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Sinn Fein is committed to promoting and enhancing reconciliation, and in recent years, I and other members of my party have taken a number of significant initiatives aimed to advance this process.

Sinn Fein is an Irish Republican party. We stood in the Assembly election to deliver a prosperous economy and jobs, to protect and enhance public services, support those most in need, and to progress Irish Unity.

Sinn Fein has the potential and capacity to become the vehicle for the attainment of republican objectives.

That Sinn Fein, as I've already indicated, their leaders have already indicated that's what they want to achieve - once we get that credible statement, then we can get around the table and start to move forward, and I'm confident we can do so.

Quite simply, I maintained contact with Sinn Fein and believed that there had to be a political, not a military, solution to the situation in Northern Ireland.

But the fact is that the vast majority of Republicans support the Sinn Fein leadership.

The most important thing to say is that Sinn Fein isn't going back to anything. We are a party on the move.

Sinn Fein is the fastest growing party on the island of Ireland.

I felt that the IRA, in the context of Irish history, and Sinn Fein were a legitimate force that had to be recognized, and you wouldn't have peace without them.

While others have walked away from their responsibilities, the Sinn Fein team will work with the other ministers in partnership to deliver for all the people.