§ 3. Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he has yet arranged a date for his visit to the United States of America for the purpose of countering Irish Republican Army propaganda.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Nicholas Scott)No date has yet been set for the visit that my right hon. Friend intends to make to the United States of America.
§ Mr. AdleyWhen the Secretary of State makes that visit, will he point out to the Americans that people who give money to the IRA are financing activity which we abhor, such as that by the children with their petrol bombs? In view of the answer that my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary gave about the astonishing difference in the safety of staying overnight in Northern Ireland and staying overnight in the United States, will my hon. Friend draw that to the attention of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board so that it might use the statistics as a legitimate means of attracting tourists back to the Province?
§ Mr. ScottI am sure that my right hon. Friend will convey that message when he visits the United States. In co-operation with the Northern Ireland Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the effort continues to persuade people in the United States and elsewhere of the folly of contributing to organisations that support the IRA's aims. I am sure that the Northern Ireland Tourist Board is aware of the problem. Indeed, it does a good job in seeking to attract visitors to Northern Ireland shores, but political progress would be a great help.
§ Rev. Martin SmythDoes the Minister accept that there has been a great deal of reaction from the Government in countering adverse propaganda in the United States? Will he take steps to present the more positive image of Ulster, not waiting to react to IRA attacks through the media, but speaking positively on 1041 behalf of the British people in Ulster? Will he facilitate the use of voluntary agencies, which have been working together in Ulster to present that case more profitably in the United States, bearing in mind that Ulster voices can be more effective in that work than English voices?
§ Mr. ScottA number of Ulster voices in the United States put the case across on behalf of Northern Ireland. Plans are afoot for more such people to do that. My hon. Friend the Minister of State has visited the United States three times to put across the positive industrial argument for Northern Ireland. We shall continue to be as vigorous as we can in presenting our case.