There will be a statement by the Taoiseach after which I will call on the Leader of the Opposition. Standing Orders do not permit any other speakers on a matter of this kind.
Committee on Finance. - Formation of Northern Ireland Executive: Statement by the Taoiseach.
On a point of order——
There can hardly be a point of order arising from a statement by the Chair.
The Chair has said that nobody is allowed to speak on this matter of momentous importance to the Irish people except the Taoiseach and the Leader of the Opposition, neither of whom represents my views and the views of several others like me——
I have no discretion on this matter. The rule is, and it is long-standing and explicit, that on a matter of this kind the Taoiseach and the Leader of the Opposition only——
I ask for the guidance of the Chair as to which Standing Order this is?
It is a long-standing practice. The Chair will not enter into an argument——
I am asking the Chair to tell me which Standing Order—in accordance with which Standing Order——
It is the procedure of this House. The Chair will not enter into an argument with the Deputy.
The Chair has stated that it was in accordance with a Standing Order—that it was a Standing Order that prohibited and precluded anybody from speaking but the Taoiseach and the Leader of the Opposition. I have now been told there is no such Standing Order.
The Chair does not argue.
May I suggest that the House listen to the Taoiseach instead of to this?
I am asking which Standing Order——
I advised the Deputy on the last occasion when he raised the matter of procedure.
It was not as important as this and therefore I intend——
It was a similar statement.
—— to contest it. I am asking the Chair to protect the right of the individual Deputy elected to this House to have his say. He has no less rights than any other person——
It does not arise.
It does arise.
The Taoiseach.
I regret the delay, due to technical reasons, in not having this statement available earlier.
The Dáil will be aware that elected representatives in Northern Ireland who have been involved in inter-party talks with the Secretary of State, Mr. Whitelaw, over the past six weeks with a view to the formation of a power sharing administration have reached agreement. The agreement, reached last night, offers a basis for hope to all of us in these islands who seek a lasting political settlement. It is historic because it helps to open the way for the establishment in Northern Ireland, for the first time in its history, of an administration representative of, and supported by, each of the communities there; and it is important and necessary first step in the working out of political institutions providing the basis for a settlement that can bring co-operation and peace in this island.
I sincerely congratulate the representatives of the three parties—Alliance, SDLP and Unionists. I should like to extend our congratulations to the Secretary of State, Mr. Whitelaw, whose patience and energy have contributed so much to the success of those talks.
The occasion is a historic one and presages, I hope, a period in which progress flowing from co-operation and respect for human dignity will show the sterility of violence.
The talks which I had with the British Prime Minister, Mr. Heath, in Baldonnel last September contributed in some measure to the understandings which have now been reached.
The proposed Administration and Executive will not be constituted immediately. But the agreement as to how they could be established has opened the way for further steps towards a settlement. The next stage— in which the Government here will be directly involved—will be the conference to negotiate the detailed arrangements for the Council of Ireland. The Government is now ready to play its full part in these negotiations which, I expect, will shortly get under way.
The Government has kept itself fully informed of these important recent developments and has been in continuous consultation with the British Government. With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I would like to outline to the Dáil the points on which an understanding has now been reached between Mr. Whitelaw and the party leaders who have engaged in consultations with him. I understand the information on these points will also be conveyed to the House of Commons in London shortly.
Firstly, it has been agreed that there will be a 15 member administration in Northern Ireland composed of seven members of the Unionist Party, six members of the SDLP and two members of the Alliance Party together gether with a Deputy Chief Whip outside the administration who will be a member of the Alliance Party. Eleven members of the administration —six Unionists, four SDLP and one Alliance—will be appointed members of a Northern Ireland Executive. The Chief Executive will be Mr. Brian Faulkner, leader of the Unionist Party. The Deputy Chief Executive will be Mr. Gerry Fitt, MP, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party.
I understand that the Departments will be allocated on the following basis:
|
Chief Executive |
Unionist |
|
Deputy Chief Executive |
SDLP |
|
Legal Member and Law Reform |
Alliance |
|
Chief Whip (outside of the Executive) |
Unionist |
|
Finance |
Unionist |
|
Commerce |
SDLP |
|
Health and Social Security |
SDLP |
|
Office of Manpower Services (outside of the Executive) |
Alliance |
|
Housing, Local Government and Planning |
SDLP |
|
Environment |
Unionist |
|
Education |
Unionist |
|
Agriculture |
Unionist |
|
Office of Community Relations (outside of the Executive) |
SDLP |
|
Information Services |
Unionist |
|
Office of Executive (Planning and Co-ordination) (outside of the Executive) |
SDLP |
|
Deputy Chief Whip (outside Executive and outside Administration) |
Alliance |
Secondly, it has been agreed that a Conference will shortly be held between representatives of the British Government, the Government here and the members of the Northern Ireland Executive-designate to discuss the formation of a Council of Ireland. The leaders of the other parties in Northern Ireland who are not prepared to participate in the Executive will have an opportunity to make their views known to the Secretary of State, Mr. Whitelaw, before the Conference. If as we hope agreement on the detailed arrangements for a Council of Ireland is reached at the Conference, the British Government will then take the necessary steps to devolve powers to the Constitutional Executive in Northern Ireland and to the Assembly. Once this has been done a formal conference will take place between the British Government, the new Executive, and the Government here in order to ratify the matters agreed on at the earlier conference in relation to the Council of Ireland, thus clearing the way for the establishment of the Council.
Thirdly, as part of their wish to bring about a lasting peace, the British Government, in the agreement reached in Belfast last night now reaffirms that it will bring detention to an end as soon as the security situation permits and as an earnest of this, it is hoped, if the security situation permits, to take the steps necessary for a number of detainees to be released before Christmas.
As the Dáil will be aware, the Government here over the past few months has discussed and worked out the proposals which it will put forward in regard to the formation of a Council of Ireland and has made its views on some of these matters known to the British Government. The British Government now reaffirm that they favour and will facilitate the formation of a Council of Ireland. Under these proposals with which my Government concurs
1. A Council of Ireland would be confined to Northern Ireland and the Republic, subject to certain reservations by the British Government as regards devolved subjects and arrangements to safeguard these interests in the area of finance and other reserved subjects.
2. As to structure, the Council would consist not only of representatives of the Government of the Republic and of the Northern Ireland Executive but also, on a separate advisory and consultative level, of representatives from the parties in the Dáil and the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Council will have its own secretariat.
3. The Council would have some executive functions as well as a consultative role.
4. The Council at Government level would operate on the basis of unanimity.
5. The Council should be able to play a useful role in relation to certain subjects reserved for the time being to the British Government.
The nature of these subjects and the role to be played by a Council need to be agreed between the Governments concerned and the Northern Ireland Executive. Among these subjects mentioned for discussion are the concept of a common law enforcement area, the question of extradition processes, human rights, and what role a council might play in the law and order field. Without going into detail, which would be inappropriate for me at this stage, I would like to emphasise as well the real social and economic advantage for all the inhabitants of this island which would flow from a properly constituted and functioning Council.
I said in London last summer that those who had been elected in this island should speak to one another and, chastened by the experience of recent years, find a way of living and working together with respect for each others' views and aspirations. A Council could help to achieve this essentially simple purpose. It is in this spirit that I hope the concept will be discussed at the forthcoming talks.
A Cheann Comhairle, all of us who live on this island today, whatever our political or religious outlook or loyalties, live with the heavy and difficult legacy from our common past. We in our time can add a further burden to that legacy for our children by intolerance and intransigence; or we can begin to work towards an ending of conflict and a beginning of working and living together. The agreement worked out last night in Belfast is a necessary first step in this process. The majority in this island, in both parts of this island, have already endorsed this process by their votes and they will, I believe, continue to support those who set themselves to work with one another in this sense. They have already by their votes decisively rejected those who choose instead to impose their own views on others, whatever the cost in killing and death. What we are now about in this island is the working out of a settlement which will provide hope for us and for our children. I believe that this means agreeing to differ about our long-term aspirations and concentrating instead on working now as best we can towards peace based on justice.
What we are working for is a political settlement which will have two pillars, an Administration and an Executive, which will have widespread support throughout the communities in Northern Ireland and a Council of Ireland through which North and South can learn to live and work together in growing harmony to common benefit. The Dáil and the country may rest assured that this Government will do everything in their power to make this settlement work. In this we ask for the support of all those of goodwill in this island. With the support of the people, under God's providence, we must succeed.
The Fianna Fáil Party welcomes the decision to establish a new power-sharing Executive and an Administration in the North. This is the first we heard of a separate body called the Administration and I understand now that the Administration will be comprised of all those who will be members of the Executive as well as those who will be Ministers, so to speak, without portfolio. We hope that the establishment of this Executive and the Administration will bring peace to the people of Northern Ireland. We wish the members of these bodies well in their efforts to work for all the people of Northern Ireland. We sincerely hope that they will be successful in healing the wounds inflicted and suffered in the past tragic years and in leading the people of Northern Ireland to a better future. The sufferings of our fellow countrymen in the North over these years have been a major concern to us and our immediate priority is to bring about peace with justice in the North and so to bring to an end violence and suffering.
The Taoiseach mentioned that developments that have now taken place may have been contributed to in some extent by his meeting in September with the British Prime Minister in Baldonnel. I want to say to the House that all my efforts while I was Taoiseach in all the consultations I had with successive British Prime Ministers and other representatives of the British Government were directed towards this end.
We feel that the partnership now proposed between the different faiths and the different political traditions offers great hope for the people of Northern Ireland. We also hope that this partnership within Northern Ireland will be followed by a new partnership North and South based on mutual respect and tolerance which will allow all Irishmen to co-operate in maintaining peace on this island and to work for the economic prosperity of all its people. We know that there are many difficult problems still outstanding and if these are to be satisfactorily resolved there will have to be some yielding on intransigent positions now taken up, for the overall and ultimate good of our country.
As for the Council of Ireland. I was glad to hear the Taoiseach mention that this will be extended to elected representatives in all the country. It was always my belief that it would have to be composed of such elected representatives and as Leader of the Fianna Fáil Party, which speaks for almost 50 per cent of political opinion in this part of our country, I may say that we expected this broad representation and we will expect to be adequately represented on the Council.
It seems from the Taoiseach's statement that there will be two tiers. He referred in particular to a separate advisory and consultative level of representatives from the parties in the Dáil and the Northern Ireland Assembly. I hope that, as in the case of other outstanding matters between the two communities in the North, hard positions will not have been taken up on this aspect of the Council. We know from the experience of our own colleagues in the European Parliament the frustration that that Parliament can have because its powers are so very, very limited. I would hope that, no matter at what level this Council will operate, it will have real functions and those comprising it will have a say in its evolution and its development.
I am not and have not been, of course, fully informed of all the proposals the Government put to the British Government in relation to the Council. In an interview earlier today I stated that it would not be helpful to try to postulate, in too much detail at any rate, as to what the composition of the Council of Ireland would be or what its functions might be; but I agree with the Taoiseach that it does offer an opportunity of co-operation and reconciliation throughout the whole island and gives all Irish people an opportunity to work for our mutual benefit.
I should like to join the Taoiseach in paying tribute to those who have in long and difficult negotiations brought about the agreement to formulate this Executive and Administration and I think it is only fair that I should join with him also in paying tribute to Mr. Whitelaw, whose patience and dedication to his task obviously contributed greatly to the measure of agreement between the elected representatives of the two communities.
As I have said, Sir, there is a long way to go. The first task, as I understand it from the Taoiseach's statement, will be a tripartite meeting to discuss the formation of the Council and then further meetings before the Council will in fact be set up. I would hope that this side of the House will be kept fully informed as to developments and, incidentally, I would like to thank the Taoiseach for informing me immediately he got the news last night, even though it was the only news he got, that agreement had been reached on the formulation of an Executive.
It will be necessary in order to secure the best possible advantage out of this situation that the goodwill of the Opposition be maintained. That goodwill can be maintained if we know in what direction these developments are bringing us and if we know in advance rather than having thrust upon us decisions that might be come to as to the formation of the Council of Ireland and that might be come to as between our Government, the British Government and the Executive of the Northern Ireland Assembly I think the Taoiseach will bear in mind that it will be of extreme importance that we can maintain, by reason of co-operation and the information to be given to us, the unified approach that has been established in this House to this problem over the past four or five years.
Again I want to express the welcome of this party for the development that has now taken place and the wish that those who will be active and will form part of the two new bodies—I am not sure yet whether they will be two separate bodies— nevertheless, to refer to them both in one joint term, that the members of this Executive will be able to work in peace and harmony and will have the opportunity of airing whatever differences they have and coming to agreement to the fullest extent that they can in the interests of the communities they represent and in the interest of eliminating violence and suffering from those of our brethren in the North of Ireland.
A Cheann Comhairle——
Item No. 8. I have already advised Deputy Blaney about the position. I am precluded from allowing the Deputy to speak.
What I want to find out is whether or not there will be an opportunity for discussion of this matter immediately since the view expressed on both sides of the House does not conform to the views of all of us in the House.
The Deputy may not get around the ruling of the Chair in this manner.
I am asking the Ceann Comhairle a question.
The Deputy must find another opportunity to comment on this matter. He must now resume his seat. Deputy Blaney, the Chair is on his feet.
I put it on the record, regardless of who says "no", I regard this matter as a shameful betrayal——
Deputy Blaney will please resume his seat.
If I cannot say it in order, outside of order I must say it. Stormont is being brought about and it will be led by Faulkner, the architect of internment. This is what we are going to have, and this House congratulates those who brought about this shameful situation.
I have persistently called on the Deputy to behave himself.
I do not want to be represented——
In the circumstances, when we have such a flagrant show of misconduct, the Chair has no option but to adjourn the House.
Business suspended at 4.25 p.m. and resumed at 4.40 p.m.