AGREEMENT BETWEEN the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin on three key elements of a package designed to facilitate the delivery of responsibility for policing and justice to Northern Ireland is a welcome, if limited, development. Following months of difficulty and disagreement, First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness have agreed there should be a combined policing and justice department, run by a single minister who would not be drawn from either of their parties. And they have asked a review committee at Stormont to prepare a report on this development as inter-party discussions continue.
There has been no reference to a timescale for the devolution of security matters. But such a major development is unlikely to take place this year, in spite of pressure from the British and Irish governments and from Sinn Féin. The review committee will not meet until next month and, as Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness make clear, a number of other issues remain to be determined that may ultimately form part of its report. In spite of these limitations, the fact that the leaders of the Executive have made progress in breaking the political log-jam that has existed since mid-June offers hope for progress on other fronts.
As the Northern Ireland economy is buffeted by international events; house prices fall and jobs and living standards come under pressure, it is vital that the Executive functions effectively in the interests of the common good. Devolved government and powersharing must be seen to deliver for the public where it counts. Peace is a fragile thing and creeping disillusionment with the political process is its greatest enemy. Paramilitary elements in loyalist and republican communities would welcome an opportunity to flex their destructive muscles. The serious threat posed by dissident republicans and loyalist paramilitary groups to a peaceful and law-abiding society was detailed in a report by the Independent Monitoring Commission, last May. At the time, it concluded the Provisional IRA had, following its endorsement of the political process and the decommissioning of weapons, "all but completed" the process of dismantling those structures that were appropriate to a time of conflict. The two governments have now asked for an up-to-date assessment of that process in an attempt to add impetus to the transfer of powers from Westminster.
Individual responsibility towards, and participation in, a framework for policing and justice is an integral part of any properly functioning and law-abiding society. It is one of the last great steps required in the normalisation process that is under way in Northern Ireland. A residue from decades of internecine mayhem, along with deep-rooted communal distrust, has inhibited that process.
In spite of that, politicians have a responsibility to protect the gains they have made in bringing an end to endemic violence and in establishing an Assembly and Executive. Courage and commitment will be required from the leaders of all political parties, and not just the DUP and Sinn Féin, if this delicate transition is to be managed successfully.