asked the Minister for External Affairs whether any protest has been made to the British Government against the inclusion of a map of a substantial portion of this State in the British National Productivity Year Stamp; if so, if he will state the terms of the protest; and whether the British Government have been asked to withdraw the stamp.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - British National Productivity Year Stamp.
35.
Mr. Ryan
I have seen the stamp to which the question refers in which the six north-eastern counties of Ireland are shaded in the same colour as Great Britain.
As the Deputy is probably aware, it has been the practice since 1921 for maps produced in Great Britain to indicate the six north-eastern counties of Ireland as portion of what is described as the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".
So far as I am aware no special protest has ever been made against this practice nor have the British Government been asked to withdraw such stamps and maps; but all Irish Governments have insisted continuously directly to the British Government and otherwise, that the six north-eastern counties of Ireland rightfully belong to Ireland. They have pointed out that the overwhelming majority of the Irish people, North and South, repudiate the partition of our country in defiance of the right of self-determination of nations which Britain upholds in other parts of the world.