Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 21 Mawrth 1979.
There are one or two statistics which the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Miss Maynard) should know. The indications of so-called discrimination in Northern Ireland do not accord with the facts.
Since 1945 the minority community has received 58·2 per cent. of all public sector housing built in the Province, even though they comprise less than 40 per cent. of the population. The first Lord Chief Justice was a Roman Catholic. At the inception of the State one-third of the places in the security forces were offered to members of the minority community. That was not taken up because the Roman Catholic hierarchy did not recognise the State and would not allow Roman Catholics to serve in the RUC. Southern politicians did not want them to serve in the forces of a foreign State. From 1921 until 1971 that was why so few places were taken up in the RUC by Roman Catholics. History and statistics will not substantiate the nonsense that has been talked.
I shall join my right hon. and hon. Friends in the Lobby tonight to vote for the extension of the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The Act has proved its worth in the past, it is still required now, and it will be required for some time to come. Those are the three simple and basic reasons for voting for the order.
No one in his right mind could argue that the Prevention of Terrorism Act has not made an impact on the situation in Northern Ireland. So far 150 people have been charged and found guilty of terrorist offences. In Northern Ireland we recognise how much damage one person can do. If 150 people have been taken out of action in Great Britain by the application of the Act, the whole of the United Kingdom has been done a great service.
The order is certainly required now. It is required for two reasons. First, we need special powers because of the way in which the security forces in Northern Ireland are inhibited by the attitude adopted by political leaders and other representatives of the minority community. If the security forces cannot obtain full support and co-operation from the whole community, they certainly require the maximum support of the law.
The hon. Member for Belfast, West (Mr. Fitt), in a broadcast this week, unfortunately so allied the Ulster Defence Regiment with the Shankill Road butcher group that he implied overtly that the UDR was an unreliable force and that many of its members were ex-B Specials who hated the minority community. By that irresponsible statement the hon. Member will be responsible for the deaths of members of the UDR—