Vol. 363 No. 9
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will raise the case of the Maguire family at the Anglo-Irish Conference; and if he will press to have it reopened with a view to clearing their name and confirming their innocence of the charges of which they were convicted.
16.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress, if any, which has been made in establishing the innocence of Annie Maguire and her family; and if he will make a statement of progress on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 16 together. Concern has been frequently expressed about the conviction of Mrs. Maguire and that of her co-accused and the matter has been raised with the British authorities on a number of occasions.
I understand the position of the British authorities to be that since the various issues which have prompted public expressions of concern were considered by the court at the original trial, the decision of which was upheld on appeal, the British Home Secretary does not consider there are grounds to justify his using his powers under section 17 of the Criminal Appeal Act, 1968, to refer the case to the Court of Appeal, but that if new material becomes available, he will examine it very carefully as to whether or not it provides grounds for departing from the earlier decision.
Notwithstanding the position adopted by the British authorities to date, I can assure the Deputy that I take a close interest in this case and that I will continue to assist in any way open to me. If Deputies have information which could be helpful to the case, I would be glad to receive it.
As this case is one which arises in Britain it is not appropriate to the Anglo-Irish Conference. Article 2 of the Anglo-Irish agreement states that it is "concerned with Northern Ireland and with relations between the two parts of the island of Ireland".
Will the Minister accept that there is a connection with Northern Ireland by virtue of the original charges in that case, namely, the explosive charges? Will he accept that Mrs. Annie Maguire is innocent? Will he continue to use his good offices as Minister for Foreign Affairs to have an urgent judicial revision of the case? Finally, could he help Mrs. Maguire by at least asserting that in his view and the Government's view she is innocent?
It is not customary to comment in this House on verdicts taken in courts, but I can assure the Deputy, as I said in my reply, that I am extremely concerned and interested in this case and will do everything possible that I can do to help Mrs. Maguire establish her innocence.
Is the Minister aware of the existence of a letter from a David Mellor who represents himself to be the Under Secretary at the Home Office? This letter was addressed to Mr. Gerry Fitt, now Lord Fitt, and to myself and others. The most recent request was refused and the Annie Maguire case is further down the road than ever before, despite the best efforts. The Minister has genuinely expressed concern about this woman and her family's plight. Will he not now consider approaching the British Home Secretary, Mr. Douglas Hurd, and take it out of the hands of downstream politicians like Mr. Mellor? This matter should be handled at the very highest level. With respect to the Minister and his Anglo-Irish agreement, I understand that that section——
I cannot allow the Deputy to make a speech however eloquent.
That is very generous of you, Sir. I mean your reference to my eloquence. I have also studied the section of the Anglo-Irish agreement and there is no doubt that there is a mechanism——
The Deputy is continuing to ignore the Chair.
——which allows the Minister to bring this to the attention of the British Government.
I would remind the Deputy that there is a vote tonight.
I will not be foolish enough to repeat what happened yesterday. Naturally, I did not want to be thrown out, but you insisted. Can the Minister heighten the level of representations?
I am not sure if the Deputy is aware that I have met Mrs. Maguire——
Yes.
——and that I have pursued certain inquiries as a result of that meeting which, I regret to say, have not advanced the case. I found that out only last week. Now I intend to take the matter up personally and directly with the Home Secretary.
That is very generous of the Minister. Is he aware that in addition to what he intends doing I, and I am sure Deputy Skelly and others will join me, intend to bring Annie Maguire to the British House of Commons to lobby her case once more on her own behalf and on behalf of her family and during the course of that trip we intend to visit Wormwood Scrubs and the Birmingham bombers?
That is not——
That is the sort of thing we should be doing as parliamentarians. I am most grateful to the Minister for the manner in which he has dealt with the Maguire case. He has shown concern——
Please do not go on making speeches.
——and the Minister's response here this afternoon is a good one.
I am asking the Deputy to desist.
I am not sure whether I can accept what the Deputy suggests as being appropriate for parliamentarians, but I would be grateful if the Deputy would give me a copy of the letter he referred to as I am not sure whether I have one.
I will certainly.
