The witnesses have been appointed by the IRA. It does diminish the credibility of whatever is going to happen tomorrow.

The forward-looking numbers that they're putting out are beginning to give them more credibility than they had three or six months ago.

To preserve and build on the credibility we already enjoy, we will need to continue to respond to changing economic conditions in a way that confirms our commitment to low inflation,

I think Sinn Fein's participation in the talks is over. But the process, the talks must continue. We cannot allow a minority who are committed to terrorism to dictate to the majority who want to see peace, who want to see democratic advancement in Northern Ireland.

Clearly what we need to know from the IRA is whether this is the beginning of a process which will lead to the decommissioning of their weapons or whether this is as good as it gets.

In the past, decommissioning as a process has been shrouded in secrecy and if we are to increase public confidence in the process then we want it to be more transparent,