asked the Taoiseach if the Government have received a copy of the International Red Cross Report on conditions in internment camps in Northern Ireland; and if he will indicate the Government's attitude towards the findings of this report.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Northern Ireland Internment Camps.
2.
The International Committee of the Red Cross make their reports on places of detention in Northern Ireland available only to the British Government which published the most recent one on the 25th April, 1972. The findings of these reports, as published, confirm the information we have about conditions in internment camps in Northern Ireland. As I have repeatedly said, here and elsewhere, what we seek is an end to the policy of internment without trial and the consequent closing of the internment camps.
In relation to the Government's overall policy about the ending of internment as soon as possible, will the Taoiseach say whether this request was repeated by the Minister for Foreign Affairs at his last meeting with Mr. Whitelaw? Was this general policy of the Government pressed at that meeting?
I do not wish to go into any details about what the Minister discussed with Mr. Whitelaw but I can assure the Deputy and the House that no opportunity is lost to convey to the British Government our feelings about the effects of internment on the situation in the North.