THE DEVOLUTION of policing and justice is “an absolutely essential milestone” in the Northern Ireland peace process, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said yesterday.
Mrs Clinton was speaking in Dublin ahead of her visit to Stormont today where she will address the Northern Ireland Assembly.
“Clearly there are questions and some apprehensions, but I believe that due to the concerted effort of the British government, the Irish Government and the support of friends like us in the United States, that the parties understand that this is a step they must take together,” Mrs Clinton said before holding meetings with Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin at Farmleigh in the afternoon.
“There are so many dividends for peace and they have already been evidenced in Northern Ireland but there is more to come. It will take the leaders of both communities working together not only to continue the devolution but to make day to day governing a reality. I am confident that that is within reach.”
Mrs Clinton said the peace process had been an example and encouragement for her when it came to dealing with other conflicts. “Many people who are despairing over the prospects for peace look to Northern Ireland – they think to themselves that if it could be done there then perhaps we too have a chance to cross that border between conflict and peace.”
Stressing US commitment to the process, Mrs Clinton said the recent appointment of economic envoy Declan Kelly was a “very tangible signal that we want to invest in the peace dividends that will come with the final devolution of power and authority and the full acceptance of responsibility by the people of Northern Ireland themselves”.
Turning to Ireland’s economic travails, Mrs Clinton praised the Government’s efforts to resolve the crisis. “It is of concern to us that good friends like Ireland have suffered. But it is also very heartening to see the positive steps that this Government has taken to begin to deal with the underlying economic challenges. Ireland has moved aggressively to stabilise its financial markets and jump-start its economy, and we will continue to work with our Irish friends because they understand that we live in an interconnected and interdependent world.”
Mindful of its influence on the global economy, the US is making every effort to address its own financial turmoil, she said. “We’re very conscious of the fact that the United States must right its own economic boat in order to lead the global recovery.
“I don’t think a day goes by that this administration not focused on what more we can do. The responsibility that our country and our government has assumed is one that we will continue to see through.
Paying tribute to the ties that bind Ireland and the US, Mrs Clinton argued that these were not just confined to family, culture, history and heritage. The two countries had built a strong partnership, she noted. “Our diplomats and aid workers collaborate together to resolve conflicts and fight hunger, poverty and disease. Our businesses invest and trade to create new jobs and wider prosperity; education, innovation and productivity have made Ireland a great place to do business and Americans have leapt at the opportunity.”
Mrs Clinton congratulated Ireland on its endorsement of the Lisbon Treaty, and also thanked the Government for accepting two Guantánamo Bay detainees for resettlement here. She touched briefly on the issue of undocumented Irish in the US, stressing that it was something that had to be dealt with as part of the overall need for comprehensive immigration reform.
Praising the State’s role on the international stage, she said: “Ireland truly does punch above its weight on the big issues of the day, from climate change to non-proliferation.” She also noted Ireland’s contribution to international peacekeeping, and welcomed the Government’s pledge to commit 20 per cent of its overseas development budget to eradicating hunger by 2012. “As a people whose history is scarred by famine, the Irish understand that this is an extraordinary global challenge that requires a commitment of that measure,” she added.
Mrs Clinton later made a courtesy call to Áras an Uachtaráin to meet President Mary McAleese.