UDA decommissioning welcomed

Taoiseach Brian Cowen, President Mary McAleese and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin today welcomed the announcement that the North's biggest loyalist paramilitary group has decommissioned all weapons.

Officially, the Ulster Defence Association had until next month to destroy its guns.

The move was facilitated by an independent body.

President McAleese said it was a positive milestone on the journey to peace.

“The decommissioning of weapons by the UDA, which follows a similar move on the part of the UVF last year, is further testimony to the reality that we are witnessing the deconstruction of a culture of paramilitarism in Northern Ireland and that it is being replaced by a culture of consensus, democracy and good neighbourliness.

“This is a deeply important and welcome development in terms of consolidating the new beginning heralded in the Good Friday Agreement and the St Andrews Agreement.

Mr Cowen said: “Taken together with the completion of decommissioning by the IRA and the UVF, it is a clear signal that Northern Ireland has moved on and that the democratic institutions established by the Good Friday Agreement are the means through which the entire community in Northern Ireland, and the people of these islands, can and will build lasting peace and prosperity.”

Minister Martin said it was an "important day" for the people of the North.

"I would like to express the Government’s appreciation to the loyalist leadership and all those who contributed to the courageous work which facilitated this decision for peace," the Minister said in a statement.

"This is a statement of confidence in the political process and in the devolved institutions, one which moves us closer to that genuinely shared future for which so many have worked over decades.

"Another obstacle to dialogue and partnership has been removed."