I am delighted to attend today's event at Westminster which I regard as fitting acknowledgment of the mature and positive relationship between Ireland and Britain.
In attending, I wish to particularly note the contribution to this achievement by my predecessors as leaders of the Fine Gael party.
Both in government and opposition, my party has always put the national interest first in pursuit of a lasting peace settlement on this island, and we have adopted a bipartisan approach in supporting all efforts to achieve this end.
Fine Gael taoisigh have been centrally involved in several of the key steps which culminated in the Good Friday agreement.
The Sunningdale Agreement, negotiated by Liam Cosgrave, set down many of the core principles which underpin the current powersharing structures.
The Anglo-Irish Agreement brokered by Garret FitzGerald's government gave this State a formal role in relation to Northern Ireland for the first time ever.
More recently, the rainbow government, led by John Bruton, in which Pat Rabbitte and I served, negotiated the Framework Document which set down the ground rules for the Good Friday agreement talks.
Since my time as a member of the New Ireland Forum in the 1980s, I have taken a strong interest in the peace process.
I am very happy that Fine Gael's core principles of consent, inclusive powersharing and the rejection of violent means are now accepted by all parties.
Today's events at Westminster are recognition of the efforts of many government leaders, including the outgoing British prime minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, as well as Northern Ireland's politicians, past and present.
I look forward to working as taoiseach with the incoming British prime minister and the new Northern Executive to build on these achievements by realising the full potential of the peace settlement and deepening further the Anglo-Irish relationship.