The right hon. Gentleman can be reassured that the Unionist parties at least will raise the matter, even if the other parties do not. Does not his reply signify clearly that no request to remove those obnoxious articles from its constitution has ever been formally made to the Irish Republic? Will he confirm that removal of those articles was held out as a carrot in the early stages of the consultations about the Anglo-Irish Agreement but was soon lost in the mists when the agreement was signed, regardless of what the Republic wanted? Surely it is time that those obnoxious articles were removed once and for all.