Government will not abandon North

Northern Ireland: The Government will not walk away from Northern Ireland if the DUP and Sinn Féin cannot agree on a powersharing executive, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern told the ardfheis.

"Delegates, now more than ever, the North requires clear political leadership. The current impasse is surmountable. It can be overcome. We are ready to provide all the assistance needed. We have never been so close. The public, North and South, nationalist and unionist, expect their leaders to grasp this opportunity.

"But if the DUP cannot or will not move on powersharing. And if Sinn Féin cannot or will not move on policing. We cannot and we will not walk away. We have no intention of leaving the North in an economic stasis as parties prevaricate," he said.

"If we have to we will move ahead anyway - to build jobs and prosperity across the island. On the economic front our message is clear - we won't leave the North behind," he said.

"Turning now to the next phase in our national development, politics has never been so important. Because the country faces a stark choice. Between an Opposition bridled by a lack of purpose or imagination. An axis of taxes which this country can't afford. Who are incapable of living up to the ambitions of the Irish people.

"This history has shaped the values of ordinary Irish people - an abhorrence of injustice and poverty and a determination to assist the developing world. It is upon those very values that Fianna Fáil can now advance a new phase in Irish foreign policy. The first phase focused on securing sovereignty and its international recognition.

"The second phase focused on securing peace and prosperity on our island. But sovereignty and prosperity are ours now. We are amongst the most successful developed countries and through the Good Friday agreement the outstanding impediments to lasting peace are now ours to grasp.

"We turn now to the third phase - to a new policy active neutrality. Ireland as a bridge between the developed and developing world. A global leader in the fight against HIV, poverty and underdevelopment," he said.