HC Deb 05 July 1973 vol 859 cc716-8
Q2. Mr. Duffy

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his talks with Mr. Cosgrave, the Prime Minister of the Irish Republic, on 2nd July.

The Prime Minister

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Harborough (Mr. Farr) on 3rd July.—[Vol. 859, c. 81.]

Mr. Duffy

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that his reluctance to be specific about future intentions and the timetable at this delicate stage is appreciated? Will he bear in mind that the political momentum, both here and in Northern Ireland, as well as the evolution of thinking and policy in Southern Ireland, ought to be maintained and that they must accord with the aspirations of both communities in the Six Counties, which will call for a timetable and an institutional approach to certain key passages in the White Paper?

The Prime Minister

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland had talks on Monday—which was the earliest opportunity after the Assembly elections—with leaders of the political parties in the Assembly. My right hon. Friend and I recognise full well the need to maintain the momentum in this matter. The Northern Ireland Constitution Bill is not yet through Parliament, however, and there is therefore a limit on what can be achieved until then. But as soon as it is law I hope that the Executive will be formed. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that it is essential, now that there is opportunity for power sharing, for which at least the minority parties in Northern Ireland have asked, that they should use it and accept their responsibilities and carry out their own policies.

Mr. Kilfedder

According to him, the Prime Minister of Southern Ireland discussed with my right hon. Friend, … the importance of matters like an impartial police force … the need for units of the British Army to operate impartially …". Will my right hon. Friend emphatically refuse the implication that the security forces are biased? Will he also give an assurance that there will be no reorganisation of the RUC or a change in the role of the Army in Northern Ireland as a result of the demands of the Prime Minister of a neighbouring country from which the IRA still operates? What promise has been given by Southern Ireland that IRA men and women wanted for atrocities committed in Northern Ireland will be extradited speedily?

The Prime Minister

Mr. Cosgrave did not raise the question of impartiality by the Army or the police. His anxiety was that the police in Northern Ireland should be able to carry out all the responsibilities of a police force throughout the whole of Northern Ireland, and that is an anxiety that we all share. We discussed the question of extradition, but in fact it cannot be formal extradition because there is no extradition treaty between the two countries. But I pointed out to Mr. Cosgrave that the majority of cases that had come before the United Kingdom courts had resulted in those wanted for criminal offences being returned. It is true that a number of cases are at present before the courts in Eire awaiting to be settled.

Mr. Merlyn Rees

Does not the right hon. Gentleman agree that Mr. Cosgrave is facing reality and being extremely helpful in talking of a working recognition of the two parts of Ireland?

The Prime Minister

Yes, I think that is the case. In the White Paper we said that after the formation of the Executive in Northern Ireland we would have discussions with the Government of the Republic about a Council of Ireland, and that we could then begin to work together on various aspects which all parties require. That, in itself, will be a working recognition of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom.

Mr. Stratton Mills

In welcoming the tone of the two recent speeches by Mr. Cosgrave, could my right hon. Friend make clear, as he implied earlier, that his view of the timetable is that the Executive should be formed first and that subsequently there should be talks on a Council of Ireland? Is that Mr. Cosgrave's view as well?

The Prime Minister

There was general agreement between us that what is now required is for the Assembly to meet and the Executive to be formed, and that it would then be appropriate for it to have an opportunity of working out how it would like a Council of Ireland to work. Both the Government of the Republic and the United Kingdom Government will be doing the same. Then we can have a conference that may be fruitful, because we shall have in our minds fairly clear ideas of how it can work in practice.