I completely reject the view that the present difficulties in the peace process will be solved by threatening the stability of the political institutions, says the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern.
I know the value of personally engaging with my colleagues and partners through the institutions of the agreement. Since Prime Minister Tony Blair and I met the pro-Agreement parties in Hillsborough on July 4th, we have seen a relatively uneventful marching season and the IRA offering a welcome statement of apology and acknowledgement of the grief and pain of the relatives of their victims.
Despite these positive developments, there seems to be a lack of confidence within the unionist community that the Good Friday agreement is delivering on its promise - in particular the transition from paramilitarism to peace and democracy.
In addressing this problem, any fair-minded observer must also acknowledge the great gains made under the agreement - balanced constitutional change, new political institutions, substantial reform in policing and criminal justice, strong provisions for equality and human rights, decommissioning of illegal arms and welcome progress on the normalisation of security arrangements.
As President Bush said on Wednesday, the agreement remains the blueprint for peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland.
Nevertheless, I am not complacent. Despite all the encouraging progress, I am very conscious that there are still outstanding issues that must be addressed.
The violence on the streets of Belfast and elsewhere - grimly reflected in the appalling sectarian attacks in north Belfast last weekend and the vicious murder of young Gerard Lawlor by the UFF - clearly demonstrates that the goal of a wholly peaceful and democratic society has not yet been achieved.
Prime Minister Blair has outlined his government's position to the House of Commons. I fully share his view that the required transition from paramilitarism to peace and democracy cannot be allowed to stall. That transition must be - and be seen to be - progressive and irreversible.
However, the clear need for further progress does not detract from the contributions made by the cease-fires nor the significance of two acts of decommissioning by the IRA. Far from degrading these confidence-building steps, we need now to build on them. There is no acceptable level of paramilitary violence or sectarian aggression. There must be no tolerance shown to those who, motivated by sectarian hatred, murderously target innocent people on the spurious grounds of self-defence.
I believe they should be robustly addressed in the law and order context in which these attacks occur. That is why it is vitally important that the vision of the Patten Report - of an effective and impartial police service enjoying the support of both communities - continues to be made an operational reality on the streets of Northern Ireland.
I completely reject the view that the present difficulties in the peace process will be solved by threatening the stability of the political institutions.
These institutions - the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive, the North/South Ministerial Council and the British-Irish Council - are the life-blood of the agreement.
Endangering their operation will contribute nothing to achieving the long-term stability and security on the ground we all wish to see.
From direct experience, I know the value of personally engaging with my colleagues and partners through the institutions of the agreement, either at meetings of the North/South Ministerial Council or the British-Irish Council.
To allow that developing network of partnership become hostage to the negative agenda of those who always conspired to wreck it would be a cruel irony.
I BELIEVE that it is only through all the pro-agreement parties working together that we can fulfil the promise of the Good Friday agreement, including the transition from paramilitarism to peace and democracy.
The existing deficits of confidence need to be addressed by all of us giving the required confidence to each other to move forward together. It is also vitally important that, when confidence building steps are taken by one side, they are at least acknowledged by the other.
As Ambassador Haass said last week, we all need to start talking about the glass being half full rather than half empty.
Division and argument between those who had the courage to commit to the agreement only assists those who, from the outset, sought to wreck it.
Now is the time for a continued resolve to achieve the complete transition from violence to democracy that the agreement envisaged and to sustain a political process that will best deliver that outcome.