§ 18. Mr. Goodhartasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the security situation in Northern Ireland.
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§ Mr. MasonThe security situation In Northern Ireland has continued to improve in the past few months. The decline in violence can be illustrated by recent security statistics. In the first 10 months of this year 105 people, civilians and members of the security forces, died as a result of terrorist activities, and there were 401 bomb attacks. These figures compare with 263 deaths, and 1,068 bomb attacks in the same period of 1976. But the security forces have remained no less at risk than before, and their casualty rate has not diminished. Incendiary attacks also remain a threat to the security and commercial wellbeing of the Province. There is no cause for complacency. But recent improvements prove the rightness of the Government's firm policy of countering terrorism within the law, by the detection and prosecution of criminals through the courts. The RUC, with the support of the Army, is developing its effectiveness in this direction all the time.