Republic of Ireland: General Election Results

Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown Excerpts

Thursday 12th March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay]

My noble friend speaks with considerable authority and experience, having spent more time than any Conservative in political history in meetings with Sinn Féin and the other parties in Northern Ireland. He referred to the report that the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland—his old boss, Theresa Villiers—commissioned in 2015. As she said in the other place when that assessment was published,

“paramilitary organisations have no place in a democratic society. They were never justified in the past, they are not justified today and they should disband.”—[Official Report, Commons, 20/10/15; col. 829.]

I wholeheartedly agree.

[Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (DUP)]

My Lords, can the Minister tell the House why he believes that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael both feel that Sinn Féin is unfit to be in government in the Irish Republic, while our Government—in cahoots with those same two parties in the Republic—tell the people of Northern Ireland that they cannot have a Government except with Sinn Féin in it?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay]

The noble Lord tempts me to speculate on discussions that are happening in Ireland at the moment about the formation of a Government there. Her Majesty’s Government look forward to working with any Government that are formed and, as I said previously, strongly welcome the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive with the support of all the parties of Northern Ireland.