§ 5. Mr. McCuskerasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he next intends to visit Dublin.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesI have no immediate plans to visit Dublin.
§ Mr. McCuskerWhen the Secretary of State does visit Dublin, will he tell the authorities there that Her Majesty's Government view with continuing dismay the sanctuary offered to people like Roisin McLaughlin and Bartholomew Burns, who have been implicated in some of the most terrible crimes in Northern Ireland? Will the Secretary of State say whether it is still his intention, if possible, to bring those people to justice?
§ Mr. ReesIt is the Government's intention to bring to justice in the courts those who have been engaged in violence in Northern Ireland. It is important, in the present developing situation, to realise that, while we all accept that to move outside the normal law is something that none of us wants to do, a return to real law and order matters in Northern Ireland for both communities.
§ Mr. Biggs-DavisonIn the absence of extradition, which would be the proper expedient between friendly sovereign States, is it not disturbing that the Criminal Law Jurisdiction Bill appears to be running into difficulties in the Dail? Can urgent representations be made in Dublin, particularly as co-operation between the armed forces and the police is improving, in order to ensure that the efforts of the armed forces and police on both sides of the border are not brought to naught for want of proper judicial process?
§ Mr. ReesExtradition is obviously the best way of doing these things, as Her Majesty's Government have said. We 658 shall be introducing our part of the legislation shortly. I have no comment to make on newspaper reports about any problems in the Dail, which is the Parliament of an independent country.