Northern Ireland devolution process: press conference with leaders

Northern Ireland devolution process: press conference with leaders; NORTHERN IRELAND: County Down: Hillsborough Castle: INT*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***Gordon Brown MP (Prime Minister), Peter Robinson MP MLA (First Minister of Northern Ireland), Martin McGuinness MP MLA (Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland) and Brian Cowen TD (Taoiseach of Ireland) along into room for presserGordon Brown MP (Prime Minister) press conference SOT- Ladies and Gentlemen, the pathway to peace began in Northern Ireland with the Good Friday agreement, and was taken onwards at St Andrews. But this momentous journey, from division to dialogue, from conflict to cooperation, could be successfully brought to a conclusion only when Northern Ireland parties agreed to complete the devolution of policing and justice.- So today, with the agreement of the parties to have a cross-community vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly on March 9th, and an agreement of the parties to a transfer of power - the transfer to devolution of policing and justice on April 12th - we are closing the last chapter of a long and troubled story, and we are opening a new chapter for Northern Ireland.- Let it be said in times to come that after decades of violence, years of talks, weeks of stalemate, this is the day we have secured the future: a lasting peace; power being where it should be, in the hands of the people of Northern Ireland; the strongest answer to those who would bring violence back to our streets. And today’s agreement is the opportunity for a fresh start; the opportunity to take down the remaining walls of divisions, not just in our streets but in our hearts.- Now, over the last few weeks people across Northern Ireland feared that if the political process failed, they stood to lose all that had been achieved over these last few years. They feared that instead of an agreement that would bring with it a prosperous future - jobs, healthcare, schools, welfare and home - division, discord ...