On the last occasion I had indicated what I thought was the historical situation which had created two sections of the community in Northern Ireland in a system that was based on sectarian loyalties. I had also indicated the lack of basic rights to the Nationalist community — discrimination in housing, electoral rights and jobs. I had moved on to make the point that the Forum had been established for consultation in a way which would bring about a lasting peace that could be achieved through the democratic system. As we all know, this Forum was open to all democratic parties who rejected violence. Regrettably, the Unionists saw fit not to take part in the Forum, but I do know from the reports and from people I spoke to who sat on that famous Forum, that they went out of their way to welcome and to meet people of the Unionist tradition. They went out of their way to understand their beliefs and traditions, and their oral and written submissions were particularly well scrutinised. I cannot help feeling, and the Minister would probably confirm, that the oral submissions on 19 January 1984 were of particular importance to the work of the Forum and were examined in great detail.
We waited and hoped for a good response from the British as a result of the recent House of Commons debate. That was an opportunity for Mrs. Thatcher and her Government to spell out what they might do. But, having closely followed that debate, nothing more than the usual, dull and monotonous recitation of clichés came from Mr. Prior on that occasion. In my opinion, he paid no justice to the issue or to the efforts, hopes and beliefs which went into the work of the Forum report. It seemed to me that the Tories on that occasion were far more interested in seeing how Mr. Prior performed on what was to be one of his last occasions before he retired to the back benches. Clearly, it was a very negative response and I could not help feeling that the Labour Party's performance on that occasion was very little better. Their spokesman on the North, Mr. Archer, dismissed the findings of the Forum by saying that his party were not interested in making political mileage from the outcome and deliberations on the New Ireland Forum report. This is the easy way out for the party which first gave the Unionists their guarantee. It goes without saying that neither party would in any way support the main recommendation of this report.
The failure of both parties to be positive simply means that security will continue to cost this country and Britain millions of pounds, that our jails will continue to be filled with subversives and that an air of general hopelessness will continue to affect both the North and the Republic. I would prefer not to use the words "Nero fiddling while Rome burns", but that is how I could describe the situation at the moment. Both the Labour Party and the British Government have not responded positively and because of the continuance of violence, more people will die in the North, in England and in Ireland. It is time for Mrs. Thatcher and her Government to take the Northern Ireland problem seriously. I had hoped that the opinion polls commissioned for the London Weekend Television Company would change her mind and the minds of her Government because those polls indicated that over 60 per cent of those interviewed believe that Dublin should have a say in the constitutional position of Northern Ireland. If this poll had been taken four, five or six years ago, I do not think you would have 2 per cent or 3 per cent saying that. This increase in support must give encouragement to all those who are interested in solving this particular problem.
It would be a tragedy if the efforts of so many genuine and well meaning people, were wasted. I support the main recommendation of the report because I feel that a unitary State achieved by agreement between the Nationalists and the Unionists would allow full participating by all traditions in the government of this island. It would provide many advantages in the area of agriculture, tourism, commerce and trade. Like many people I waited for a reaction to last Friday's tragedy. I noted — and quite rightly — that swift condemnation came from the Taoiseach, Deputy Garret FitzGerald, from Mr. Haughey and other party leaders. Clearly, the whole democratic process was interfered with in the most abhorrent way. We must not condone what happened in Brighton, but, at the same time, we cannot act like the ostrich and bury our heads in the sand and pretend we do not understand why it happened.
It is obvious now that the bombing in Brighton will not alter the response to the New Ireland Forum. Last Monday on television Mrs. Thatcher virtually ruled out any new initiative by saying that moves must come from Northern Ireland and have the support of the majority. I found this to be a most distressing and disappointing statement. Mrs. Thatcher has always claimed that Northern Ireland was an integral part of the United Kingdom. If that is the case, surely she has a duty to rule Northern Ireland and to endeavour to solve the problems of Northern Ireland. It is very obvious to me that if there is to be any new initiative it is not coming from this source. Obviously we must wait for a new Government and for a new Prime Minister. Certainly it is not coming from Mrs. Thatcher, which is most regrettable.
Mrs. Thatcher also made a point — which I think was unfair — that each and every person in Northern Ireland had equal rights because they live in a democracy and, whether Catholic or Protestant, they have one vote. In other words she said they were equal. Of course they have one vote but what about the discriminations I mentioned two weeks ago? What about the denial of basic human rights for so many of our people there? What about the terrible discrimination in the area of electoral rights, housing and jobs? I am not denying that all the people in the North have a vote, but they are clearly denied other very important basic human rights.
On Monday — the same day Mrs. Thatcher gave her television interview — Mr. Molyneaux, the Official Unionist Leader, clearly indicated how happy he was with the solution. He suggested that constitutional Nationalists — people like Deputy Garret FitzGerald, Deputy Haughey, Deputy Spring, Deputy Barry, Mr. John Hume, not forgetting the Senators from Northern Ireland — were all cast in the same mould, that they travelled along the same road as the Brighton bombers. I thought that a most irresponsible and outrageous statement from any leader. The pity of it is that Mrs. Thatcher says the initiative must come from within Northern Ireland. If she is waiting for Mr. Molyneaux to take the initiative, then the problems in Northern Ireland will never end.
Last June the President of the United States visited Ireland. In his address to the Dáil and Seanad one sentence caught my eye. He said:
Believe me, to hold the office I now hold is to understand, each waking moment of the day, the awesome responsibility of protecting peace and perserving human life.
I would say that Mrs. Thatcher has the same responsibility, but she is not responding. The British Government will be clearly failing in their duty if they do not respond positively to the findings of the New Ireland Forum Report. If they do, all our aspirations and hopes can be summed up briefly in the words we all dearly want for Northern Ireland, peace with justice.