THE clearest single message from the report by the international body on decommissioning is that we must banish fear and rebuild trust and confidence. Trust has been more important at each stage of the peace process than any of the particular issues that arose - because while trust existed solutions were found to the most difficult problems. Apparently insoluble problems with words like "permanent" and "clarification" were overcome. The ceasefires themselves which most people thought unachievable were achieved because trust had been built.

Senator Mitchell and his colleagues have touched the very heart of the problem when they say that she decommissioning issue is merely a symptom of a larger problem - the absence of trust. My hope is that both governments and all parties Bill see in the report a clear opportunity to make up the ground which has been lost and to move towards inclusive all party talks.

The members of the commission are absolutely clear that paramilitaries on both sides are committed to:

1, Resolving political issues democratically and peacefully;

2, The total disarmament of all paramilitary organisations;

3, Independent verification of that disarmament;

4, Making sure that threat or force are never used to influence all party negotiations;

5, Accepting the outcome of all party talks, and using only democratic and peaceful methods to change anything they disagree with;

6, Putting an end to punishment beatings and killings.

Their unanimous belief that the will and the commitment do exist to decommission is crucial and I believe that this offers the formula for injecting new life back into the peace process.

I have always held that decommissioning before talks was unacceptable perhaps more pertinently I have always felt that it was unobtainable. Of course everybody accepts that the decommissioning of all arms from both sides must be achieved as part of the process - but it was never agreed or accepted that it would be a precondition, for the starting of talks. Decommissioning as a precondition for talks was not used in the Bosnia situation, in the Middle East or in South Africa. Little wonder then that people were asking why different rules should apply to the resolution of conflict here than those applied in conflict situations elsewhere in the world.

That being said, the suggestion in the report that some form of decommissioning could take place by agreement as part of the talks process would be a valuable confidence building measure - one which could prove the bona fides of all parties concerned, and speed the process of re building trust on all sides, with a resumption of dialogue will that happen. My view on the need for inclusive dialogue has always been direct and uncluttered - while dialogue is taking place there can be no excuse in any quarter for a return to violence or killing the report endorses this view in the clearest terms.

Looking on in recent months, my single greatest fear has been that the delay, the inactivity and the vacuum created would put an unnecessary strain on an already strained process. We have seen peace being jeopardised we have seen pragmatism being replaced by dogmatism and the result has been disquieting. Despite the fact that hundreds of lives have been saved by the 18 month old ceasefires, despite the economic upsurge, despite the increase in investment and the growing tourism figures, despite all the positive benefits which were bound to flow from peace in Northern Ireland, people are becoming a little disillusioned.

THE spectre of violence has begun to creep back in. Slowly, to be sure, but such a discouraging trend, can only go in one direction if it is not stepped. Like a tap that is left dripping the flow will become more persistent if the flow is not checked and checked finally. There can be no justification for murder or violence to progress one's political objectives no matter what cause it purports to represent. A return to the table and a resumption of real dialogue is the only way to prevent the ugly possibility of a return to violence and to work out a just and lasting settlement in a totally democratic and exclusively peaceful manner. The commission's report points everybody in that direction and no other.

it It must be seen as the opportunity from the current impasse and if any side sees in the recommendations further cause for stalling, sees them as another obstacle, then I would suggest that a serious question must hang over their commitment to finding a solution. There haven't been any easy solutions at any stage of the process so far. But it is worth remembering the difficulties which were overcome to achieve the Downing Street Declaration, to achieve the ceasefires and the Framework Document.

It is high time, to use the words of one of the report's submissions that we saw a decommissioning of mind sets' and a return to, dealing with the real issues. There is, as the report states, no simple solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland and as it further states, the factors on which a process for peace must be based area already known.

One thing I know in my heart is that people throughout Ireland and Britain want a continuation of the normal life they are now enjoying - normal life which was absent for 25 years of know that people never want to see a return to killing, maiming and sorrow. And nobody will thank or respect either Government, or any party, if they allow surmountable difficulties to threaten peace. Nobody could expect all their views to prevail in this report, and that hasn't happened. All sides must expect to compromise and to leave behind past historical positions in order to create the environment for all party talks. I believe there is sufficient in this report for both governments and all sides to go along with.

I would deplore any attempt to substitute one precondition for another, which appears to be the present position of the British government. Of course an elected assembly can be on the agenda, for debate at all party talks.

The steps to peace were enshrined in the Downing Street Declaration when we spoke about achieving peace, stability and reconciliation through a process of dialogue and co operation. We need a return to that focus and that clarity. We need a return to the trust which brought about that focus and clarity. The report of the international body on decommissioning provides all sides with the perfect opportunity. It is time to start the inclusive dialogue with everything on the table and everybody at the table. The time is now to take more risks for peace.