I have a number of Private Notice Questions to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. I will call Deputies in the order in which they submitted their questions to my office. First, I call Deputy De Rossa.
Private Notice Questions. - British Regiment's Activities in Northern Ireland.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will outline the representations he has made to the British authorities regarding the activities in recent days of troops of the Parachute Regiment operating in the Coalisland area of County Tyrone and the response, if any, received from the British authorities; if, in view of the complaints received from right across the communities regarding the actions of the Parachute Regiment and their clear unsuitability for these duties, he will urge their withdrawal; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will outline (1) the dates on which he received representation about the presence and activities of the Parachute Regiment in Coalisland and elsewhere in east and south Tyrone and the substance of these representations, (2) the action he took and the response to such action and (3) the further action he intends to take in view of the escalation of confrontation and tension in Coalisland in recent days; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if, in view of recent serious incidents, he will outline the steps he proposes to take to ensure the withdrawal of the Parachute Regiment in Northern Ireland.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will call a special meeting of the Anglo-Irish Conference to discuss the incidents that occurred in Coalisland, County Tyrone in the last few days and to impress on the British authorities the importance of the accompaniment of the Army by members of the police when they come into contact with civilians.
I propose to take all the Private Notice Questions dealing with events in Coalisland together.
Difficulties arising from the behaviour of troops belonging to the Parachute Regiment have been the subject of ongoing contacts with the British authorities since shortly after the deployment of the regiment in County Tyrone last month. At the meeting of the Anglo-Irish Conference on 27 April, I expressed concern at reports of harassment, ill-treatment and aggressive behaviour which had been conveyed to us by public representatives and other reputable individuals in the area. I emphasised the importance the Government attached to ensuring that the members of the security forces operated within the law and exercised due care and courtesy in their dealings with the public.
On 12 May in an unprovoked incident a group of soldiers from the Parachute Regiment entered business premises in Coalisland and caused injuries to a number of customers and damage to the premises concerned. Immediately following this incident, which was widely condemned by elected representatives in the area, the Government made clear to the British authorities their view, first, that appropriate disciplinary and criminal action must be taken against those responsible and, second, that the incident confirmed our view that the Parachute Regiment was not an appropriate unit for contact with the public in Northern Ireland and that we would wish to see them withdrawn from this role.
In the period immediately afterwards there were indications that the visibility of the Parachute Regiment in Coalisland was significantly reduced. While welcoming this development we maintained our position that the Parachute Regiment should be withdrawn entirely from duties involving contact with the public. The British authorities also informed us that the officer who took part in the incident on 12 May had been removed from duty and that the police were investigating the possibility of criminal charges being preferred.
On Sunday last, 17 May, members of the Parachute Regiment were again deployed in Coalisland. This followed an incident in which soldiers belonging to another regiment were set upon and a number of items taken, including a machine gun which has yet to be recovered. While attacks of this kind are to be condemned, and the disappearance of weapons of this calibre is clearly a serious matter, the reintroduction of members of the Parachute Regiment into the town was clearly an inappropriate, and in our view ill-judged, response to these events, given the background of recent days. Almost immediately members of the regiment were involved in a confrontation with local people during which shots were discharged resulting in injuries to three individuals. The British authorities, from whom we have sought a full report on this incident, indicated to us that the soldiers concerned fired in the air or into the ground. The use of live ammunition in such circumstances raises serious questions which we will be pursuing with the British authorities when the full report is to hand.
In the light of these events the Government are reinforced in their view that the Parachute Regiment is not suited for service in Northern Ireland, given the likelihood to contact with the public which service there involves. We will moreover continue to insist that all members of the security forces are accountable under the law and that any violations of the law must be vigorously pursued by the authorities.
As regards the suggestion by Deputy Barry that a special meeting of the Anglo-Irish Conference should be called to discuss the incident, the Deputy will appreciate that at the conference on 27 April it was confirmed that there would be no further meeting of the conference before the week beginning 27 July 1992 in order to give an opportunity for the political talks process to make progress. I am satisfied that the British authorities are very fully aware of our deep concern and, therefore, the Government would not wish at this point to call a further meeting of the conference.
I will, as I have made clear on a number of occasions, continue to press for full implementation of the commitment in the Hillsborough Communique that, save in the most exceptional circumstances, there is a police presence in all operations which involve direct contact between the armed forces and the community. It is moreover essential that such police accompaniment is organised in an effective manner so as to prevent the recurrence of incidents such as these.
Before calling the Deputies, I wish to say that having regard to the number of Private Notice Questions to be dealt with today one round of supplementary questions must suffice.
I think it would be appropriate for Members of this House to condemn the attack on the Parachute Regiment which resulted in a young soldier losing both of his legs some time before the current spate of activities by the regiment. In view of the fact that the RUC were present with the Parachute Regiment on 12 May and given their inability to cope with the activities of the regiment on that occasion, would the Minister agree it is time the practice of having troops on the street at all in towns like Coalisland was reviewed? An unequivocal declaration of support for the primacy of policing by the RUC in areas would be one way of ensuring that this kind of incident does not occur and that the British army do not come in contact with civilians in this way at all.
I agree entirely with what the Deputy has said. I want to assure him that there was police accompaniment during the incident on 12 May. I can also assure him that the matter is being reviewed and investigated. When the information comes to hand I will let him have it, if he so requests.
Will the Minister confirm that, as a result of representations made to him, including representations from me, about the conduct and activities and attitude of people in the Coalisland area to this regiment, the British authorities would have had good advance notice of the possibility of trouble and that the incidents which occurred at Coalisland should not have come as a surprise to them? Would he agree that the Parachute Regiment, by their training, tradition and experience are unsuited to very sensitive areas such as Coalisland? It would appear that this regiment know more about Goose Green than it knows about Gortgonis in that area. Would he agree that at the very least there should have been police accompaniment on all of these occasions in line with the commitment given in the Hillsborough Communique? Will the Minister find out why there was no police accompaniment when the second incident occurred which involved a new, inexperienced regiment in the area? Will he also find out what were the most exceptional circumstances in which that patrol were not accompanied by the police?
Finally, I ask the Minister to say to Michael Mates that the only result of macho posturing will be that the Provos and their fellow travellers will gain. Today that organisation will recruit members in an area where in a recent election Sinn Féin once again showed a decline in their vote. Will the Minister bring this to the attention of Mr. Mates, who ought to know about it, and warn him of the consequences of it?
There are three parts to the Deputy's question and I will try to deal with them separately. With regard to the Parachute Regiment in Coalisland, I expressed the view on television last night that not only are they unsuited to Coalisland but they are unsuited to the North of Ireland and should not be there. With regard to the issue of police accompaniment, as the Deputy suggests I will have the matter investigated. As I said in reply to Deputy De Rossa, there was police accompaniment on 12 May.
But not at the incident involving the Kings Own Scottish Borderers.
That is correct. That matter will be dealt with. With regard to the final part of the Deputy's question, I should say that both Deputy Currie and I have been living on this island long enough to know a little more about the situation in the North than Mr. Mates probably does. His remarks were probably a result of inexperience and were more adjusted to the security rather than the political elements of what is required in the context of our involvement in, for example, the Anglo-Irish Conference.
I seek some clarification from the Minister. I understand that the Government in lodging their complaint with the British Government were seeking the withdrawal of the Parachute Regiment from the Coalisland district. Can I take it from what the Minister has said — he repeated the statement he made on television last night — that the Government want the Parachute Regiment to be withdrawn from Northern Ireland?
Second, would the Minister accept that because of their record in Northern Ireland, particularly in 1971 in west Belfast, in 1972 in Derry — Bloody Sunday — and in 1976 in South Tyrone, the disdain in which this regiment are held by the Nationalist community there is provocative and that they should be removed forthwith in the interests of both communities in Northern Ireland because their activities of recent weeks are playing totally into the hands of the paramilitaries?
I agree entirely with what the Deputy said. As a matter of record, it is Government policy to have this regiment withdrawn from the island of Ireland, albeit in this case from Northern Ireland. I agree that their record has been deplorable from 1972 onwards. To say the very least, the sooner they are withdrawn from barracks in Coalisland and brought back to the United Kingdom the best for us all.
May I ask the Minister if it is true that when it was agreed there would be no meeting of the Anglo-Irish Conference until the end of July, that reference was to ordinary meetings but that the Conference allows, in certain circumstances, for special meetings to be held, would the Minister agree that the present circumstances are special and warrant the calling of a special meeting of the Conference at which the Minister could put before the Secretary of State, and the Minister responsible for Security, the points that have been made in this House, with which I am sure he agrees? There can be no involvement of security forces with civilians in Northern Ireland unless they are accompanied by members of the police who should have the first contact. The paramilitaries are a totally unsuitable regiment because of their history over the past 20 years in the North of Ireland, to have any role in the security of Northern Ireland. For security forces to descend to the level of terrorists is only acting as the recruiting sergeant for the Provisional IRA and this behaviour should, at all stages, be avoided by them. We expect much more discipline from them than we have seen in the past week.
I agree with the Deputy that in circumstances where British soldiers of whatever regiment behave in the manner in which the Parachute Regiment behaved, they are, effectively, recruiting officers for the IRA. The sort of behaviour that was evident in Coalisland entices young people to protect their community, particularly by joining the IRA, and that is most unfortunate. In relation to the calling of an Anglo-Irish Conference meeting, there is a precedent, as the Deputy quite properly said, but in this instance the Deputy should accept that ongoing investigations should be allowed continue until the point is reached when the possibility of such a conference might be considered. I would be anxious to leave the arrangement as it is until the end of July and not to in any way interrupt the undertaking given on 27 April last that there should be a gap in the conference.
Let us now deal with other Private Notice Questions.
May I make one comment?
I am proceeding now to Private Notice Questions to the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications and the Minister for Labour.
Would the Minister not agree that a face to face meeting would be much better?
I will have a chat with Sir Patrick Mayhew.
Sorry, I have gone on to other questions, and the Minister also should obey the Chair.