Party Leaders (Meetings)

HC Deb 17 March 1994 vol 239 cc1007-9

5. Mr. Home Robertson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he next hopes to meet the leaders of the constitutional parties in Northern Ireland.

The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mr. Michael Ancram)

My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State has recently held meetings with the leaders of the three Northern Ireland parties who have been engaged in private bilateral discussions and I have subsequently begun a series of further bilateral meetings with representatives from those parties to discuss our ideas for giving sharper focus and direction to the talks process.

Mr. Home Robertson

Will the Minister continue to do everything possible to drive forward the peace process, in spite of the antics of fanatics on both the loyalist and republican sides? 'Will he take this opportunity to say a little about the Secretary of State's ideas for the establishment of cross-border executive boards, with delegated powers from the Irish and British Governments? What functions does he intend such boards to cover?

Mr. Ancram

We have made it clear all along—I agree with the hon. Gentleman—that no one can be allowed to exercise a veto over the talks process by the exercise of violence. I repeat that assurance. It is for that reason that the talks process is proceeding. As to the second part of his question, the hon. Gentleman is talking about matters that are essentially part of the discussions that are required to take place over the three strands. It will be of no constructive use for us to try to define the parts of any strand in public in this House before negotiations have taken place with the participants in the talks. That is something to be considered in due course as part of the talks process.

Mr. Bill Walker

Does my hon. Friend realise that some of us are often baffled by the language that is used when describing matters political in Northern Ireland? How can there be consensus if one is saying that there can be no veto? I do not see how the two can be bedfellows. Does it mean that we will never reach any agreements at any time?

Mr. Ancram

No. The phrase that has been used many times in relation to finding a settlement in Northern Ireland—indeed, across the three relationships within the islands of the British Isles—has been that any solution has to be broadly or widely acceptable to the peoples involved. Therefore, any settlements in relation to institutions in Northern Ireland would have to have the broad agreement of the people of Northern Ireland.

Mr. A. Cecil Walker

Does the Minister agree that the constitutional leaders hold the key to peaceful political progress in Northern Ireland? Does he accept that the consensus of opinion is that all efforts should be directed, with those leaders, towards a devolutionary process rather than towards pursuing the three-stranded approach with the Irish Government?

Mr. Ancram

I appreciate the importance of the leaders of the three constitutional parties who are presently taking part in bilateral talks with me. I certainly intend to continue those bilaterals. As my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State has already said, it is matter of practical reality that we cannot look at one strand within the three-stranded concept in isolation from the other strands. A solution in one strand cannot be achieved without solutions within the other strands. For that reason, we have made it clear that the talks that are taking place at the moment involve all the participants across all three strands.

Mr. Dykes

I thank my hon. Friend for the hard work that he has done already in trying to keep the political dialogue going. Does he agree—particularly on this of all days—that the remarkable phenomenon of bringing fully into account the Irish dimension is that the two Governments stand shoulder to shoulder on the declaration and that there is no movement away from that? That is the disconcerting reality for the extremists, and we expect the moderates on the Ulster Unionist side also to acknowledge that reality.

Mr. Ancram

I agree absolutely with my hon. Friend that it is immensely important that the two Governments continue to stand shoulder to shoulder on the basis of the joint declaration. At the same time, I think that it is important that the Irish Government have restated their commitment to the talks involving the constitutional parties. I believe that we are not yet ready to get around a table. There is groundwork to be done and that groundwork will be undertaken, I hope, by the constitutional parties and the two Governments.