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Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

That was GAA rule 21, which was ignored in practice. The GAA did not and does not reflect the Catholic population—it is a sector of it. Irrespective of that issue, I have described the attitude of the Catholic communities in Northern Ireland. In March 2001, Catholic representation in the regular officer corps was 8.3 per cent. The current figure is more than 19 per cent. That is a good increase following the application of the 50:50 rule. I can understand the problem that that appears to create for the Protestant community, but I hope that they would agree that the relatively huge, if not yet proportionate, increase in the Catholic population within the new PSNI is giving a new dimension to policing right across the communities. That support from the Catholic community is increasing daily as its members gain confidence in enlisting for the new police service.