I move:
That Dáil Éireann hereby resolves, pursuant to sub-section 3º of section 3 of Article 28 of the Constitution, that the national emergency created by the armed conflict referred to in the Resolutions, pursuant to the said Article, of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann of 1st September, 1976, has ceased to exist.
I would like to put the motion in its historical context. This country has been under a state of emergency since 1939. The state of emergency was first initiated by the outbreak of the Second World War which became euphemistically known here as the "Emergency".
It is worth recalling, in this the 50th anniversary of the end of that war, a war which defeated the most appalling tyranny Europe has ever known, a total of 46 million people were killed in its six year duration. Six million Poles were killed under the Nazi occupation, half of whom were Polish Jews. Six million Jews altogether were killed, just because they were Jews. Many sacrifices were made to end this tyranny. Our nearest neighbour — Britain — lost more than a quarter of a million service men and women and an estimated 10,000 people from the island of Ireland made the ultimate sacrifice and were killed in action seeking to end that tyrannical regime.
This puts our remaining troubles and disagreements in context. It points to the need to build a single European economy with each part so inter-dependent on the other that war in Europe becomes impossible.
The more immediate cause of the continuation of the state of emergency from 1976 to date was violence associated with the troubles in Northern Ireland. In those troubles, over 3,000 people lost their lives. We owe an incalculable debt to all those who helped bring that violence to an end. Some have been publicly acknowledged. Others, by choice, remain anonymous. Yet others, who did not take part directly in the peace process, contributed by their silence, by their discretion or by their willingness to accept the good faith of people they would not normally have been inclined to trust.
That is what the peace process now requires from all sides: from Sinn Féil right across to the British Government, from Unionists as well as Nationalists — a willingness to trust those one would normally not have been inclined to trust.
The Government is asking both Houses of the Oireachtas, through this motion, to bring to an end the national emergency resolved by the Dáil and Seanad Éireann to have existed on 1 September, 1976. The declaration of a national emergency at that time, in accordance with Article 28 of the Constitution, was occasioned by the need to secure public safety, and to preserve the State against the background of the armed conflict then taking place in Northern Ireland. Events that summer, notably explosions at the Special Criminal Court, the murder of the British Ambassador Christopher Ewart-Biggs and Miss Judith Cooke, represented disturbing new developments which were seen by my predecessor, Liam Cosgrave, to present a direct challenge to the authority of the institutions of State and to their continued ability to discharge the functions entrusted to them under the Constitution.
The declaration of the national emergency on 1 September 1976 coincided with the ending by Dáil and Seanad Éireann of the national emergency which had been declared in 1939. The ending of the national emergency now, in 1995, is not without significance and, hopefully, opens a new phase in our history when threats to our security, from whatever source, are a thing of the past.
The motion before the House gives effect to the commitment contained in the Government Programme —A Government of Renewal— to expedite the lifting of the state of emergency with a view to consolidating the peace process. A decision to move such a motion was signalled by the former Government on 25 October last but had not been acted upon prior to the change of Government.
The Government believes it is right to bring this motion before the House at this time. It represents a further positive response to the new situation created by the complete cessation of all military operations by the Provisional IRA as and from 31 August 1994 and the decision of the combined loyalist military command on 13 October 1994 to universally cease all operational hostilities. Those developments represent a decisive change and a turning-point in the history of our island.
The ending of the national emergency will signal our confidence in the developing peace process and our continuing determination to harness its opportunities for a just and lasting peace. Moreover, declaring the end of that emergency will help underline the return to normality which the developments of recent times represent for so many people in both parts of the island.
The ending of the national emergency will have more than symbolic meaning. It will have legal consequences as well. The Emergency Powers Act, 1976, enacted immediately following the declaration of the national emergency in 1976 will, in accordance with the provisions of section 3 of that Act, automatically expire on the passing of this resolution by both Houses. Moreover, section 15 of the Criminal Law Act, 1976 — which empowers members of the Defence Forces to arrest and search in certain defined circumstances when acting in aid of the civil power — will also cease to have effect. This is because that section had effect only as long as the Emergency Powers Act, 1976 was in force.
The powers conferred on the security forces of this State by those legislative provisions are, of their nature, exceptional in our — or in any — legal system. This is evident from the fact that the extended period of detention for up to seven days, allowed by the Emergency Powers Act, was allowed to lapse in 1977, although the possibility of bringing it back was preserved at that time: that power has now gone.
The motion has no direct implications for the continued operation of the Offences Against the State Acts, 19391985. That legislation is a separate matter and the issues which arise are quite distinct from those arising in connection with the ending of the national emergency. The Government nevertheless intends to review that legislation as well, in line with the commitment contained in its programme to review all legislation and court arrangements associated with the management of the conflict over the past 25 years.
I want — as I am sure all Members of the House will want — to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the security forces of the State for their dedication and professionalism in safeguarding our security during a troubled and turbulent period in our history. We owe the men and women of the Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces a great debt for their steadfast and tireless efforts on behalf of all our people. We remember, at this time in particular, those members of the security forces who made the ultimate sacrifice and paid the ultimate sacrifice in defending the security of the State: Garda Dick Fallon, Inspector Samuel Donegan, Garda Michael Reynolds, Garda Michael Clerkin, Garda John Morley, Garda Henry Byrne, Garda James Quaid, Garda Patrick Reynolds, Sergeant Patrick McLoughlin, Garda Peter Garry Sheehan, Garda Francis Hand, Sergeant Patrick Morrissey, Chief Officer Brian Stack of the Prison Service and Private Kelly of the Defence Forces.
In asking both House of the Oireachtas, through this motion, to bring to an end the national emergency, the Government is guided by the desire to consolidate and advance the peace process. The ultimate requirement remains, of course, the achievement of an agreed political settlement that would secure the support and allegiance of both traditions on this island. To that end, the Irish and British Governments are determined to complete as soon as possible our negotiations on the Joint Framework Document, as a basis for the process of dialogue involving the two Governments and the political parties in Northern Ireland. That document will be of immense importance in terms of all our efforts to realise the full potential of this new era of peace. I encourage all to be guided in the days ahead by the hopes of so many for a fair political settlement in an environment of lasting peace.