It outlines a new devolved assembly in the North, a council of ministers between the North and the Republic and a 'council of the isles,' that is a new intergovernmental body made up from the the new Northern Irish assembly, the London and Dublin parliaments, the Scottish parliament and the Welsh assembly. Of course the relationships between and within these bodies is now to be negotiated. This could present endless stumbling blocks to the talks as one side threatens to quit then another. The stance of the loyalist prisoners points to the underlying pressures. Fear of being sold out, tempered by the fear of the 'doomsday scenario,' a reversion to the so-called armed conflict which could lead rapidly to a situation that would make 'the troubles' seem like a picnic.
Fissures are also there in the Republican leadership.
If the workers' organisations do not act then the frustrations can bring new acts of terrorism to the fore. Workers throughout Ireland and Britain were relieved at the cessation of violence. It was they who were the main victims, whether from the paramilitaries or the British state. But the violence was not some historical aberration, but the direct consequence of the material conditions created by British imperialism - partition, poverty, mass unemployment, sectarianism. For all the talk of 'progress' being made in the peace process, not one of these conditions have changed one iota.