The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr O'Donoghue, said persons who may be convicted in connection with the murder of Det Garda Jerry McCabe would not come within the ambit of the agreement concerning the release of prisoners.

The Minister said the manner in which the issue of prisoners had been dealt with in the agreement had attracted much media comment already.

The reality was that the agreement would not provide a basis for a settlement of the Northern Ireland conflict and a fresh start unless the issue of prisoners was addressed. Let there be no mistake about it.

This Government, along with its predecessors, had sought to underpin the peace process and the Provisional IRA ceasefire by granting early release to prisoners.

The agreement provided that both governments would put in place mechanisms to provide for an accelerated programme for the release of prisoners convicted of offences with the Northern Ireland situation.

That would be by way of a review process.

It would be necessary to facilitate the release of as many prisoners as possible who were affiliated to organisations which had established and were maintaining ceasefires in the period ahead.

"While emphasising that I will not speculate about the implications of the agreement for individual cases, I feel it right that I should comment on one, and only one case, that is the case of those facing charges arising from the murder of Det Garda Jerry McCabe, which has been the subject of certain recent media speculation.

"While obviously it would be inappropriate for me to comment in detail on any case pending before the courts, the Government has made it clear in its contacts with all groups its view that persons who may be convicted in connection with this murder will not come within the ambit of the agreement," the Minister stated.

On decommissioning, the Minister said he welcomed the fact that the agreement recognised that a resolution of the decommissioning issue remained an indispensable part of the process and committed the participants to the total disarmament of paramilitary organisations.

The participants had also confirmed their intention to work constructively and in good faith to achieve decommissioning of all paramilitary arms within a period of two years following endorsement of the agreement in the context of the implementation of the overall settlement.

"The decommissioning of illegally held arms would send a powerful signal that the agreement represents the new beginning that we all hope it will be," he said.

Progress on decommissioning would also play a very important role in building up the trust, which would be vital to making the institutions and arrangements provided for in the agreement work effectively for the good of all the people of Ireland.

He said that as Minister for Justice he welcomed the decision to establish a Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland as part of the agreement.

He also welcomed the fact that the agreement recognised that the development of a peaceful environment could and should mean a normalisation of security arrangements and practices.

They had, in the weeks leading up to the agreement, however, seen attempts by groups on both sides opposed to the negotiation process to subvert it by the recourse to violence.

It was possible that those groups would continue to ignore the will of the people and continue to have recourse to violence in an attempt to frustrate the agreement.

"I want to assure the House that the Government will ensure that the gardai have the resources necessary to act decisively against any such organisations," the Minister said.

He said he would commend the agreement which, if implemented in the spirit in which it was negotiated, could open a new chapter in our history.