Northern Ireland: Political Situation

Lord Alderdice Excerpts

Tuesday 8th September 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord McAvoy (Lab)]

My Lords, first, I thank the Government for giving us advance sight of the Secretary of State’s Statement. We in the Labour Opposition strongly support the UK and Irish Governments’ decision to convene all-party talks this week in an attempt to secure a positive way forward on the challenging issues raised by the murder of Kevin McGuigan Sr and its aftermath, together with the implementation of the Stormont House agreement.

There is no doubt that the combination of real concerns following the assessment of the chief constable of the PSNI of the status of the Provisional IRA and the failure to agree a sustainable budget poses the biggest threat to stability in Northern Ireland for many years. We must not lose sight of what has been achieved by all parties talking to each other and, like the Government, we urge all parties to seek the necessary compromises and confidence-building measures, which can avert the collapse of the institutions. The people of Northern Ireland and all sections of the community have had their faith in politicians and political institutions badly damaged by the perpetual crises of the past few years. There should be no doubt that the vast majority want to see progress and a return to a focus on issues such as jobs, education, health and opportunities for young people. It is also the case that business confidence, and therefore investment, is being put at risk by political uncertainty. Many people feel—I understand the feeling—that there is a sense of drift which needs to be tackled head-on by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. However, all parties in Northern Ireland as well must take responsibility for stepping back from the brink and finding a way forward.

I should like to put some questions to the Minister. In the aftermath of Mr McGuigan’s murder, the Secretary of State said that the Government had always been aware of the continued existence of the Provisional IRA. Can the Minister clear up exactly what was meant by that statement? Is there any evidence of activity by the Provisional IRA, or indeed any so-called loyalist paramilitary groups?

There have been suggestions to reintroduce the Independent Monitoring Commission, although I know that doubts about that have been expressed by the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice. Has an assessment been made of the feasibility and desirability of such a measure?

Precisely at what stage in this financial year will the Northern Ireland budget cease to be sustainable? In the event of this round of talks failing, are the Government actively considering emergency legislation through the House to suspend political institutions and return to direct rule?

Can the Minister provide any detail on the yesterday’s statement that the Government will now consider legislating for welfare reform and releasing funding for the Civil Service voluntary redundancy scheme, and what will be the timeline on that?

I finish by urging, along with the Government, a return to the discipline shown by all parties in Northern Ireland over the past 20 years, which has been considerable and very worth while. May we all plead for that?

[Lord Alderdice (LD)]

My Lords, for a number of years when I was on the IMC I focused a great deal on the monitoring of paramilitary organisations. Is the Minister aware that the balance and order of things in this Statement could potentially be misleading? It focuses heavily on the question of whether there has been IRA activity, as though that was the real primary cause of the current crisis, when in truth this crisis has been developing for months and months over the failure of the political parties—particularly the two leading political parties—to work together in a proper governmental way. This recent event is important, but it should not be allowed to distract us from the fact that if it were magicked away tomorrow morning, the problems would remain.

Secondly, is the Minister aware that even if welfare reform were taken back to Westminster—and if it has to be so, I certainly would not oppose it—that would still leave a complete breakdown in the relationship between the Democratic Unionist Party leadership and the Sinn Fein leadership? Without a working relationship together, the devolved structures will not be able to continue, whether or not they have a problem of welfare and whether or not there is any indication of IRA activity. One must say that Sinn Fein has said the kind of things that many people wanted it to say for years on the IRA: that this was criminal activity; that people should go to the police with information; and that there was absolutely no justification. The Statement refers to “politically motivated violence”, but I have the sense that everything we know about this incident means that it was personally motivated violence rather than for the purpose of destabilising Northern Ireland.

Therefore, will the Minister take back to his colleagues who are engaged in this process that we do not need another monitoring commission or another short-term political fix but a change in the kind of relationships there are between the senior leaderships of the DUP and Sinn Fein? If not, we will be faced, as the noble Lord, Lord McAvoy, has suggested, with legislation in this place to take back powers, which would be a disaster.

[Lord Dunlop]

First, I thank the noble Lords, Lord McAvoy and Lord Alderdice, for their remarks and support. I do not think that anybody can doubt the seriousness of the situation or the Government’s commitment to help resolve the current challenges. I am sure that noble Lords in all parts of this House want to see devolved institutions in Northern Ireland that work and deliver for people in Northern Ireland. We all want to see, as the noble Lord, Lord McAvoy, said, a Northern Ireland that attracts jobs and investment and where people can be optimistic about their family’s future. There can be no doubt at all that the best route to achieving this is to see the full implementation of the Stormont House agreement. That is why my right honourable friend the Northern Ireland Secretary is convening urgent and intensive talks to find solutions to the critical issues that threaten the effectiveness and credibility of Northern Ireland’s democratic institutions.

I turn to some of the specific points that have been raised. First, on the Provisional IRA, the chief constable of Northern Ireland has set out his view that the Provisional IRA continues to exist organisationally but its purpose has radically changed. Individuals are engaged in criminality for personal gain, but the Provisional IRA as an organisation is no longer engaged in terrorism. We share that assessment, which is why some of the key issues that these intensive talks has to address are the implications of that situation.

Secondly, a question was asked about the IMC. Certainly, that is one option for consideration. However, the current situation—as the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice, will know all too well, given his previous involvement in the IMC as a commissioner—is clearly very different. Were we to ask a similar body this time, the questions that we would have to ask would be very different.

Suspension would be a very big step. The Government’s view is that that is not right in the current circumstances but, clearly, should the circumstances change, we would need to look at the full range of options that are open to us.

In terms of the budget and its sustainability, in some respects it is already unsustainable, and departments are struggling to deal with the consequences of that. We have made it clear that the voluntary exit scheme should go ahead as planned, because it is only through that route that we will start to get the public sector reform that is such an important part of putting Northern Ireland’s finances on a sustainable footing.

Welfare reform is part of the package of the Stormont House agreement. The Government are delivering their side of the bargain and we would like to see the other parties deliver theirs. In our view, it is primarily for the parties to resolve this issue and to come together and find a way through. Clearly, were there to be a failure to agree then, as my right honourable friend the Northern Ireland Secretary has made clear, the Government would, reluctantly and as a last resort, be prepared to step in if all other options had been exhausted.