SOUTHERN REACTION:THE AGREEMENT involving the parties and the British and Irish governments at Hillsborough has been welcomed by President Mary McAleese as "a decisive move ahead".
“This is a deeply significant day in the evolution of the peace process. Indeed, history may well record this agreement as the moment when the peace process transitioned from potential to reality,” Mrs McAleese said in a statement. “After many years of negotiation and inching forward at an often cautious and painstaking pace, a decisive move ahead has been made and, critically, it has been made by the parties themselves.”
The President continued: “The critical task now is to use the powerful platform that has been created by this agreement to give full life to the devolution project and to ensure that the dividend of peace is experienced in real terms on the ground in all communities.”
Also welcoming the agreement, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said it had “averted the prospect of a prolonged period of instability and uncertainty”.
“The challenge now for the parties is to work together to deliver on implementing the remaining elements of the Good Friday agreement so that the people of Northern Ireland can be convinced that the political process can deliver real improvements to their lives.”
Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore said he hoped the agreement “will now lead to a period of greater political stability and certainty in Northern Ireland”.
“The Good Friday agreement set out ‘mutual respect’ as the basis for relationships in Northern Ireland, and if Northern Ireland is to continue to move forward there is a need for all parties to reaffirm commitment to this principle.”
The chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, Noel Treacy TD, said: “While the negotiations may have taken longer than expected, the fact that common ground could be found between the parties on difficult issues brings hope and confidence to the people of Northern Ireland that a socially, culturally and economically stable and prosperous Northern Ireland is achievable.”
The joint chairmen of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, Niall Blaney TD and Paul Murphy MP, said they “wholeheartedly” welcomed the agreement.