Northern Ireland

My Lords, perhaps the Minister can tell us whether in the many discussions that there are clearly going to be between the Government and the Assembly we will at any stage make it a requirement that the McCartney case comes to court and that the IRA recognise the existence of British justice? It seems to me that that is a test case that will make a lot of difference to anyone’s belief in the possible future of an honourable, sensible Northern Ireland. The other point is that I would suggest that it might be worth while to do two things: first, to ensure that everybody understands that in the south, in Dublin, Sinn Fein is almost as much considered a threat by the ruling government as it is anywhere else. That may well allay people’s anxieties about a joint condominium of Northern Ireland, because I think that both ends of the country have reason to worry about that. Secondly, I hope very much that it will be made very clear that there will be no private deals such as that on the on-the-runs. We need reassurance on that point too.