asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the occasions within the past five years on which he sought to have the effects of the Safeguarding of Employment (NI) Act, 1947, set aside in so far as Irish citizens are concerned; and if he proposes to take any initiative, outside the context of the EEC negotiations, in this regard.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Northern Ireland Employment Act.
10.
This matter was discussed with the British authorities in several conversations this year. In so far as circumstances should justify further representations during the EEC transitional period the matter can be raised again.
Is this not one of the matters of discrimination that perhaps could be removed and by its removal would give some evidence in the Six Counties that there is a real intention of bringing about any reforms of which we have heard so much in the last two years?
I quite agree that the Act, as I said in this House before, was a nasty bit of business and its origin was suspect and discriminatory. Everybody knows that this has been raised several times at Question Time. Discrimination, as the term is used by the European Communities, means discrimination against or in favour of any one nation and not in relation to the other nations of the Communities. I agree that this is suspect, that it was a discriminatory Act. It is disappearing because of membership of EEC and this is a good thing.
I wonder is it fully appreciated that in more recent times quite a number of workers from the Six Counties find lucrative employment on this side of the Border and are quite free to do so. Long may it remain so, if there is a Border. But, the other side of that is that employment is not available, and this Act was not brought in for, and has nothing to do with the protection of workers in the Six Counties, but rather as discrimination against certain workers there and workers coming from here and not from other European countries?
It is quite true that there is freedom of movement for workers here. They are welcome and there should be no question in our minds but that they should be free to take up employment here. I think it is also true to say that it is almost farcical to speak of people going into the Six County area for employment and the purpose of the Safeguarding of Employment Act at this time could not be to protect employment in that way. It is an Act which was suspect in its origin; it was discriminatory and political. Nobody likes it here and we are glad that it will be going. I do not think we should do anything against giving employment to people from the North in our part of the country just because they are implementing this Act there.
There is no suggestion of that. I think I made that quite clear. What I am seeking is, as in the question asked, whether between now and the end of any transitional period that may be agreed on, if we all enter the Common Market, the Minister will pursue the idea of having the Act set aside in so far as Irish nationals and citizens are concerned, regardless of whether they live in the North or the South.
The Deputy should be clear—the House certainly seemed to be clear when we talked of this here before—that the whole purpose of the Act was directed against people in this part of Ireland. If you are asking them to remove that discrimination it is the same as asking them to remove the Act altogether. We do not like the Act. We see that it is going after the transitional period. It may happen during the transitional period that the Act may be used in a way which we would consider would require some action and certainly that action will be taken.
This Act was passed before we became an independent republic, was it not?
No. 1947.
In 1947, before we became an independent republic.
Deputies
Oh.