Can the Minister confirm this morning's report in The Irish Times that there will be a meeting of the Inter-Governmental Conference within the next few days? If so, can the Minister say if the conference will deal with the recent spate of attacks on homes, churches and schools in the Nationalist area? Will the Minister state generally when action can be expected on some of the major grievances of the Nationalist population?

I said in my original reply that it has not been customary for security reasons to provide details in advance in relation to the timing and venue of the meetings of the conference. I am extremely concerned about the sectarian attacks on some members of the Nationalist community in the North of Ireland and at the "bully boy" terrorist attacks on the homes of some RUC men who are doing their job in protecting Nationalist areas. My concern about those has been conveyed to the authorities. Anything we can do politically to bring about a diminution of these attacks will be done. In the meantime the security forces in the North of Ireland must ensure that the RUC officers whose homes are being attacked and Nationalist churches and play schools which are also being attacked are protected and the attacks stopped.

Is the Minister aware of the growing perception that the Inter-Governmental Conference is achieving very little, that the Deputy Leader of the SDLP has spoken of growing impatience, while the Deputy Leader of the DUP has called the conference an impotent structure? Would the Minister care to comment?

I listened very carefully to what was said by the Deputy Leader of the SDLP on radio on Sunday and I could not argue with anything he said in that regard. He indicated that Nationalists welcome the Anglo-Irish Agreement and welcome the fact that the secretariat has been established in Belfast and that the conference is meeting regularly. There are indications that work is being done in areas of concern to the Nationalist community but obviously he would like to see, as I would, tangible, positive results. There are areas which have been a cause of concern to Nationalists in the North of Ireland not for the past five months or 50 months or five years but for over 50 years and these problems cannot be resolved quickly or easily. They need some discussion. He, as I, would wish to see that discussion takes place as quickly as possible. Deputy Collins says that the Deputy Leader of the DUP has said that the conference is impotent. His rhetoric and the encouragement I believe he gives to men of violence would not lead one to believe that he considers it unimportant or impotent in any regard.