§ Lord Tebbitasked Her Majesty's Government:
In what manner Parliament was consulted on the terms of the recent Northern Ireland Agreement before it was signed on behalf of the Government. [HL1642]
§ Lord DubsThe all party negotiations, in which Her Majesty's Government was a participant, were conducted on a confidential basis until an outcome which gained sufficient consensus was reached on 10 April. Under paragraph 26 of theGround Rules for Substantive All Party Negotiations published on 16 April 1996, both Governments respectively reaffirmed their intention that any agreed outcome from the negotiations would be submitted for public approval by referendums in Ireland—North and South—before being submitted to their respective Parliaments for ratification and the earliest possible implementation. On 22 April both Houses of Parliament approved the Northern Ireland Negotiations (Referendum) Order 1998 to permit such a referendum to take place on 22 May.