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Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Modification) (No. 2) Order 2006

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, for taking us through the details of the order. On behalf of my noble friend Lord Glentoran, who cannot be with us, I would like to say how grateful these Benches are for the continual offer of help and co-operation we get from the Minister. Like the Government, we sincerely believe that this will be the last such order. We share the objective of restoring inclusive devolved government for Northern Ireland by the target date of 24 November. Direct rule from Westminster in its current form, with legislation passed largely by orders in Committee, is clearly unsatisfactory, as the Minister said. We want to see locally accountable Ministers taking decisions that affect the everyday lives of the people of Northern Ireland on issues such as health and—topically—education. We also believe that devolution with unionists and republicans sharing power could help to contribute to lasting stability in Northern Ireland. In sharing the desire for devolved government to be restored, we should not underestimate the difficulties that still have to be overcome. A great deal of emphasis has been placed recently on the willingness of the Democratic Unionist Party to share power with Sinn Fein. Indeed, to listen to some Ministers, one could be forgiven for thinking that this is the only remaining obstacle to devolution. The Government would be better placed by putting pressure on Sinn Fein and the IRA to make the necessary moves that will build sufficient confidence to enable the DUP to enter a power-sharing Government. It is sad that the Minister for Justice of the Irish Republic, Mr Michael McDowell, often takes a more robust position—an admirably robust position—with respect to Sinn Fein than our own Government. We accept that there have been a number of hugely significant developments within the republican movement over the past year. There was the IRA statement of 28 July, formally ending its armed campaign. That was followed by an announcement by the de Chastelain commission on 26 September that in its view the IRA had decommissioned the totality of its arms and explosives. The most recent reports of the IMC have been encouraging in respect of the attitudes of the leadership of the republican movement towards continuing involvement in criminality. We particularly welcome the IMC’s conclusion that:"““It remains our absolutely clear view that the PIRA leadership has committed itself to following a peaceful path””," and that,"““this process has involved the further dismantling of PIRA as a military structure””." But while it has been encouraging, it has yet to be conclusive. Only last week police in the Irish Republic discovered ammunition and laundered fuel believed to belong to members of the IRA. Of Sinn Fein’s Members of the Dublin Parliament, Martin Ferris recently stated that he would refuse to give information to the Irish police about people still wanted in connection with the murder 10 years ago of Garda McCabe. Indeed, he even refused to describe the Garda’s killers as criminals, referring to them as ““IRA activists””. Gerry Adams recently described a well known figure in south Armagh—alleged to be the IRA chief of staff, and who has made a fortune from smuggling—as ““not a criminal”” but as,"““a good republican who supports the peace process””." The clear implication behind all these comments is that the IRA still considers itself the judge of what constitutes a crime and that any action sanctioned by the IRA is by definition not criminal. Before Sinn Fein can be considered a suitable partner for Government, all forms of IRA criminality have to end. There cannot be an acceptable level of criminality; it has to cease for good. Crucially, Sinn Fein must give its full backing to the Police Service of Northern Ireland. In our view, it is simply unacceptable to have Ministers in government in a part of the United Kingdom who refuse to support the police and accept the legitimacy of the courts and the criminal justice system. The Opposition have made those points on many occasions. That is because they are fundamental if we are to have a lasting settlement. We sincerely hope that in the coming weeks and months Sinn Fein will do what is required and genuinely complete the transition to using exclusively peaceful and democratic means. If so, there is a possibility that devolution can be restored on a stable and durable basis by 24 November. Orders such as this will become a thing of the past. If not, regrettably, I fear we shall be renewing direct rule for some time to come.