I should like to say at the outset that I and members of my party are at a disadvantage in that today's developments as they were disclosed to us were very sketchy. We did not have an opportunity to study the Taoiseach's statement and only had time to refer to a rather incomplete copy of the Northern Ireland Executive's statement.
I cannot but express my party's keen disappointment at today's developments and, in particular, at what appears to be a watering down or at least a phasing of the implementation of the Sunningdale Agreement. When the Sunningdale Agreement was presented to us in this House we were told it was presented as a complete package and was not open to negotiation. We expressed at that time, and, indeed, before the debate in the House, our reservations in relation to certain parts of the Sunningdale Communiqué. One of these was in reference to our constitutional position, and that reservation was effectively removed by the statement of the Taoiseach in the House in the early part of March.
The main reason otherwise for our acceptance of the Sunningdale Communiqué was the declared intention to implement that part of it which dealt with the setting up of a Council of Ireland. It now appears that the Council of Ireland will not be set up fully in accordance with that communiqué, that now it is proposed to set it up by phases, and even then the implementation of the second phase is not certain. In the meantime, the postponement of the implementation of the second phase will continue to exclude from any active participation in the political development of the Northern Ireland situation and the North of Ireland situation as it relates to the South, the biggest political party in the whole country, in that this statement which was agreed apparently by the Northern Ireland Executive proposes to postpone the setting up of the Assembly of the Council of Ireland. In the meantime, it is proposed only to set up the Council of Ministers to undertake certain functions, most of which are already being effectively carried out in cooperation between the former Stormont Government, now the Northern Ireland Executive, and our Government. It would seem that the continuance of this process would not require all the paraphernalia of the Council of Ministers.
I refer again to what we are told about the acceptance of the Council of the Sunningdale Communiqué as a package. Now that seems to have been diluted and, in effect, the implementation of the Sunningdale Communiqué will depend on the electoral will of the smallest of the jurisdictions who are parties to the Sunningdale Agreement. This seems to be a departure, as far as I can see it on a rather hasty study of the document, from the Sunningdale Communiqué as it was presented to us. It is a departure, too, from what has constantly been the assertion and the policy of the Fianna Fáil Party that the Irish people as a whole have an inalienable right to decide their own political destiny.
We recognise the need for the maintenance of the power-sharing Executive in the North of Ireland, and we are anxious to see it proceed. We are told that the consent to the implementation of the second phase of Sunningdale will now depend on the result of an election in Northern Ireland which is due to take place in 1977-78. This would appear, at first sight, to imply at least that the British Government are not maintaining their powers under the Sunningdale Communiqué and giving them instead, as I said, to the electoral will of the people of a small part of our country. It certainly does not conform with our principles and our policy. We still, however, hope to see the Northern Ireland power-sharing Executive continue in being as the best immediate hope of maintaining peace and promoting the interests of all the people of Northern Ireland.
This document which has been presented to us only a short time ago and which the Taoiseach has accepted on behalf of his Government, is by no means a statutory instrument. I believe that the efforts towards peace and reconciliation, towards co-operation between both parts of our country, towards bringing all the people of Ireland together, should proceed in any event, and that it is our hope that the date set here, 1977-78, is not the only date which will operate in respect of the full implementation of Sunningdale, especially in relation to the setting up of the Council of Ireland. I would hope that it would be possible for the parties to Sunningdale to proceed even before 1977-78 to the full establishment of the Council of Ireland.
I have stated my reservations. I have not had the opportunity of consulting my party, but in the interests of maintaining peace in the North of Ireland, in the interests of maintaining progress towards our ultimate aims and ideas in relation to the whole of Ireland, we should not comment further on this document, this suggested agreement of the Executive of the Council of Ireland. We shall not oppose any steps that will be taken towards maintaining in existence the Executive itself and maintaining its powers as they now exist pending further developments.
Therefore, the Fianna Fáil Party, with reservations, subject to the fundamental principle I have already stated of the inalienable right of the Irish people to decide their own destiny, will not do anything that will in any way stay progress towards peace.
