asked the Minister for External Affairs if he will state whether the radio address of the Irish Ambassador to the United States reported in the daily papers of the 30th March last was made with his approval; and, if so, whether the Ambassador's statement is to be taken as repudiating the policy of neutrality which has been endorsed by the vast majority of our people, and whether the statement implies a willingness on the part of the Government to bargain with a foreign Power on the question of the Partition of Ireland.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Ambassador to United States of America—Radio Address.
The remarks of the Irish Ambassador in Washington published in the Press of 30th March were not portion of a radio address as stated by the Deputy, but impromptu replies to a series of questions put to him in the course of a radio interview.
The published extracts of the interview referred to by the Deputy do not bear either of the interpretations contained in the Deputy's question. In his answers the Ambassador stressed Ireland's right to unity and emphasised that we would not even consider the question of joining the N.A.T.O. until the unity of Ireland was restored.
The Ambassador concluded his reply to the question as to the basis upon which we decided our attitude to N.A.T.O. and other international organisations by saying: "Let us have applied to our country the democraticprinciple by which the majority of the people would decide the destinies of the people as a whole; then we would be free to take whatever attitude our people as a whole think proper towards any pact or treaty or other international instrument of any kind."
Can I take it, then, that the Minister substantially agrees with the answers given by the Ambassador?
The Deputy is able to comprehend my answer very well, I would say.