The Belfast Agreement should be understood not as a solution to Northern Ireland's problems, but as creating a space in which to move forward, the former Northern Secretary, Lord Rees, has said.
On a visit to Dublin as part of a British-Irish Parliamentary Body delegation, Lord Rees said if unionists thought they had difficulties accepting the agreement, they should reflect that there were worse experiences in Irish history. "If they have problems, look what happened in 1922 to some of those who were involved in that agreement."
He said that within weeks of taking over as Northern Secretary in 1974, he knew Sunning dale's Council of Ireland would not be accepted by the North's majority community. The balance of the North-South relationship in the Belfast Agreement was better, and many other things had changed, he said.
"There's been another 20 years of violence in the meantime, but also the whole economic background has changed and, above all, people have changed."
Lord Rees was speaking in the High School, Dublin, where he was taking part in a fact-finding visit on the experience of interdenominational education, North and South.
Other members of the group included the parliamentary secretary to Britain's education minister, Ms Jean Corston MP, Mr Roger Stott MP, and Ms Marian McGennis TD.
