HC Deb 13 March 1987 vol 112 cc311-2W
Mr. John David Taylor

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many incursions have been made by forces of the Republic of Ireland into the United Kingdom during the past three months; if he will make a statement on the incursion at Middletown, County Armagh on 7 March; if any apologies have been made by the Dublin Government; if any complaint has been lodged by Her Majesty's Government; and what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards responding to such incursions;

(2) how many incursions into the Republic of Ireland have been made by United Kingdom forces in the past three months; how many of these resulted in (a) a formal apology by the United Kingdom ambassador in Dublin or (b) a statement of apology by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy towards such incursions.

Mr. Tom King

During the last three months, two incidents have been reported in which members of the security forces of the Republic of Ireland have allegedly crossed the border into Northern Ireland. Both reports concerned overflights by Irish Army Air Corps helicopters and both have been denied by the Irish authorities. In the same period, the Irish Government has brought to our attention a total of 19 incidents in which members of our security forces have allegedly crossed the border into the Republic. We have confirmed that 12 incursions did take place; all but one were accidental and occurred as a result of navigation or map-reading errors. Five have been denied, and two more are still under investigation. None resulted in a formal apology by Her Majesty's Ambassador in Dublin or a statement of apology by myself. However, I have expressed to the Irish Government my strong disapproval of one incident involving a deliberate entry into the Republic's territory by a small group of soldiers.

We could not, of course, accept any deliberate incursions into Northern Ireland by the Republic's security forces, and we do not expect the Irish Government to accept deliberate incursions by ours. However, we understand how easy it is for members of the security forces of either country operating near the border to make mistakes; hence it is not our practice to lodge a formal complaint when such mistakes occur.

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