§ 8. Mr. O'Halloranasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he now has for an official meeting with the Prime Minister of the Irish Republic.
§ Mr. WhitelawNone, Sir.
§ Mr. O'HalloranDoes the right hon. Gentleman agree that it is vital for him to have discussions with the Prime Minister of the Irish Republic in view of Ireland's recent decision to join the EEC? Will the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance that if he meets Mr. Lynch he will discuss with him regional policy for Ulster mutually advantageous to both sides?
§ Mr. WhitelawI do not think that necessarily arises from the question of joining the EEC. Of course, there are diplomatic channels for these contacts, and I assure the hon. Gentleman that they are kept open all the time.
§ Mr. MatherWill my right hon. Friend raise with Mr. Lynch reports that a joint IRA-Palestine Liberation Army office has been established in Dublin and is responsible for the printing and dissemination of propaganda and the procurement and storage of arms? Will my right hon. Friend confirm that a similar office is to be established in London?
§ Mr. WhitelawI have no evidence of the allegation my hon. Friend makes. Naturally, I will bring it to the attention of the authorities concerned, but I must emphasise that, while my hon. Friend is stating what he believes to be facts, I have no evidence at all.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesMr. Lynch has made it clear that unification can come only by agreement, that it cannot come by force, and that at some stage discussion with him might be useful. Would the right hon. Gentleman agree that, whatever happens in parliamentary discussions, within Northern Ireland a political solution can come about only through those prepared to work politically? Is the Ulster Defence Association working politically or did it, for example, win a famous victory over the Army on Monday night?
§ Mr. WhitelawI know what Mr. Lynch has said on this matter recently, and I profoundly agree with him. He has pointed out that if at any time there is to be a united Ireland it can come only if the confidence of the majority in Northern Ireland—the Protestants—is gained. Everyone must know that that is the case. Everyone knows that one cannot force 730 majorities into solutions against their will. I could not agree more with the hon. Gentleman in his view of the necessity for working politically in Northern Ireland. I never stop suggesting that to a great many people, and I pray that that is what they will do.
The hon. Gentleman asked me about Monday night's incident. The security forces of the Crown, acting naturally and properly under the instructions of the Government of the day, have in Northern Ireland an absolute duty to preserve the peace and to prevent inter-sectarian strife. On Monday night, they believed that the move contemplated by the UDA would cause great risk of inter-sectarian strife which it was their duty to prevent. They reported this to me. I said that such a risk could not be taken. In the end, this particular danger of inter-sectarian strife was prevented and Army patrols are entirely active throughout the area concerned.
§ Mr. StallardWill the Secretary of State accept, in view of the reply he has just given to my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, South (Mr. Merlyn Rees), and the fact that the Prime Minister of the Republic and all political leaders in this country have already given the assurances that have been demanded on a number of occasions by the majority party in the north, that the timing of the plebiscite in advance of the elections might be ill-judged? It is certainly my opinion that the elections should come first and that more emphasis should be put on the elections with proportional representation, and that we should abandon for the time being the idea of the plebiscite in view of the assurances given by all sides of this House and, as we have heard, by the Prime Minister of the Republic.
§ Mr. WhitelawI note what the hon. Member said and I repeat what I said earlier. If all the assurances given were believed by the majority—and they should be—and if every hon. Member were to speak out with the same assurance, which I believe is absolute, then a different situation might arise. But the truth is that as it stands at the moment the majority population do not believe this. If the majority need an assurance, I believe, frankly, that they have to have it.