HC Deb 09 April 1981 vol 2 cc1107-8
11. Mr. Stanbrook

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he intends to institute discussions with Northern Ireland political parties with a view to proposing a devolved system of government.

Mr. Humphrey Atkins

I frequently meet representatives of the political parties and discuss political matters with them, but, as I told the House on 12 March, I do not believe that this is an appropriate moment for any major new move on the political front.

Mr. Stanbrook

As there has been an absence of devolved government in Northern Ireland for many years, is it not time that we started implementing our manifesto commitment?

Mr. Atkins

I hope that my hon. Friend will refresh his memory about our manifesto commitment. I have it here. We are seeking a way forward that commands the support not only of the people of Northern Ireland, but of the House. Although we have not so far found it, I hope that we shall do so. In the meantime, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I have just given to my hon. Friend the Member for Epping Forest (Mr. Biggs-Davison).

Mr. Fitt

Does the Secretary of State accept that, although there may be considerable doubt in Northern Ireland about whether the vast majority of Roman Catholics support the Union, we can be sure that they are opposed to the IRA and to violence? Is he aware that one way to ensure that Roman Catholics are totally opposed to the Union is to restore power to local government in the way that it was constituted before the reformation in 1973, which would cause massive political conflict?

Mr. Atkins

That is a fact that I am taking into account in my consideration of how we can move forward politically in the Province.

Mr. Kilfedder

Can the Secretary of State assure us that the machinery of government in Northern Ireland is not being discussed by the Anglo-Eire study group and that the United Kingdom is not engaging in horse trading to exchange Ulster's future for Eire becoming part of NATO and Dublin becoming a nuclear zone?

Mr. Atkins

I give the hon. Gentleman both those assurances. The internal affairs of Northern Ireland are not being discussed in Dublin. We do not wish to raise defence matters and NATO membership bilaterally with Dublin, and they have not been mentioned.

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