Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-01-14-Speech-3-014"
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"en.20040114.1.3-014"2
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"Mr President, the President-in-Office of the Council may find it strange that I should be welcoming the Irish Republic's presidency today, but I know that he will understand my intention because he is going to be so busy over the next six months that we will not have to tolerate his presence at meetings in Northern Ireland. We will be able to get on with our business, as so overwhelmingly decided by the electorate, and he can get on with his. We wish him a fair wind only as regards that particular issue.
We in Northern Ireland have problems. The new President-in-Office of the Council has said that he would not tolerate having any members of the IRA/Sinn Fein in the Dublin Government, but insists that we tolerate them if we are to have a government in Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom. I trust he will learn over the next six months to become consistent and no longer tell us to accept something that he would not tolerate.
I well understand his forced optimism today regarding the new constitutional proposal but agree with the last speaker that the Union should decide on this democratically, with every part of that Union holding a referendum to decide on the issue so that the people can voice their opinion. This would constitute a step towards stability and progress.
Realistically, I do not think there can be a mighty leap forward in the six months of this presidency. There are many things that need to be attended to. The President-in-Office made a few remarks about human rights, which I think are a very important part of our agenda. On that subject, the matter of paedophile priests and their victims, which affects the whole of the European Union, is one of very serious consequence to us all. I trust that this matter, which the President-in-Office knows something about as it affects the country of which he is Prime Minister, will be attended to. There must be no cover-up and the problem must be addressed directly by this Parliament and the European Union.
There are also other matters, like agriculture and fisheries, to deal with. The people whom I represent in this House were sadly disappointed and very angry at the attitude the government headed by the President-in-Office has shown to the fishing industry. He will see the impact of that disappointment and anger in the days to come.
As for agriculture, we know that this is an industry which needs all the help it can get in both parts of Ireland. There is no use talking about helping Poland into a position of power when that could be disastrous for the agriculture interests of other parts of the Union. These are matters which the President-in-Office of the Council and this House need to consider thoroughly."@en1
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