Dermot Ahern must focus on North-South relations in a strategic manner, writes Tony Kennedy.
The new Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Ahern, has a tough act to follow. Brian Cowen worked diligently and patiently to secure the full implementation of the Belfast Agreement and he will deserve considerable credit for laying the groundwork for any agreement reached.
Dermot Ahern faces a different but no less important challenge as his decisions will set the trend in relations between Northern Ireland and the Republic for the future in (hopefully) more settled times.
How much cross-Border co-operation will he encourage? How much interaction between ordinary people will he support? How much thought and effort will he give to the promotion of understanding at community level? Will there be a temptation to regard the entire matter as "solved" and move on to other things? The decisions he makes will not just decide policy on Northern Ireland until the next election but will probably set it for the foreseeable future.
This debate is more important than might be realised. When the Treaty was signed in 1921, the British took the view that Ireland, North and South, was "solved". The result was that they virtually ignored Northern Ireland for the next half a century until the consequences of this lack of attention were brought home to them in 1969.
Ignorance of conditions on the ground not only left them unprepared for the outbreak of the Troubles but also left them unable to respond effectively.
Brian Cowen ended his long stint in the Department of Foreign Affairs on a very positive note. At a recent inter-governmental meeting, the British and Irish governments agreed to lobby the EU jointly to continue the Peace II programme supporting peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland beyond its current end-point of December 2004.
The decision is very encouraging as Peace II is one of the few programmes that focuses specifically on reconciliation as one of its major objectives. Demand for this is very high; when Peace II started, the measures specifically designated to support reconciliation were rapidly overwhelmed by the response.
Among the programmes that could benefit is one involving two groups in north Belfast and one in Monaghan. The north Belfast group, Ligoniel and Ballysillan Partnership, is the only cross-community empowerment partnership in the area. These groups now have a thriving cross-border and cross-community programme which brings together many different groups - young people, pensioners, community regeneration groups, women's groups among others - and tackling issues that affect them all.
To maximise the benefit from any continuation of Peace II, Mr Ahern needs to undertake a few simple measures. Firstly, the effort, North and South, to promote reconciliation needs a strategic, co-ordinated and inclusive approach. At present, funding is given out to various groups like those in north Belfast and Monaghan that are doing sound work but without an overall strategic focus.
There are also other groups, such as the major churches, which don't receive much funding but have shown a strong commitment to reconciliation through voluntary effort. All of these groups and the governments should be involved in the development of a strategic approach to the issue. At present there is much work being done to promote mutual understanding between individuals but not enough to develop this between societies (North and South) as a whole.
Moreover, Peace II, though welcome, only extends to Northern Ireland and the six border counties. There are groups throughout the rest of the Republic interested in playing a part that are receiving little assistance in their efforts. We should give unionists (and others) the opportunity to extend contacts throughout the Republic and visa versa.
The new Minister can give a lead in this area. The drafting of discussion documents like A Shared Future at least shows some thought is being put into the issue and that, in Government circles, community relations is being seen as an issue that has to be dealt with separately from political developments (though influenced by them).
Finally, in agreeing a joint effort to promote better North-South and cross-community relations, a formula for evaluating how successful we are in achieving these objectives should be worked out. Every project in receipt of Peace II money or other funding should be required to prove its effectiveness in advancing these objectives.
The new Minister for Foreign Affairs faces a large responsibility. If he doesn't make any serious effort to build further North-South relations it is hard to see future ministers devoting any more time to it. The signs are positive, however.
During his time as minister for communications, Mr Ahern was an enthusiastic supporter of the Dunfield initiative, which brought together Dundalk and Linfield Football Clubs (another project assisted by Peace II). He has also been involved in the British-Irish Inter-parliamentary Body.
If, as Minister for Foreign Affairs, he continues this interest and encourages greater North-South contact and understanding in these and other fields, then the foundations for a more secure peace will have been built.
Tony Kennedy OBE is chief executive of Co-operation Ireland.