I applaud the initiative of the students of Queen's University, Belfast, in taking a case against the Government and the Law Society to ensure parity of esteem with students of southern universities. However, I view with disbelief and dismay the position in which the students have been put as a result of the failure of the High Court to afford them any remedy, the court having found that the Government was in breach of European law. The Government has now placed southern graduates in an extremely difficult position. It was the Law Society which applied to the court to strike down the entire exemption regime which applied to southern graduates. It is time for the Government to take on the Law Society, unless it is running the Government, which may be closer to the truth than the Minister for Justice or the Taoiseach would like to admit.
At a time when we are seeking peace and reconciliation on this island the failure of the Government to act in this matter is deplorable and serves only to insult northern Unionists and Nationalists alike. The Government stands accused by its behaviour in this matter of displaying a separatist mentality. Southern universities are also concerned at the Government's obduracy. When the previous Minister for Justice, Deputy Geoghegan-Quinn, was requested to look into this matter she ordered the Law Society to carry out a full review of the application of the Belfast students. The review was not undertaken and the Minister for Justice must account for her failure to act in this matter. I deplore the decision of the Government to apply for costs against the Belfast students, effectively punishing them for daring to assert their rights under European law by successfully challenging the legality of Government legislation.
I agree with the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Mr. David Trimble, MP, who has described the actions of the Government in this matter as absurd and ridiculous. There is deep disappointment in Northern Ireland at the way in which the people there and their university have been victimised by the Government. There is also deep disappointment in southern universities at the way in which their degrees are being devalued by the Government. I understand an appeal has been lodged by the students of Queen's University, Belfast and that it will be heard by the Supreme Court on 12 December next.
It is very important to put on record that the students of Queen's University, Belfast, strenuously argued before the High Court that the appropriate course for it to take was to declare, as it found, that the students were victims of wrongful discrimination and were entitled to equal treatment with graduates from universities in the South. It was the contention of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland that if there was wrongful discrimination then the only course open to the High Court was to disenfranchise the graduates of universities of the Irish Republic by striking down the entire exemption regime. Counsel for the students strenuously argued in the High Court that knocking down the entire exemption regime would be grossly unfair and would do a wrong to the people of the South and that the purpose of the Law Society in insisting that the court should do this, if it found that the students were victims of wrongful discrimination, was to destroy the entire exemption regime.
