§ 4. Mr. Dubsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he is considering any initiatives to improve relationships with the Government of the Republic of Ireland.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Douglas Hurd)My right hon. Friend and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland have recently had separate meetings with the Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs. No doubt there will be other meetings of this kind, though no others at that level are fixed at present.
§ Mr. DubsWould not the best initiative be to raise with the Government of the Republic of Ireland the possibility of setting up a forum at which representatives of the people of the whole of Ireland could discuss issues which interest the whole of Ireland, such as energy policy, economic development, transport and perhaps security?
§ Mr. HurdThe hon. Gentleman is putting forward a suggestion similar to one recently aired by the SDLP in Northern Ireland. We believe that the establishment of 984 widely acceptable devolved institutions in Northern Ireland offers the best chance of securing peace, political stability and recovery there.
§ Mr. ProctorWill my right hon. Friend confirm that these negotiations are being conducted on the basis of two sovereign, foreign, independent states?
§ Mr. HurdI was referring, not to negotiations, but to occasional meetings, which do, and should, take place between two sovereign states inhabiting the same island.
§ Mr. FreesonWill the Minister not be so offhand in rejecting, by implication, the suggestion of my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea, South (Mr. Dubs)? Will serious consideration be given to establishing some kind of forum in which peoples from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland can meet to discuss matters of common interest—political, economic and social? Will he consider extending that so that we establish some kind of forum in which this Parliament and the peoples and Parliaments of both parts of Ireland can meet to discuss such matters?
§ Mr. HurdThere is the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Council. There have been several ministerial meetings within that framework over the past year. It is for this House and the Dail to consider a parliamentary body.
Mr. J. Enoch PowellMay it be made clear to the Irish Government that they and the Irish Republic have no business whatsoever in the internal arrangements for the government of the United Kingdom?
§ Mr. HurdCertainly the constitutional future of Northern Ireland is a matter for the people of the Province, the United Kingdom Government and this Parliament.
§ Mr. MoyleDoes the right hon. Gentleman agree that Dr. Garret FitzGerald has always tended to adopt a responsible attitude towards the problems of Northern Ireland? Will the Government therefore ensure that any initiative that he puts forward will receive a positive response in that context?
§ Mr. HurdWe try to keep the Irish Government in touch with our thinking on Northern Ireland, but we cannot accept that there is a commitment to consult them about it.