With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together.
The Government's position in relation to Northern Ireland has been very fully expounded recently by myself and the other Government speakers in the Dáil debate and by the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Seanad. The lines of policy enunciated in those statements remain valid and I do not propose to add to them other than to say that the common ground of all the recent Ministerial statements, including the one to which the Deputy refers, has been that the Government's principal and urgent concern is to do everything possible to bring about peace and reconciliation and the reconstruction of power sharing in Northern Ireland.
Since those debates took place, the British Government's White Paper, entitled The Northern Ireland Constitution, has been published. As I said in a statement last Friday, the White Paper outlines some realities which must be taken into account in considering provisions for the future government of Northern Ireland. I should like to reiterate my wish that the processes of discussion and consultation envisaged in the White Paper will be attended with success.