Murphy wants all parties to indicate conflict over

The Northern Ireland Minister of State, Mr Paul Murphy, has joined the main leaders in the Republic in calling on " all parties" to indicate the conflict is over, as well as saying they adhere to the Belfast Agreement.

At a press conference in Dublin, he said he believed the Yes vote i n the North would be higher than reflected in yesterday's opinion poll in The Irish Times. The private polls being conducted by the Northern Ireland Office showed a trend towards Yes.

The priority in the last week of the Northern campaign, he continued, would be to convince voters that the agreement had to be taken as a whole package; to explain those points requiring clarification in a complex agreement; and, finally, to see the agreement as "the best chance we have got".

"The big picture, at the end of the day, is peace and political stability", Mr Murphy said.

He accepted that the release of prisoners was an important part of the agreement, but it needed to be explained very clearly. Mr Murphy said he found the scenes at the loyalist rally attended by Michael Stone "exceptionally distasteful as well as triumphalist". It showed no concern for the victims of violence.

Following the clarification given by the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, Mr Murphy hoped the unionist MP, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, would support the agreement. The No campaign was offering no alternative to it, he said.