should be clear that the chief responsibility for that becoming a reality actually rests with the republican movement, Sinn Fein/IRA. Does the Minister agree that it is for the republicans now to take the final steps required to help to build the necessary confidence within the unionist community to allow power-sharing? We agree that the republican movement has come a long way in the past year, and the IRA’s statement of 28 July and the act of decommissioning in September were highly significant developments. But does the Minister accept that until such time as the IRA has ended all forms of criminal activity and Sinn Fein has given its unequivocal backing to the judicial processes and the police, it would be wrong to have Sinn Fein Ministers in the government of Northern Ireland? Does he further accept that these moves must come before an executive can be formed and not at some unspecified point in future, when actual policing and justice powers have been devolved? The Secretary of State will be aware of the words of the Irish Justice Minister last Tuesday, following the interception by the Irish police of €300,000-worth of hijacked vodka, in which three Provisional IRA members were arrested. He said:"““As long as the IRA continues to exist and the IRA constitution continues to be treasonable and subversive, then problems will continue to remain””." Does the noble Lord share this assessment? The joint statement issued by the British and Irish Prime Ministers a week last Thursday made reference to the Assembly preparing for government by dealing with issues with which a future executive will have to deal, including economic strategy, water rates, public administration and education. Will the Minister now agree to put off his proposed education reforms at least until such time as the Assembly has considered them and its views are known and understood? He will be aware that the last Education Minister under devolution announced his plans in this area immediately prior to suspension, so the Assembly has never properly debated them. Regarding the internal government of Northern Ireland, will the Minister confirm that this remains entirely a matter for the United Kingdom Government, accountable to this Parliament? We greatly value our relationship with the Government of the Republic of Ireland, and commend the efforts and commitment of the Taoiseach to a lasting settlement. The joint statement refers to implications for the British and Irish Governments should this initiative fail, and talks about a step change in north/south co-operation. We welcome the fact that in recent days the Secretary of State has rejected some of the greener interpretations of this paragraph, and clarified that it does not amount to joint authority between the British and Irish governments. Finally, I invite the noble Lord to go a little further today and confirm that any form of joint authority would be in breach of the consent principle at the heart of the Belfast agreement, and is not something Her Majesty’s Government will be prepared to consider.