Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 (Renewal of Temporary Provisions) Order 2007

The trouble with any regulations or legislation of this nature is that when you speak from within Northern Ireland you will immediately be interpreted as extending sectarianism. When you voice any opinion on something such as what is known colloquially as the ““50:50 disposition”” you can be open to the interpretation that ““everything is right and you are going against what is wrong””. This afternoon, I suggest two things to the Minister in this context. First, in the light of what has already been said by previous speakers, the time has come to reconsider whether this provision should even be renewed for three more years. The situation in Northern Ireland has changed vastly since the initiating of this thinking, and certainly since Patten. I feel that it would be of tremendous encouragement to the whole of our community if it could be seen that that change is recognised in a tangible way, such as I am suggesting. Secondly, it gives me no pleasure to be critical at this stage of the legislation and the rules, particularly as the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, is presenting this to us. I have always admired his contribution as a Minister during his time in the Northern Ireland office. He took endless trouble to become acquainted with the various briefs given to him about the conditions in Northern Ireland. However, in my professional live, involved as I was in the community of Northern Ireland for 43 years, I have had numerous representations made to me by parents and unsuccessful candidates, victims of the 50:50 legislation who did not just meet the preliminary requirements for membership but far exceeded them. It was acknowledged in explanations given to me in Northern Ireland that many of these candidates would have excelled in any police service in western Europe, but because of their religion they were not allowed even to enter training. I speak as one who has devoted his life to opposing sectarianism in all its forms. Therefore, I do not want any of the Members of this Committee to interpret what I am saying as anything other than a feeling of frustration if the 50:50 position is not reconsidered, which would be tangible evidence of how far our society has moved in such a short time. As the previous speaker said, it is not a case of 50 per cent Catholic, 50 per cent Protestant; it is a case of 50 per cent Catholic and 50 per cent others, made up of various ethnic groupings. Indeed, I say to my noble friend Lord Kilclooney that 40 per cent is quite large in terms of the Protestant population representation. I am certain that there is insufficient recognition in Government that in Northern Ireland this will be interpreted as saying one thing and doing another. They are saying that the situation has improved, yet they are putting on the table for three more years something which is perceived as a contradiction of the progress that we have made. Finally, I do not believe that this is a party political issue; I do not believe that it is a question of party views. I accept that it was a genuine approach, as a result of the Patten recommendations, to allow a representation in the Police Service of Northern Ireland which was not possible in a voluntary way. But the time has come for serious reconsideration of whether it is correct to have this on the statute book once more, even for three years. I pay tribute, from my personal knowledge, to the tremendous courage of Catholic families whose members joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary and, later, the PSNI at great personal risk. When the history of these times comes to be written, I hope that adequate tribute will be paid to that courage, for I have buried too many members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, too many members of my community, not to know what the Catholic community has gone through in the losses inflicted on it and its members who served in the police service. As I said, it is very easy to interpret any criticism of the order as sectarian. I beg the Minister, to whom I have already paid tribute, to treat what I am saying in terms of reality rather than anything of that nature.