Outside there were 2,000 or 3,000 people and about 1,500 Garda. This was a build-up to frighten the people. Out there, there were many people who would jump onto any bandwaggon but to me the irresponsible people were the newspapers who should have given a lead. On Tuesday the newspapers were against this Bill. The next day they were on strike. I know it was not the fault of the newspaper owners. It was the fault of the unions. The people should have been fed the information, and they were not. On Thursday morning the newspapers were still against it. This morning they want a compromise. These are the people who are supposed to give a lead. They blame the politicians and say we are not consistent. We are a hell of a sight more consistent than that.
We have had the Fianna Fáil Party for the Provos. Three months ago for six weeks running The Irish Press were backing the Provos and now they are for the Government. I wonder why. Did the whip come from here? I do not know whether it was for political reasons or for reasons connected with circulation.
The Minister for Finance mentioned the case of a journalist who gave information which would not be printed. I wonder have we got to that stage. I do not often agree with Deputy Blaney. I admire his ability but I think he has turned the wrong way. He has gone pro-IRA and I am against them. He said this Bill was introduced because Stephenson or Stiofáin, or whatever you call him, was put in jail. Because of that there was an uproar and this Bill was brought in. If that man decides to go on hunger strike I cannot stop him. As Deputy Browne said, there are many other people on hunger strike. Nobody bothers about those who are on hunger strike down in Portlaoise. While people are marching up and down here worrying about him, what is happening to the 30 or 40 people who were maimed in the Abercorn?
I have known the Minister for Finance for a long time. I stood with him in Dublin North-East when it was a five-seater. I have a tremendous respect for him, while I disagree with him politically. Yesterday he came in here and stooped to sewer politics. He should have been defending the Bill or explaining it to us, but he spent his time attacking Fine Gael and chopping them. The last time Fianna Fáil did this, they did it to hide their own problems. That was just shortly before the Arms Trial. They said Fine Gael were split down the middle and, within a week, four of them were gone.
The Minister for Finance mentioned a newspaper report, a garbled report untrue in toto, and he added to it and threw it across at us here. What he was really doing was trying to put Fine Gael in the position that they were objecting to this Bill for party politics and, in fact, worse, that somebody in Fine Gael was trying to take over, which is untrue and wrong.
I say now to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Colley, that the Fianna Fáil Party are using this Bill solely for party political gain, not in the interests of Ireland. The talk around the House now is, "We will win". That is the only reason why Fianna Fáil are pressing this Bill. I should like to warn the Taoiseach that it is my solemn belief that he will be beaten. I do not agree with the papers. The former Prime Minister in England, Mr. Wilson, thought he would canter home a couple of years ago. He was beaten. Things looked better for him than they do for the Taoiseach. Many young people are influencing their parents. We have had the case of the television authority being sacked. They were sacked and replaced by Fianna Fáil men and a Labour man—I do not know whether he is in Labour; he is Fianna Fáil. Last night I was with a man outside the House who had taken too much to drink. Another man asked, "What will you do with him? Put him on the board of Telefís Éireann. You do not need any qualifications for that".
This Bill was commented upon in the North of Ireland. Everybody was against it, including Captain Brooke. He was not much help to us down here. The one man who was for it was Bill Craig.
The speech of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Colley, yesterday was despicable, trying to change the truth. Every party in this country is for law and order. Let that go on the record and let it be published abroad by the newspapers. There may be individual exceptions but the parties overall are for law and order. I cannot guarantee that 100 per cent of Fianna Fáil but Labour I am certain of because they have come out openly since 1922. So are 99 per cent of the people for law and order. This law and order should be guaranteed without taking away the rights of the individual. The only difference between the parties at the moment on this Bill is that we think it is taking away the rights of the individual and Fianna Fáil do not. There is the old saying about Fianna Fáil looking into their own heart to discover what Ireland wants. They might find to the contrary. We should get a formula for changing the law whereby the three parties could back the Bill to implement it. If there were an agreed Bill, any subversive organisation would have to pack up and go because they would know they were finished. They would know that no authority would exist in the State but the elected Government. In the North there are various parties and they disagree.
I am not thinking about whether I am in Dáil Éireann or not. If the Government want this vote there will be an escalation of violence throughout the country because the more repressive the law the more reaction you will get against it. If the Government let this go to a vote and if they go to the country, I am telling you—it is on the Taoiseach's shoulders—there will be two or three persons killed and the chances are that they will be Fianna Fáil. I do not want anybody killed while standing for election but I am afraid that will happen. O.K., you will canter home. That is a great thing. You will leave civil war behind you or, if not civil war, at best, you will get martial law. Every country that has had to fight for its independence has ended up with a military dictatorship or a dictator. At least in Ireland we have a democracy. I doubt if we will have it if this Bill goes through. We are a democracy and I hope that that position will not be changed.
If the Taoiseach wants to put the country into turmoil, let him go ahead. In my view, section 3 (2) is diabolical and should be deleted forthwith. In the South in the last 15 years great strides have been made. Trade unions, employers, Government and Opposition had a lot to do with it. There has been co-operation between unions and employers and in some cases at least there has been recognition of the employee as an individual, not in all cases but there has been a movement towards this. If we get this election with guns in it, it will put us back 20 years, not only economically and in tourism. Deputy P.J. Burke said it speaking as a Fianna Fáil TD, I say it as an individual, that we should think of Ireland and forget party politics. I do not care about the results of the election. I will be in to win but if I lose I shall not die but I would hate to see an election where guns would come to the fore. We need the co-operation of all parties and the Government have got that in regard to the North of Ireland from Labour and Fine Gael. We need the co-operation of the three parties, not one individual party, to maintain law and order.
Since we all agree on the question of the maintenance of law and order, why should one party say that they have the God-given right in regard to law and order when up to that point they had not bothered about it? We should now agree on a policy for law and order. Any differences should be in regard to economic, industrial and social policy. This is what we should be discussing in the Dáil. One party should not try to get the better of the other. I will hardly gain any votes by praising a Deputy of another party who happens to be in my constituency, but in all fairness to Deputy Cruise-O'Brien it must be said that the Government are now coming around to his way of thinking. As a businessman who has many premises in Dublin I am aware of the possibility of losing business as a result of my opposition to these measures, but I cannot support them because they would escalate the violence. I would be sorry to see any Opposition party going down. In the case of our own party my vanity would be hurt rather than my pocket because my salary amounts to only £400 after the deduction of tax. However, I do not think we will go down as a result of our stand on this issue. If Fianna Fáil are again the cause of civil war in this country, let that be on their heads.