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Northern Ireland Bill

My Lords, I would like to join other noble Lords in thanking the Minister for outlining the purpose of the Northern Ireland Bill. Also, in common with many other interested people in the Province, I welcome the fact that the Government have taken an initiative. The Assembly’s existence must be brought to a head and decisions taken. I note with alarm the attempt to put pressure on the unionist MLAs of all types to take part in the creation of an executive; I am concerned that this shows a mindset which is unhelpful to the proposed process. I live in Northern Ireland and have done all my life. I acknowledge that over the past 10 years much has changed for the good. Belfast is a beautiful and now prosperous city. The vast bulk of civil unrest is a thing of the past—thank goodness. Naturally, some difficulties still exist and could cause major problems. The advent of Sinn Fein/IRA’s big time criminality must be addressed with vigour if the unionist community is to have enough confidence to accept Sinn Fein in government and so make this Bill worth while. However, the activity of last weekend in South Armagh is exactly the type of event to damage such confidence. I am informed by reliable sources that republican terrorist Dessie O’Hare, known as the Border Fox, was back in South Armagh for the first time in many years. O’Hare is believed to be responsible, over recent decades, for some of the cruellest murders. The security forces believe that he may be responsible for up to 30 brutal murders. On Saturday, the police visited his home, where I believe he was at that time. They failed to arrest this most wanted of terrorists. If the Northern Ireland Bill is to have any chance of success, side deals, or anything that looks like a side deal, with Sinn Fein/IRA must not happen. The on-the-run legislation of earlier this year was rejected by most people but if wanted terrorists are allowed back into Northern Ireland and cannot be made accountable to the law in any form, the position has become very serious. Among his many brutal murders, the Border Fox killed a young mother, Margaret Hearst, and then opened fire on her small baby. He killed an 80 year-old pensioner in Markethill and, on a Sunday night, slaughtered three elders of Darkley Church inside that church after the evening service. The Home Secretary is in trouble for releasing potential criminals back into the community, but here is a case where O’Hare boasts of his crimes and his whereabouts are known. On whose authority were the police unable to arrest him and was that after another deal with republicans? How must the decent people of South Armagh, let alone the relations of those murdered, feel to have the Border Fox back in the area. Compared with Charles Clarke’s misjudgements, this is much, much more serious and it demands an answer from the Government. Media sources say that a major homecoming party is to be organised. I assume that the security forces will require him to help with their inquiries before that. Loyalist human rights activist, Willie Frazer of FAIR has, this morning, lodged a complaint with the police ombudsman concerning possible neglect of duty. When or if this Bill progresses, I will be putting down an amendment at the next stage concerning the existence of the cross-border bodies and related activities if the Assembly is no more after 24 November 2006. Many noble Lords will know that I have taken an interest in the implementation bodies because of the callous, one-sided way in which I was treated while, for four-and-a-half years, a chairman of one. In general terms, the cross-border bodies have not, by any standards, been a success. Vast sums have been spent on their creation for political purposes, yet the only advance seems to be that of the low standards of Irish governance into a part of the United Kingdom. When I inquire from former senior civil servants why HMG seem to have no control over these bodies, I am told that the instructions are to do what the Irish want. These are not bodies of equal status and I wonder why. I will return to this topic on another day. I support the general thrust of the Bill.