Taoiseach hails restoration of power-sharing at Stormont
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has hailed the restoration of power-sharing in the North today as "a powerful statement that peace is not impossible".
Mr Ahern was speaking following the formal swearing in of the new Stormont Executive during a ceremony attended by politicians and statesmen from across the world.
"The events that we've had the privilege of witnessing are a powerful statement that peace is not impossible and conflict is not inevitable," he said.
"We cannot undo our sad and turbulent past and none of us can forget the many victims of the troubles, but we can and are shaping our future in a new and better way and in doing so we can put the divisions of the past behind us forever."
Elsewhere, DUP leader Ian Paisley said he believed today's development was a further step on the road to lasting peace and an era "when hate will no longer rule".
Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness, meanwhile, said he was confident he and Dr Paisley could work together in the interests of everybody in the North..
