David Ford - leader of the Alliance Party

Question: With recent talks failing to reach agreement, what has been the key sticking point?

David Ford: I think we came very close to an agreement at Leeds Castle but there wasn't enough time.

I think for the first time we saw real signs that republicans were prepared to bring about an end to all paramilitary activity. We also saw a willingness of the DUP to negotiate the exact structures under which the assembly would operate.

Both of those are significant steps forward and I believe show some signs of hope. What we have to do is ensure we continue to do the work that would make an agreement possible.

Question: Is the Alliance Party partly to blame for the hold up in calling for institutional changes to be made that are unacceptable to other parties.

David Ford: I'm not sure the kind of changes which we have been advocating are a sticking point with Sinn Fein. But certainly we have taken the view for about the last year that it is now quite clear that only reform is a realistic pro-agreement position.

The agreement simply doesn't work in every detail of the way it was established in 1998.

While the principles are absolutely sound we need to ensure we get structures of government which actually work, and clearly for the last two years nothing has worked.

And back in November of 2001 we failed to elect a first minister and deputy first minister because the structures didn't work, and the Alliance had to take action to allow that to happen.

So that's why we say we must have the reforms which will make the structures viable in the long term.

Question: Is there the necessary consensus to reach agreement on any reforms to the institutions?

David Ford: There isn't yet a consensus but there does appear to be a growing consensus.

Discussions are centring around two or three key issues, and I think that is a sign that agreement is possible although we are not there yet.

Question: What are the key issues the talks are focussing on?

David Ford: The point on which most attention has been concentrated is the issue of an end to all paramilitary activity.

The other points that need to be attended to are institutional reform that will ensure the institutions work in a balanced way, and that includes a better method of electing the first minister and deputy first minister than the current position. It also includes, in our terms, an end to the divisive voting system which makes the votes of those of us in the centre ground less equal.

And we also have to look to ensure we have a proper level of ministerial accountability. Ministers should not be hidebound by an assembly majority or a committee majority, but nor should they be free to wander away from the position of the rest in the executive.

Question: Are you confident the IRA is prepared to make the necessary commitments to make an agreement possible?

David Ford: I haven't had the direct evidence so I can't answer that question.

But what I can say is that what has been said to me by government sources is that we are well on the way to reaching that level of achievement. We can't say that this is correct, but there certainly seem to be firm grounds for continuing to work on the other areas in the expectation that paramilitarism will also be solved alongside it.

Question: Are there likely to be circumstances in which the executive could collapse again?

David Ford: That is a real danger. Possibly the worst position would be to get some kind of quick fix which would deal with one or two outstanding issues around paramilitarism but wouldn't actually ensure we have stable structures that can continue to function. That is why there is quite a raft of small details which need to be addressed but they would follow along if we can correct some of these larger issues in the first instance.

Question: How much influence is the Alliance Party having in the negotiations, won't the focus be on the DUP and Sinn Fein?

David Ford: I think it is quite clear that the influence of the Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP has dropped dramatically because of the reversal in their electoral fortunes.

I think Alliance is seen as playing a role putting forward ideas which are helping to break the impasse, and putting forward cogent ideas for building a united community rather than just managing divisions. That is why I think we are probably being listened to by the two governments, or the three governments if you include the Americans, more than perhaps we were in the recent past.

Question: Would a South African-style true and reconciliation process be one way to help build that united community?

David Ford: We are keen to look at the possibilities for a truth and reconciliation process, but to say specifically a South African-style process is probably not appropriate. Partly because in South Africa people could receive specific benefits from being prepared to go to the commission and being prepared to say what they had done, while we have already had the prisoners being granted their early releases so there isn't the same hold over people or the same requirement that they should go.

I think one thing that is quite key for a number of victims, but not necessarily for all, is the desire to go before some kind of panel and get the story of what they experienced put on record. Whether it be simply a written record or videotape, there seem to be many people who want it established as a matter of public record how they suffered.

I think we need to look creatively at different possibilities but we cannot just ape the South African position. I know there are a couple of dozen examples from around the world, and various people are looking at them at the moment to see what may be possible.

Question: While devolution has been suspended, ministers from Westminster have been making decisions for Northern Ireland. Would devolution have made any practical difference to the decisions that have been made?

David Ford: I speak as someone who is a fan of devolution in principle, but who doesn't not necessarily agree with much that the executive did - I was, after all, the leader of the opposition for the last couple of years of the assembly.

I think there will be doubts about what might have been done differently. On the other hand, I cannot believe that some of the crass discussions going on, for example about the potential closure of large sections of the railway system or the charges for water, would be implemented in quite such a blunt way if they were being done by ministers who were answerable to the people of Northern Ireland.

That is why we need devolution back, but it is not to say this is a panacea for all the difficult decisions.

Question: If the institutions are re-established, would you predict a gradual erosion of support for the sectarian parties?

David Ford: I confess to having hoped that if we saw the assembly working and working well then we might start to see that happening, that politicians would be judged on their performance on the real issues rather than their ability to articulate divergent sectarian views.

We haven't seen much sign of it yet, but on the other hand the Alliance Party did survive the difficulties of last November absolutely intact, retaining all six seats, at a time when other parties of what was loosely described as the centre ground were doing badly.

So I think that was perhaps in part a tribute to our stance against sectarianism, and part a tribute to the work my colleagues have done on issues of local concern.

Question: Would you like to see the mainland parties contesting assembly and other elections in Northern Ireland?

David Ford: It is interesting that you use the term "mainland" because of course some people would be wondering what, if they were talking about national parties, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have to offer us.

There are not many signs at this stage that the parties either in Britain or the Irish Republic have anything directly to offer, Northern Ireland has a different political culture.

But as far as the Alliance is concerned, I am very happy that we are a sister party of the Liberal Democrats. We cooperate with them as members of the same European and international bodies but we are not part of the Liberal Democrats, we are not hidebound by anything the Liberal Democrats do. We gain from that relationship while still maintaining an individual identity.

There were signs a while ago that the Ulster Unionists were seeking to establish a closer relationship to the Conservative Party, which might have been some sort of parallel to that. On the other hand the SDLP seem to be breaking their links with British Labour, with some talk about joining up with Fianna Fail in Dublin.

So I don't see that the national parties organising in Northern Ireland would have any particular benefits, but on the other hand if people wish to they have every right to put their electoral case.

Question: Will the Alliance Party gain more support in future? Isn't it likely to lose out if other parties start setting the agenda with their work on the executive?

David Ford: The four parties bigger than us all had the opportunity to star in ministerial roles during the last assembly, but two of them lost significant ground during the last election.

I don't think ministerial office is a guarantee of holding on. I think the requirement for a political party to do well is to have a coherent viewpoint, to have a party which shows unity - which clearly the UUP in particular did not show - and to have a party which is capable of doing the hard work on the ground which is one way of attracting notice from people who are not necessarily concerned about the big political picture but who want to see somebody working for them.