asked the Taoiseach if he will indicate the number of citizens from the Republic, if any, who are among the 750 being currently held under the Special Powers Act in Northern Ireland.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Internment of Irish Citizens.
4.
So far as I know all those interned in the North are Irish citizens, and I am not prepared to differentiate between them in any manner.
Would the Taoiseach not say if he made representations on behalf of those in the Twenty-six Counties who are not under the jurisdiction of the Stormont regime?
I replied specifically to a question from the Deputy's colleague, Deputy Cluskey, on that point, and I said on that occasion that we were not prepared to differentiate between those interned because, as far as we knew then, they were all Irish citizens.
What the Taoiseach meant was that he was not prepared to do anything for any of them.
Has the Taoiseach an approximate list of the names and addresses of those detained without trial in Northern Ireland?
Yes, we have an approximate list.
Would the Taoiseach agree that we do, in fact, discriminate throughout the whole of our legislation between residents and non-residents? We pay social welfare benefits only to our own residents in this part of the country. Could he explain what he means by saying he is not prepared to discriminate in this matter? Why, if he discriminates in social welfare, is he not prepared to take action on behalf of residents here who are locked up?
Is the Deputy suggesting we should pay social welfare benefits to people in Northern Ireland?
No, I am accepting the discrimination——
Does the Deputy not realise, without trying to split hairs, that I am talking in the context of Irish citizenship?
I am asking the Taoiseach, bearing in mind the discrimination in all other respects between residents and non-residents who are citizens, why he is not prepared to discriminate in this respect?
Would the Taoiseach, as the head of this Government, not have responsibility for citizens from the Republic who are at present detained?
We have responsibility for all those detained and we have made representations over and over again in connection with internment, calling for its abolition, and we will keep doing that.
If they were detained in Britain would he not make representations to the British Government?
I am not talking of hypotheses. I am talking about those detained in Northern Ireland.
That is why I am saying the Taoiseach should do something.