I move:—
That Dáil Eireann is of the opinion that our permanent delegate to the U.N.O. should be instructed to seek in the Assembly of that body (a) the immediate dispatch of U.N.O. observers to the occupied part of the national territory, and (b) the setting up of the necessary machinery whereby a national plebiscite of the whole people of Ireland on the question of Partition may be held under U.N.O. auspices. — Jack McQuillan, Patrick Finucane.
It can be accepted that for a long time the general public and those people who are interested in solving the problem of Partition have looked anxiously to the various Governments that have been in office here for a practical approach towards this problem. On numerous occasions in this House suggestions have been made of a practical nature, suggestions which if adopted would, in the opinion of many, help towards solving Partition.
I have only to remind members of some of the motions which appeared on the Order Paper over the past four or five years, motions which called upon the Government and the Dáil to allow the representatives from the Six County area, from occupied Ireland, to take their rightful places in the National Parliament. That motion was discussed here on at least two occasions within the last four or five years. The extraordinary thing about it was that at the first time it was discussed the inter-Party Government was in office. On the second occasion the Fianna Fáil Government was in office.
Neither Government showed any welcome whatever for that approach to the problem. Both Governments produced the same arguments against allowing in the representatives of occupied Ireland. The argument they used was that it would lead to jealousy in internal politics down here and that it would do more harm than good. I do not propose to go any further on that matter except to point out that many of the events which have taken place in the past two years would not have taken place if this House had seen fit to make a practical constitutional approach towards solving Partition. When that motion was discussed, the Leader of the inter-Party Government, Deputy Costello, said that, while he would disapprove of the motion, at the same time he was prepared to consider an alternative, namely, the setting up of a unity council, a council on which the representatives from the Six-County area would have an opportunity of meeting representatives of his Government to discuss matters of importance relating to occupied Ireland.
As a matter of fact a number of members of the Six-County Parliament, if I should so describe it, met the then Taoiseach and the Minister for External Affairs here in Leinster House in January, 1955. They discussed for a period of three hours the possibility of setting up such a council, and they expressed themselves, both Government spokesmen and the spokesmen for the Six-County area, on the necessity for such an arrangement. That was in January, 1955, and that was the end of the unity council.
We had a position in which the younger generation were becoming more disillusioned with regard to the political Parties. The younger people began to feel there was no possible opportunity of seeing the Border going in their time if they were to depend on the constitutional approach of the politicians in office. The result of their disillusionment has been seen in no uncertain fashion. The responsibility for the recent events in occupied Ireland, tragic though they may be, can to a great extent be laid at the door of the Governments of this country for the past 35 years.
I could have put down a motion again appealing to the Government to give representation to the representatives of occupied Ireland, but I felt that we had insulted the people in that part of Ireland sufficiently without having their case once more thrown out. I felt instead that it was up to me and other members of this House to impress upon the Government as firmly as we could the necessity of taking our place in the United Nations Assembly so that there we could plead the case for Irish unity. Deputy Costello, the then Taoiseach, on a number of occasions in this House, confirmed to me that the Government themselves were anxious to take their place in the U.N.O. It may be that Deputy Costello and I disagree on the reasons why we should be admitted, but I am firmly convinced that the first duty our delegates should have in the United Nations is to put forward Ireland's case for unity.
Since Ireland has been accepted as a member of the United Nations, we have had a change of Government. The former Minister for External Affairs, Deputy Cosgrave, spoke at length last year in that world assembly. He made what was described in this House and outside as a statesmanlike speech. I think that in the course of his criticism of various nations of the world and of their activities he did mention in a passing way that a problem did exist here in Ireland. That is as far as he went.
I had hoped that when a change of Government came, the leader of the new Government, the Taoiseach, Deputy de Valera, would himself go on this occasion and there use his high prestige and the esteem in which he is held abroad — and note the word "abroad"— for the purpose of gaining support from other freedom-loving nations for Ireland's case for unity.
In case that proposal would slip the Taoiseach's mind, I raised a question in the Dáil some six months ago and urged him to lead the Irish deputation to the United Nations. In the course of a parliamentary reply, I was told that the team had not been selected yet for the United Nations meeting. I still hoped that when the team would be selected, the leader of the team in this House would see fit to go himself.
For reasons best known to himself, the Taoiseach decided that the Minister for External Affairs would represent him. Many people have objected to the speech made by the Minister for External Affairs before the United Nations Assembly. Many people at the moment are critical of the terms of the speech and some people are trying to make political capital out of his remarks. As far as I am personally concerned, he was welcome to talk as long as he liked on the matters to which he referred, but my criticism of his action there is that he did not put Ireland's case first. He spoke at length of the position in Algeria. He gave the Russians and the Americans the benefit of his experience and advice in regard to the Iron Curtain.