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Northern Ireland

My Lords, I welcome the Statement on the St Andrews agreement. That is possibly a misnomer since no one has yet agreed it; it is now up to the main political parties in Northern Ireland to agree it. But it is a proposal from the two Governments. I congratulate and thank the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of southern Ireland, Mr Ahern, for the energetic way in which they have attended to this issue. I see the St Andrews agreement as an extension of the Belfast agreement. I congratulate all those who I hope will support it in the coming days. On the so-called elections or referendum, since both Governments discussed this issue the Minister cannot sidestep the question of what will happen in the Republic of Ireland. Will it be a case of a referendum or simply the approval of the southern Irish Parliament? It will be a referendum if there are constitutional problems in the Republic. We need clarity on that issue. I am certain that that was discussed. As regards Northern Ireland, would it not be odd to have a referendum if all the parties supported the issue? You would get very little enthusiasm for that and parties would be very unwilling to commit money to a referendum where the result was obvious. It may well be better for political parties to get a new mandate on the basis of the St Andrews agreement. Will the Minister clarify the position on academic selection, as I am still slightly confused? If the St Andrews agreement proceeds and the Assembly and the Executive come into operation, will academic selection continue without taking any further decision? Will it be changed only after a cross-party vote in the new Assembly? As clearly it was discussed with the southernIrish Government, and there is reference to it in theSt Andrews agreement, what is Plan B? Or do we have to use other means to find out what it is? The people of Northern Ireland need to know what the alternative is. Will the Minister tell us more about the suggestion of a reduction in corporation tax in one part of the United Kingdom? Would that not mean fewer tax transfers from Northern Ireland to the Treasury? Certainly, it would be welcomed by business people, but would it not mean in return that the Treasury might send less money to the devolved institution, resulting in reduced expenditure on housing, hospitals and education? Finally, when the St Andrews agreement is approved and the Assembly is up and running with an Executive, will the IRA still exist?