Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern welcomed a suggestion by Labour spokesman Michael D Higgins that a secretariat be established to oversee the Middle East peace process.
Mr Higgins suggested the secretariat be established to "solve the road map". He said the fact that there was continuity and a continuing interest from the major participants in the Northern Ireland peace process, was invaluable.
"It is one of the singular features of the road map proposals that it lacks such."
Mr Ahern, who was answering questions on his recent visit to the Middle East, said it was an "interesting idea", but he was not certain if those involved in the Quartet would be interested in putting it together.
"Those of us in the EU and in Ireland are underwhelmed by the progress of the Quartet with regard to this. We have exhorted our EU colleagues to be extremely vigilant from now on with regard to a reinvigoration of the Quartet process, which includes the tripartite talks taking place later this month."
Mr Ahern said he had a sense that in Israel and Palestine there was now a better understanding. "Those people are now talking to each other on a constant basis and this is progress."
Mr Higgins said there had been a destruction of Bethlehem's economy on foot of the wall, which the International Court of Justice had condemned. He asked if Mr Ahern condemned the wall and its effects on the communities surrounding Bethlehem, Beth Sahour and Beth Jala.
Mr Ahern said he roundly condemned the wall and had done so in the House many times. "I saw for myself how it is being expanded even since my previous visit. I visited a school in Bethlehem and saw for myself the difficulties that young people encountered in their schooling."
Mr Higgins said that in regard to East Jerusalem, it would have been valuable if the EU had held off a confrontation with the Hamas government.
"Would it not have been valuable if more attention had been paid to the expansion of settlements beyond East Jerusalem? The housing permissions, granted illegally, totally exceed the number of people who withdrew from Gaza, and at the same time in the occupied territory there is widespread demolition of Palestinian homes."
Mr Ahern said he had made the point strongly that if the proposal for the E1 complex in East Jerusalem proceeded [ plan to house Jews in traditional Arab area], it would effectively mean the end of a two-state solution.
He said he had sensed a feeling that the coming months offered a final chance to try to come to some understanding as to what was meant by a two-state solution. "The feeling within the general Arab community was one of abhorrence that Arabs were fighting Arabs."
Asked by Fine Gael's Bernard Durkan if there was a recognition that the present impasse could not continue indefinitely, Mr Ahern said the general feeling was that, while the situation was difficult, there was a window of opportunity between now and at least the end of the year.
"I was in the region when the Quartet was meeting last Friday in Washington. It gave strong support to the efforts to have tripartite talks which, President Abbas informed me, are due to be held on February 20th when Condoleezza Rice travels back to the region."
