HC Deb 13 January 1977 vol 923 cc1629-30
10. Rev. Ian Paisley

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the present position of the £6 per week pay rise for full-time members of the RUC

Mr. Dunn

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 4th November 1976 to one of his Written Questions, and also to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department on 22nd December 1976 in reply to a Written Question from the hon. Member for Windsor and Maidenhead (Dr. Glyn).

Rev. Ian Paisley

Does the hon. Gentleman concede that the members of the RUC are doing a very good job in Northern Ireland and that the recent threat to their wives and families by the IRA in County Armagh calls for the Government's wholehearted support of the RUC? Why has the Police Reserve been able to get a pay rise while those who are working full-time have not?

Mr. Dunn

I am pleased to confirm that all my colleagues believe that the members of the RUC and others who serve the RUC have been doing a first-class job on behalf of the Province. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that in any negotiations on police pay we have followed the principle of parity. There are many difficulties when parity is applied directly in Northern Ireland, but if we depart from the main principle we run into more difficulties. Special circumstances arise in relation to the Police Reserve, with which we have had to cope. The part-time reserve may have had some advantage; whether it has depends on the question of interpretation.

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