Decommissioning (Hansard, 7 November 2001)

§ 6. Andy King
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the impact of General de Chastelain's recent report on decommissioning on the implementation of the Good Friday agreement. [10853]

§ 11. Mr. Hoyle
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the impact of General de Chastelain's recent report on decommissioning on the stability of democratic institutions in Northern Ireland. [10858]

§ 27. Mr. McCabe
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the impact of decommissioning on the permanence of devolved institutions in Northern Ireland. [10875]

§ Dr. John Reid
The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning's confirmation of the IRA's unprecedented act of decommissioning has facilitated the return of the UUP Ministers to the Northern Ireland Executive Committee and the re-election of the right hon. Member for Upper Bann (Mr. Trimble) as First Minister. As a result of these very positive developments, all of the political institutions should now be allowed to operate without impediment. The Government will in turn move ahead to implement the Weston Park package of proposals and its remaining commitments under the Belfast agreement.

§ 7. Mr. Andrew Turner
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what arrangements he will put in place to deal with decommissioning of illegally held arms after the expiry of the de Chastelain Commission. [10854]

§ Dr. John Reid
Only the period during which an amnesty may be provided expires in February next year, not the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning.
The political mandate for the IICD is in the Good Friday agreement—the total decommissioning of all paramilitary arms. We shall obviously consider the commission's statutory remit in the light of that and its advice on how best to achieve that key objective.

§ 9. Miss McIntosh
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made towards decommissioning. [10856]

§ Dr. John Reid
I welcome the recent report from the IICD verifying that the IRA has put a quantity of weaponry, including arms, ammunition and explosives completely beyond use. This is a significant development not only in terms of moving forward the decommissioning process but also in the context of the Good Friday agreement.
The commission also stated it would continue contact with the IRA representative in the pursuit of its mandate, the total decommissioning of arms.
All paramilitary groups should now build upon the progress that has been made on decommissioning and all should begin decommissioning too.

§ 15. Margaret Moran
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent measures have been taken to encourage paramilitary decommissioning in Northern Ireland. [10863]
274W

§ Dr. John Reid
Following the recent discussion at Weston Park, the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach presented to all the constitutional parties a comprehensive package of measures, which they considered fair and balanced, and invited all parties to accept that as a way of moving the process forward. Decommissioning was one part of that package.
Since then, the Prime Minister and I have been working with all the parties to bring about the right climate for change.

§ 17. Mr. Borrow
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the prospects for further decommissioning of illegally held weapons. [10865]

§ Dr. John Reid
The total decommissioning of paramilitary arms is the remit of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning.
The Government and all of the pro-agreement parties have said throughout the process that the details of the actual process should be left to the decommissioning commission.
In its recent report, the commission stated it would continue contact with the IRA in pursuit of that mandate.
It is hoped that further decommissioning events will take place in the future from both the IRA and also loyalist paramilitary groups.

§ Geraldine Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the impact of de Chastelain's recent report on decommissioning has been on the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. [10819]

§ Jane Kennedy
I refer my hon Friend to the statement I made to the House on Wednesday 24 October in which I stated my belief that following the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning's confirmation of the IRA's unprecedented act of decommissioning, the Belfast agreement should now be implemented in its entirety and all the political institutions allowed to operate without impediment.

§ Rev. Martin Smyth
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to extend the remit of the decommissioning body. [11991]

§ Jane Kennedy
The remit of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning remains as set out in the international agreement between this Government and the Government of the Republic of Ireland, dated 26 August 1997; and there are no plans to extend it.
The period during which an amnesty may be provided expires in February next year. However, the political mandate for the IICD as set out in the Good Friday agreement—the total decommissioning of all paramilitary arms—remains. We shall obviously consider the statutory position in light of that and the Commission's own advice on how best to fulfil that mandate.

§ Mr. Nicholas Winterton
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what specific reduced security measures have been enacted in Northern Ireland in response to the IRA's decision on 23 October to decommission. [11400]
275W

§ Jane Kennedy
On the basis of the Chief Constable's judgment that the IRA's decision to put a quantity of its arms completely beyond use represented a real improvement in the security situation, the Secretary of State announced that the following installations would be demolished:

the observation tower on Sturgan mountain and one of the observation towers on Camlough mountain in South Armagh:

the supersangar adjacent to the helicopter landing site at Newtownhamilton RUC Station: and

the Magherafelt Army base.

Work to demolish all four installations has already commenced and significant progress has been made.