There can be no agreement in the peace process unless there are changes in Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution, the former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Dick Spring, told the Dail. The Labour party leader asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, to accept that it was "a matter of fact" that there would be no agreement with the leadership of the unionist community unless there were changes in Articles 2 and 3.

Mr Andrews said he did not want to "give a direct answer to that question" because he wanted to "be fair to the peace process" and to the "delicacies and sensitivities" of the situation.

"There is no doubt that unionists see Articles 2 and 3 in a very serious light and they take every opportunity to remind us of the significance of the presence of Articles 2 and 3 in our Constitution," he said.

"But to be fair to the peace process, to negotiations and to delicacies and sensitivities presently, I wouldn't want to give a direct answer to that question."

Mr Andrews was responding during Question Time to concerns about his comments last month during the talks at Stormont. Unionists walked out during the talks on October 20th and the Ulster Unionist Party's security spokesman, Mr Ken Maginnis, described the Minister as having a "macho aggressive attitude".

The Minister said he was "shocked and perplexed and horrified" at the description. "I say with all humility - could anybody ever imagine me as a macho or as an aggressive person." It left him quite confused because "it was a description I never felt would sit well with me".

He added that there may have been "some misunderstanding about what I said and I hadn't finished what I intended saying when they walked out". He told deputies that "happily they came in again. Happily I've had a bilateral previous to that situation with Mr (David) Trimble and happily and hopefully I'll be meeting Mr Trimble next week when I ask for a further bilateral with him".

He restated to the Dail his comments in October about Articles 2 and 3, which aspire to unity and make a territorial claim on Northern Ireland.

"As negotiations progress, we will discuss proposals for change in the Irish Constitution as part both of balanced constitutional change and of an overall agreement." The achievement of such an agreement "is what we are now about and all items are, of course, on the table as of now, including balanced constitutional change", he said.

Unionists' "sincerely held views" and concerns about Articles 2 and 3 "are mirrored by the deep significance of these articles for the identity of the nationalist community", he told deputies. "If we are to reach an honourable agreement, both of these realities must be addressed together or, as Seamus Mallon (deputy leader of the SDLP) has put it, what is needed are arrangements to ensure `equality of allegiance'."

The Minister said "equality of allegiance" meant "that everything is open for discussion, that the totality of relationships are open for discussion, that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, that everybody's loyalties would be seen in the proper context, that due respect is given to both nationalist and unionist positions".

The Democratic Left leader, Mr Proinsias De Rossa asked would "equality of allegiance" be enshrined in the Irish Constitution and in British statute. The Minister replied: "It is too early at this stage to give an indication of what the final outcome will be."

He added that "everything is open for discussion and nothing is excluded, but to anticipate what might be said by way of amendment to Articles 2 and 3 or to the Government of Ireland Act of 1920 at this stage would be the wrong direction to go".

Earlier, Mr De Rossa, asked the Taoiseach if Articles 2 and 3 had been referred to in his meeting last month with the Northern Ireland Minister for Political Development, Mr Paul Murphy. He asked Mr Ahern if it had been made clear that the position of the previous and current Irish governments was that there would be discussion of them in the negotiations relating to balanced constitutional change.

"I ask this particularly in the light of the subsequent confusion that arose some days later over a remark by the Minister for Foreign Affairs on this matter," Mr De Rossa added.

The Taoiseach said Mr Andrews had subsequently clarified the matter within the talks. The discussions had ranged over the three strands, the progress achieved to date, and where the talks were going this side of Christmas.

"We are also, together, determined in whatever way we can to move the process forward this side of Christmas," he added.