Vol. 406 No. 1
6 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will give a Cabinet Minister full-time responsibility for Northern Ireland affairs for the duration of the present Brooke initiative in view of the fact that Mr. Brooke has stated that one of the complications right through the process has been that the Minister for Foreign Affairs has been going around the world.
The Government has no such plans. As I said in the House last week, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, who is joint Co-Chairman of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, has given assiduous and diligent attention at all times to Northern Ireland matters, which are, of course, for consideration also in the wider context of Anglo-Irish relations.
Does the Taoiseach agree or disagree with the statements made by the Secretary of State Mr. Brooke, to the effect that one of the complications in bringing the talks to finality was that the Minister for Foreign Affairs was going around the world?
That was a rather inconsequential remark by the Secretary of State, Mr. Brooke. It referred to a particular meeting. He was just instancing the difficulty in modern times for all politicians having so many obligations, to fix mutually convenient times for meetings. The Secretary of State, also in the same context, mentioned his difficulty with regard to the trade union leaders. In fact, that last meeting which was proposed between the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Mr. Brooke was postponed at the request of Mr. Brooke and it will now be rescheduled to take place within the next few days.
I think the Taoiseach meant the Unionist leaders and not the trade union leaders in his reference there. Would the Taoiseach agree that the Brooke talks at the present point of their development are of such critical importance that they require the whole-time attention of a Cabinet Minister for the next two months at least with a view to ensuring that every input that can be made from here to help these talks towards a successful conclusion is made, accepting that the Minister for Foreign Affairs has many other quite legitimate obligations to fulfil apart from his co-chairmanship of the Anglo-Irish Conference? Would the Taoiseach not accept that even for the next two months a Minister should be given special full-time responsibility for this matter?
The Minister for Foreign Affairs has special full-time responsibility and he exercises it. I sincerely assure the Deputy that no other aspect of Government business receives the unremitting attention that this issue does. It is not just the Minister for Foreign Affairs who is involved. I take a day-to-day interest in it. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and I and all the officials concerned meet at regular intervals and we do not take our eye off the ball at any time.
All I can say is that by your fruits you shall be judged.
