I move:
That in view of the critical situation for the Irish people north and south which has arisen because of recent events in Northern Ireland Seanad Éireann urges the desirability of joint discussion thereon between the Government and Opposition Parties in Oireachtas Éireann.
I am moving this motion with a full sense of responsibility. All of us have been deeply shocked and saddened by the events which have taken place in Northern Ireland over the past few days. Certainly neither I nor any person associated with me in the Fine Gael Party would like to say anything or even to risk having anything said which would in any way inflame feelings in the north or kindle any feelings of bitterness or animosity there. Being an Opposition party, we are very deeply conscious of a definite sense of responsibility in this matter. We have already made it clear—and I should like to make it clear again—that in no sense should any of us, in Opposition or in Government, regard the northern situation as something which should become the plaything of southern politics. I have no wish, nor have any of my colleagues any wish, to traffic for party political purposes in the sufferings and anxieties of our fellow countrymen in the north.
We are deeply saddened and deeply shocked by what has occurred in the north over the past few days. I feel— and this is the real reason why I am moving this motion—that it is necessary that political parties represented in the Parliament of southern Ireland should show a very definite sense of responsibility in this matter. Whatever our political differences here in the south may be, all of us should be prepared to stand side by side in a united way in our approach to the problems posed by the northern situation. I know very well that a party in opposition risks being tagged with responsibility without authority if they are prepared to enter into discussions with the Government party in a situation like this. I recognise very well that any mistake, any rash words which may be spoken—and I hope none will be—by those in authority if spoken by the Government and if there have been discussions such as I have suggested in this motion, my party and any other Opposition parties who may be prepared to enter such discussions, could be and possibly would be, tagged with some part of the responsibility for any inadvertent errors or slips that may be made.
It is a measure of our anxiety and our sincerity to be helpful that we ask in this motion that Seanad Éireann should encourage, should urge, the desirability of joint discussion such as I have spoken of. I do not want to say much more than I have said already. I think that it would be helpful in calming the situation in the north. That must be the first desire of all of us. If politicians south of the Border could, and could be seen to, speak in a united way on these problems, if the Government speak merely as a political party, Fianna Fáil; if we speak as an Opposition party, Fine Gael; if Labour speak as another Opposition party; even though the end result which all of us seek to achieve may be the same, even though the words we use may be virtually the same, even though we may all seek to have a soothing and a calming effect and to de-escalate the situation in the north, I do not think it would have the same weight or impact as if we could show to the world that here in the south, in face of a critical situation in dangerous times, we were prepared to consult one with another and were prepared to pool our brains, our resources and our energies to try to be as helpful as we can to our countrymen in the north. I recognise the risks in an Opposition party offering to engage in that kind of discussion but I feel this is a time when, for the sake of the entire country, we must be prepared to take political risks. All of us must be prepared to look at this matter from the viewpoint of the nation as a whole, north and south, and none of us can afford to look at it from a party political point of view. I would earnestly ask the Seanad to adopt this resolution.
