<HTML><PRE>Subj:	Fwd: News 01/12/98 2258 CST - New N.Ireland Peace Map
Date:	98-01-13 01:14:58 EST
From:	Buni1957
To:	DeeMcA, RedAxe66, Love irela, Connemara7
To:	FenianBoyo, JustaLocal
CC:	sean@cafes.net, haavar75@hotmail.com


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Forwarded Message: 
Subj:	 News 01/12/98 2258 CST - New N.Ireland Peace Map
Date:	98-01-13 00:06:07 EST
From:	jdooling@worldnet.att.net (Jay Dooling)
Sender:	owner-ireland_list@email.rutgers.edu
Reply-to:	jdooling@worldnet.att.net
To:	jdooling@worldnet.att.net (Ireland News)


News from the Wire Services Re: Ireland & the Irish

RT 01/12/98 21:43 Clinton Welcomes Proposals On NIreland
PA 01/12/98 18:35 Man `Shot By Police During Robbery Bid'
DJ 01/12/98 18:31 Joint Plan Plan Would Create New As
RT 01/12/98 18:30 London, Dublin Draw New N.Ireland Peace Map
OT 01/12/98 16:47 Transcript Of White House Briefing By Mike
PA 01/12/98 16:29 Minister Stresses Need For Anti-Terror Powers
RT 01/12/98 15:33 Ireland To Up Car Tax To Pay For Minor Roads
PA 01/12/98 15:07 Talks: British-Irish Government Statement

                 ******************************

		 Clinton Welcomes Proposals On Northern Ireland

RTw  01/12/98 21:43   

Copyright 1998 Reuters Ltd
 
    WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - President Bill Clinton on 
Monday welcomed proposals mapped out by Britain and Ireland to 
end years of Northern Irish strife, the White House said.
     "The president welcomed the initiative of the Irish and 
British governments to present 'Propositions for Heads 
of Agreement' aimed at moving the Northern Ireland peace talks 
process forward," the White House said in a brief 
statement.
     "The president encouraged the participants in the talks, 
who have the responsibility to shape the substance of a peace 
settlement, to seize the moment and begin negotiating details 
of an agreement," the two-sentence statement, issued in the 
name of White House spokesman Mike McCurry, added.
     Earlier on Monday, Britain and Ireland mapped out far-
reaching proposals to resolve the Northern Irish conflict 
and revamp the province's struggling peace process, officials 
said.
     The two governments proposed a new intergovernmental pact, 
an elected Northern Ireland assembly and an all-Ireland 
ministerial council.
     The proposals, which politicians from Protestant and 
Catholic parties will discuss further on Tuesday, also 
envisage changes to the Irish Republic's constitutional claims 
over Northern Ireland and to the legislation by which London 
rules the province.
     The initiative, which was presented in a paper entitled 
"Propositions on Heads of Agreement," was seen as bringing a 
fresh burst of life to the peace process after a somber period 
during which guerrilla killings strained peace efforts.
     Political analysts said the proposals would now form a 
fresh agenda as the often fractious talks begin a 
countdown to a May target set by London and Dublin for an 
agreed solution.
     The Northern Ireland conflict pits the Irish Republican 
Army and others who wish to end British rule of the 
province against Protestant Loyalists who want to remain part 
of Britain. REUTERS

                 ******************************

		Man `Shot By Police During Robbery Bid'

PA   01/12/98 18:35   

Copyright 1998 PA News

  By Chris Parkin, PA News

   A man was shot and injured by a police detective during the 
attempted robbery of a shop near the centre of Dublin tonight.
   After the incident, Irish police Commissioner Pat Byrne 
appointed a senior officer to investigate the shooting.
   It happened when detectives surprised raiders armed with 
knives who were making their get-away after holding 
up staff at the shop. There was a struggle and shots were 
fired.
   The injured man, who was hit in the chest and leg, was 
critically ill in hospital tonight. He was found lying in the 
nearby grounds of Dublin's Trinity College university, and a 
second man was arrested a short distance away.

                 ******************************

	 Britain/Ireland/Joint Plan -2:Plan Would Create New As

DJ   01/12/98 18:31   

  The new plan envisions carefully balanced reforms that keep 
Northern Ireland firmly tied to Britain, hand responsibility 
back to local politicians and expand the north's relationship 
with the Irish Republic. 
  Those moves include: 
  - A new Northern Ireland lawmaking assembly to "ensure that 
all sections of the community can participate and work together 
successfully." 
  - A bill of rights to secure "equity of treatment and freedom 
from discrimination, and the cultural identity and ethos 
of both (Catholic and Protestant) communities." 
  - A new North-South Ministerial Council to bring together 
lawmakers from both parts of Ireland to "consult, cooperate and 
take decisions on matters of mutual interest." The council 
would be accountable to the Belfast and Dublin legislatures. 
  - A new council to bring together lawmakers from London, 
Dublin, Belfast and new legislatures approved last year by 
voters in Scotland and Wales, "with meetings twice a year at 
summit level." 
  Negotiations resume Tuesday with the parties offering their 
responses. 
  David Trimble, Protestant leader of the north's biggest 
party, the Ulster Unionists, welcomed most of the suggestions 
and said they would ensure Northern Ireland's continued union 
with Britain. 
  John Hume, moderate Catholic leader of the Social Democratic 
and Labor Party, said the governments had outlined "a very 
welcome beginning, in which we would be leaving the past behind 
us and building a new future together." 
  Significantly, Trimble and Hume stood together for TV 
interviews at Stormont, the negotiating venue and center of 
British administration in east Belfast. Trimble vigorously 
nodded his approval as Hume said the governments were promoting 
"a healing process." 
  Sinn Fein chairman Mitchel McLaughlin said he was at least 
glad to see the governments take charge, because "it finally 
gets people talking about matters of substance." But he 
asserted that most Irish people wanted the 77-year-old border 
dividing Ireland to disappear. 
  (END) DOW JONES NEWS  01-12-98
  06:31 PM

Copyright 1998 Dow Jones & Co., Inc.  All rights reserved.

                 ******************************

		  London, Dublin Draw New N.Ireland Peace Map

RTw  01/12/98 18:30   

Copyright 1998 Reuters Ltd

  (Recasts with text details; adds quotes)
     By Martin Cowley

     BELFAST, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Britain and Ireland on Monday 
unveiled far-reaching proposals for ending years of Northern 
Irish strife.
     Injecting new verve into sluggish multi-party talks, they 
proposed a new intergovernmental pact, an elected Northern 
Ireland assembly and an all-Ireland ministerial council.
     The proposals, which politicians from Protestant and 
Catholic parties will discuss further on Tuesday, also 
envisage changes to the Irish republic's constitutional claims 
over Northern Ireland and to the legislation by which 
London rules the province.
     "It is a road map to agreement," Irish Foreign Minister 
David Andrews told a news conference after the proposals 
received a cautious welcome from the main Protestant and 
Catholic political parties, the Ulster Unionists and the Social 
Democratic and Labour Party.
     "This breakthrough offers a new basis for discussion that 
both governments hope will enable progress..." said Mo Mowlam, 
Britain's minister for the province.
     The initiative was viewed as bringing a fresh burst of 
life to the peace process after a sombre period when 
guerrilla killings had put strain on the peace process.
     Political analysts said the proposals would now form a 
fresh agenda as the often fractious talks begin a countdown to 
a May target set by London and Dublin for an agreed solution.
     "These propositions are a basis for discussion, which we 
hope could help the talks participants move towards agreement," 
the governments said in a joint statement.
     "The possible propositions we have tabled represent our 
best guess at what could be a generally acceptable outcome," 
the statement added.
     The paper, entitled "Propositions on Heads of Agreement," 
was published hours after the resumption of the multi-party 
talks following a Christmas recess.
     The document proposed a new "British-Irish Agreement" to 
replace the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, an accord which 
Protestant pro-British parties have always railed against. They 
said it gave Dublin an unwarranted say in day to day running of 
the British province.
     A new agreement would provide for an "intergovernmental 
council" composed of representatives from the two governments, 
the Northern Ireland assembly, and devolved parliaments such as 
Britain is planning for Scotland and Wales.
     A "North-South Ministerial Council" would take decisions 
on matters of mutual interest between both parts of the island 
and be accountable to the Belfast assembly and the Irish 
parliament.
     Political analysts said the propositions mirror schemes 
outlined in a 1995 "framework document" in which London and 
Dublin mapped out their vision of how the rival communities 
might reach an accommodation of their conflicting national 
loyalties.
     David Trimble, head of the powerful Protestant Ulster 
Unionist Party, which says it is in the talks to bolster 
British rule, said there was nothing in the paper that 
"obstructs or flatly contradicts the sort of outcome towards 
which we are working."
     Mitchel McLaughlin, chairman of Sinn Fein, the political 
arm of the outlawed Irish Republican Army, which is operating a 
ceasefire in a war on British rule, said it was too early to 
talk in terms of a welcome but said his groups would give the 
proposals careful study. REUTERS

                 ******************************

	  Transcript Of White House Press Briefing By Mike ...

OTC  01/12/98 16:47   

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is a 
transcript of a  White House press briefing held today by Press 
Secretary Mike McCurry  (Part 3 of 5): 

   Q Mike, the Northern Ireland peace talks resume today in  
Belfast.  Do you think they have any chance of success given 
the recent  violence there?  And secondly, do you foresee any 
direct U.S.  involvement in the talks in the weeks and months 
ahead? 
   MR. MCCURRY: Well, do I see any prospect for success?  Yes,  
because the peoples of Ireland are so manifestly committed to 
peace and  are so upset about the tragic return to violence 
that they've seen.  At  the same time that there has been 
violence and there's been a return to  the kind of troubles 
that people in both families lament, there has  also been very 
determined work by the government of the U.K. and the  Republic 
of Ireland to advance common thinking about how progress can  
be made at Stormont.  And the United States government applauds 
the  work that both governments are doing to table a proposal.  
We think  that that demonstrates the seriousness of purpose 
with which they take  the talks, and we encourage the parties 
themselves to make best use of  this inclusive process to 
address the issues that members in all sects  face.  (more, 
more) 
    Copyright 1998

                 ******************************

	  Minister Stresses Need For Ulster Anti-Terror Powers

PA   01/12/98 16:29   

Copyright 1998 PA News

  By Gabrielle Fagan, Lords Staff, PA News
   The Government would not be "soft" on terrorism and would 
ensure the Northern Ireland security services could deal 
robustly with terrorists, junior Ulster minister Lord Dubs 
insisted today.
   He was speaking before peers gave the Northern Ireland 
(Emergency Provisions) Bill a second reading without 
a vote, according to the custom of the Lords. It has already 
cleared the Commons.
   The measure renews and amends Ulster emergency powers to 
combat terrorism, pending the introduction of UK-wide anti-
terrorism legislation, and includes controversial provisions 
scrapping internment powers.
   Lord Dubs said the Government wanted to ensure the right 
balance "so that we do have the powers to deal with 
terrorists who still exist in Northern Ireland and still kill 
and murder and maim, while at the same time moving just 
a bit more towards democracy, towards the principles of 
democracy, some of which have been slightly weakened 
over the years".
   He added: "We want to make Northern Ireland as normal as 
possible and as near to other parts of the UK as possible."
   Defending the removal of interment powers from the statute 
book, Lord Dubs said detention without trial had not worked.
   It was a "process which was against the rule of law and a 
process that undermines democratic principles".
   He praised Northern Ireland Secretary Marjorie Mowlam's 
visit to the Maze prison as the right decision and said 
the resumption of the Ulster peace talks supported that 
decision.
   Lord Cope, for the Opposition, gave qualified support for 
the Bill but said the problem with talking to prisoners in the 
Maze was that it "built up" the role of convicted terrorists in 
the peace process.

                 ******************************

	   Ireland Plans To Up Car Tax To Pay For Minor Roads

RTw  01/12/98 15:33   

Copyright 1998 Reuters Ltd
 
    DUBLIN, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Irish motorists face a six 
percent rise in car tax by the start of 1999 under a new 
plan to increase local government funding by 125 million Irish 
pounds ($170 million), a government report said on 
Monday.
     Under the new plan to be funded by the government and 
motor taxation, money raised from car taxes would for 
the first time be used exclusively for building and maintaining 
minor roads.
     The Minister for the Environment and Local Government Noel 
Dempsey said he planned to create a 590 million Irish pound 
fund that would be made available for local governments to use 
from the start of next year.
     Dempsey said the government would put up 270 million punts 
and the rest would be raised through two three percent 
increases in car tax, the first on approval of the legislation 
and the second at the start of next year.
     It would also guarantee that the government's annual 
contribution to the fund would stay in line with inflation.
     "A clear link is now being created between motor tax and 
spending on the upkeep of the road network - all State 
expenditure on non-national roads will be fully financed from 
motor tax," Dempsey said.
     The new taxes would increase the cost of a tax on the 
family car to just over 260 punts from 247, a Local Government 
Ministry spokesman said.
     The minister said local business would benefit from the 
improved infrastructure and the money would give local 
government more scope to respond to local issues.
     "Money talks, and what is being announced today speaks 
loudly of the government's commitment to local government," 
Dempsey said.
   ($ - 0.732 Irish Pounds)

                 ******************************

		   Talks: British-Irish Government Statement

PA   01/12/98 15:07   

Copyright 1998 PA News

  Here is the text of the joint statement made by the British 
and Irish governments tonight:
   "1. The British and Irish governments have been working 
intensively over the Christmas break on the paper presented 
today. The title of the paper -- Propositions on Heads of 
Agreement -- accurately conveys both our intentions and the 
scope of the paper. First of all, what we have set down are 
propositions for debate and discussion. Secondly, the various 
elements, taken together, offer only the outline of an 
acceptable agreement. As can quickly be seen, these are not 
detailed proposals. Even if consensus were to be reached that 
they constituted a satisfactory package, a great deal of work 
would still be necessary.
   "2. These propositions are a basis for discussion, which we 
hope could help the talks' participants move towards agreement. 
They have been tabled on our behalf by the chairman, Senator 
Mitchell. There will be an opportunity to discuss the 
propositions at a meeting of the talks' participants tomorrow 
afternoon.
   "3. The point has already been made about the difficulty of 
finding a generally satisfactory way of tabling proposals. But 
those in government have a duty -- especially in current 
circumstances -- to take whatever steps are necessary to 
promote substantive political progress.
   "4. A second, crucial, point is that these propositions, 
while in the name of the two governments, derive in a very 
real sense from the views of all parties on the various issues 
which arise in the talks -- expressed both in bilateral 
meetings and in the round table discussions which have taken 
place. The possible propositions we have tabled represent our 
best guess at what could be a generally acceptable outcome.
   "5. The two governments do not have a problem in clarifying 
certain matters, for example:
   "Constitutional change will include changes to Articles 2 
and 3 of the Irish Constitution and to Section 75 of the 
Government of Ireland Act 1920 and; the new British Irish 
Agreement will embrace both the intergovernmental Council and 
the North/South Ministerial Council, which will operate 
independently in their designated areas of responsibility.
   "And with acknowledging that matters not directly referred 
to in the paper will be dealt with where it makes sense, for 
example:
   "Issues where harmonising or cross-border action is 
appropriate will be dealt with on that basis.
   "The governments wish to make clear that the position and 
sensitivities of the victims of violence are fully acknowledged 
and will continue to be taken into account where appropriate.
   "6. The propositions need to be elucidated in detailed 
discussions before parties can assess the overall impact 
of the proposals. We hope a discussion of the possible 
propositions will help participants collectively to generate 
a broad understanding of the key elements of a settlement and 
of the balances which need to be struck between those elements, 
and thus make it easier to engage in tough detailed 
negotiations on specific aspects of it. What we ask is that we 
now proceed to the detail and all parties make their judgment 
then."
 
-------
Jay Dooling (jdooling@worldnet.att.net)
Irish Aires - 90.1FM KPFT in Houston
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Irish_Aires/homepage.htm
Dooling & Mabe, CPA 
http://www.doolingmabe-cpa.com/
-------------
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