While remaining 100 per cent committed to strengthening our social, economic and cultural links with Great Britain, we should not fear practical co-operation which is in the interests of Northern Ireland.

We have the assurance of being able to boot into touch any politically-motivated efforts to promote a united Ireland.

In discussions on North-South matters, we must act in the best interests of the people of the Province but primarily defend the constitutional position of Northern Ireland.

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has recently addressed both Houses of Parliament, and stated "the relationship between Britain and Ireland has changed fundamentally for the better".

British-Irish Council meetings take place regularly, including for the first time within Northern Ireland last year.

Despite the history of recent decades, links between Britain and Ireland have not been severed.

There remains a great deal in common. Thousands of Irish football fans have their allegiance to Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal or others, and head across the water to matches each weekend.

Despite the misguided comments of the Irish President recently, a visit to Dublin by the Queen is thought to be imminent.

With the Irish Republic's relations with Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom improving, the prospect of the Republic rejoining the Commonwealth has been mooted.

Given previous animosity, it would seem that if Ireland can have a positive relationship with the UK, it ought to have little trouble working with the other member countries. The Commonwealth which Ireland left in the late 1940s is very different today.

It comprises 53 sovereign independent member states, only 16 of which have the Queen as the head of state.

A substantial majority are republics. Only a small fraction of the populations are British citizens.

Each country is entirely independent but they work together in the interests of their people. They possess a common language, and in many cases, common history and democratic values.

These values reflect the spirit of the United Nations Charter and have been enshrined in the Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth principles in 1971 and were reiterated at Harare in 1991.

Member countries span five continents and are united on the basis of values. There is little evidence of any residual colonialism.

This is a modern, vibrant international organisation which recognises and celebrates diversity, and supports the development of smaller nations.

Under the Commonwealth umbrella, there are scores of smaller organisations such as university associations and ex-servicemen's leagues, and others which link international nurses, lawyers and young people, for example. All members have an equal voice.

Like almost all parts of the world, the Irish diaspora can be found in every corner of the Commonwealth.

Ireland is the only country to have left the Commonwealth and not rejoined. At the time Ireland left, the only sovereign independent states were Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

In the aftermath of Ireland's neutral stance during the Second World War, relations were understandably fractious.

Ireland wanted to make a clear break with what it saw as Britain's colonial past. However, there were other ways of doing that, as India demonstrated. In 1950, Nehru took the newly independent India into the Commonwealth as its first republic.

Clearly, countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa see benefit in membership.

Those looking on from afar would imagine Ireland to be an obvious candidate for Commonwealth membership, indeed much more so than many existing members.

The Republic has developed skills and expertise in the diplomatic arena, and assists in outreach to developing countries. Their armed forces have acquired a reputation for effective peacekeeping in trouble spots around the world.

Bertie Ahern has stated that he expects a debate over rejoining the Commonwealth, and that he would not argue against it. It has been reported that informal discussions have taken place on this issue since the early 1990s.

Mr Ahern admitted members of Fianna Fáil had raised the question of rejoining the Commonwealth.

He was quoted as saying: "It will be an issue that will be debated over time, but it's a very different thing now than it was 50 years ago", and that he would not oppose it or suppress a debate on the issue.

Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister in the Irish Republic, Eamon O Cuiv, grandson of Eamon de Valera, floated the possibility of rejoining the Commonwealth back in 1994.

He has stated "it was a fact that even in the 30s and 40s the Commonwealth was not a major issue of principle for Fianna Fail" and in 1998 said that despite being a committed republican he would have no problem with rejoining the Commonwealth.

Such a move would demonstrate a more mature relationship between the two countries and could assist this to develop in a context where unionists feel under no threat.