Mr. Philip Dunne (Ludlow) (Con) : What estimate he has made of the quantities of arms and explosives put beyond use by the Provisional IRA in each of the acts of decommissioning that took place between October 2001 and September 2005. [64528]
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Peter Hain): In September last year, the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning witnessed a momentous act of decommissioning, and declared in January that "all the arms under the IRA's control were decommissioned in September", under its supervision. The 10th report of the Independent Monitoring Commission published earlier today states that any weapons reported as having been retained
"would have been withheld under local control despite the instructions of the leadership".
It goes on to say that
"the amount of un-surrendered material was not significant in comparison to what was decommissioned."
Mr. Dunne: What reassurances can the Secretary of State give that renegade paramilitary groups will also get involved in decommissioning? And what guidance can he give to this House that those who are complying will provide information to the police on those renegade groups?
Mr. Hain: I assume that the hon. Gentleman is not talking about the Continuity IRA or the Real IRA. Those dissident groups are still a problem, as we saw when CIRA members planted a bomb in Lurgan only the other week. I assume that he is talking about IRA members who may not be in full compliance with the leadership's line. I invite him to read the IMC report, which states that
"the leadership is engaged in a challenging task in ensuring full compliance with this strategy",
which is the strategy of democratic politics and a peaceful objective.
We must look at the IMC report in the context of what has been a positive and historic change. We should welcome the finding by the IMC, which is a respected independent body, that the IRA has abandoned its previous activities of violence, paramilitary action and terrorism.
