§ Mr. Proctorasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many meetings (a) he has, (b) other Ministers have and (c) his officials have had in the last 12 months with the Leader of the Opposition in the Republic of Ireland or persons working for him; what issues of an all-Ireland nature were discussed at these meetings; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and my noble Friend Lord Gowrie had meetings with the then Leader of the Opposition in the Republic of Ireland, Mr. Haughey, in London on 13 December 1981 and with the present Leader of the Opposition in the Republic of Ireland, Dr. FitzGerald, also in London on 28 June 1982. On both occasions they had a general discussion about a number of issues including the political situation in Northern Ireland and Anglo-Irish relations, but there was no discussion of any matter of an all-Ireland nature.
Additionally, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland attended the Dimbleby lecture given by Dr. FitzGerald in London on 20 May 1982 and my noble Friend Lord Gowrie and Dr. FitzGerald were among the participants at a conference at Ditchley Park on 25–7 June 1982 at which most of the major parties in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland were represented.
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Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committees 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 January/June 1982 Number of cases considered by ADHACs and advice given 718 733 794 627 534 281 ADHAC advice on need Need 659 651 701 539 459 240 No need 59 82 93 88 75 41 Neither I nor my ministerial colleagues in the Northern Ireland Office nor our officials have had any other meetings with either Leader of the Opposition of the Republic of Ireland or with persons working for them in the last 12 months.