Unionist and Sinn Féin MPs should be allowed to speak in the Dáil, says Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin
In his role as president of the Progressive Democrats, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform Michael McDowell has weighed into the debate on representation in the Oireachtas for people in the Six Counties. His intervention followed his meeting with Ulster Unionist Party leader Reg Empey and an article (The Irish Times, September 9th) from Ulster Unionist MLA Dermot Nesbitt.
In chorus with the unionist representatives, Mr McDowell opposes speaking rights in the Dáil for MPs from the Six Counties. Attempting to introduce a new twist to this opposition, the PD president said that the oath of allegiance to the British monarch, which must be taken by all MPs before they sit in the House of Commons, could be amended "to reflect the aspiration of Irish citizens elected to represent Northern Ireland".
It seems the Minister did not outline how exactly an oath to a foreign monarch, taken in a foreign parliament could be amended to make it acceptable to Irish republicans. I doubt if even de Valera could have devised such a formula of words.
Of course the Minister's real purpose was not to achieve what he purports to see as a desirable outcome - the participation of Sinn Féin MPs in the House of Commons. No, his purpose was to "remove the fig leaf" because he doubts that Sinn Féin would then participate. The Minister's intervention is yet another of his efforts to "expose" Sinn Féin.
Let me put Mr McDowell's mind at ease. He is right. We would not participate if the oath was amended or even removed altogether, because our abstention from Westminster is not based on the oath. Under our party constitution, Sinn Féin candidates in Westminster elections are pledged not to "sit in, nor take part in, the proceedings of the Westminster parliament". That is because we believe the Westminster parliament has no right to legislate for any part of Ireland.
We also recognise the reality that British jurisdiction has not ended. In the Good Friday agreement we reached an accommodation that, in the words of Gerry Adams when the Executive was formed, "does not require the compromise of principles or the diminution of vision".
Mr McDowell, Reg Empey and Dermot Nesbitt have yet to accept the plain fact that last May some 174,530 people elected five abstentionist Sinn Féin Westminster MPs. This confirmed Sinn Féin as the largest nationalist party in the North and the largest pro-agreement party. It must be remembered that the Sinn Féin MPs were elected on the basis that they would not sit in the British parliament. In that respect they are not refusing to sit in the parliament that they are elected to, as Senator Brian Hayes would have it, rather they are fulfilling their election promises by not sitting in the British parliament. They are elected by Irish citizens who deserve and demand to be represented in an Irish parliament.
The total support won by Sinn Féin in Dáil (2002) and Westminster (2005) elections is 295,569 voters. This compares to a mandate of 73,628 votes for the party of which Mr McDowell is president. I suggest that the Minister should at least treat the proposal for speaking rights in the Dáil with the seriousness it deserves and with the weight such a substantial section of Irish public opinion gives to it.
In objecting to the speaking rights proposal Mr McDowell claims that it would run contrary to the Good Friday agreement. He suggests that parliamentary relations on this island must be confined to the agreement's proposed development of a joint parliamentary forum, bringing together equal numbers from both the Assembly and the Oireachtas, for discussions of mutual interest and concern.
The Minister's new-found concern for the implementation of this all-Ireland aspect of the agreement is welcome. Hopefully he will also push for implementation of other neglected aspects of the agreement, such as the consultative Civic Forum. However, it is spurious to suggest that the joint parliamentary forum excludes the introduction of speaking rights in the Dáil for Six-County MPs.
In a similar vein is Dermot Nesbitt's assertion that the Irish Government would be acting "against its own Constitution" if it were to grant speaking rights to Northern MPs. In fact Article Two of the 1937 Constitution, as amended after the Good Friday agreement, states:
"It is the entitlement and birthright of every person born on the island of Ireland, which includes its islands and seas, to be part of the Irish nation. That is also the entitlement of all persons otherwise qualified in accordance with law to be citizens of Ireland."
That is one mandate for the Government to act. The other is that following the Good Friday agreement in 1998 Taoiseach Bertie Ahern requested the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution to examine the issue of Northern representation. In 2002 the committee recommended that MPs from the Six Counties should have "a limited right of audience within the Dáil".
Since the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution reported in 2002 Sinn Féin has continued to push for its recommendations to be implemented. While we have some reservations about the committee's report, we believe it provides a basis for progress. Our goal is for all MPs elected in the Six Counties, not just Sinn Féin MPs, to have full speaking rights in the Dáil.
Dermot Nesbitt also argued against speaking rights on the basis of good neighbourliness. I think it is good neighbourliness for Mr Nesbitt's party colleagues who are MPs to be offered the opportunity to address the Dáil. It is up to them if they wish to avail of such an opportunity.
Progress on this issue is long overdue. It should not have to await the re-establishment of a working Assembly and Executive. Indeed, the absence of those institutions makes Six-County representation in the Oireachtas even more relevant. On February 11th, 2003, I questioned the Taoiseach in the Dáil on this matter. It is worth recalling his reply:
"With regard to the matter of representation, the all-party committee has given its views on this. I agree with its view that it would be valuable, from time to time, to have the expertise, experience and insight of Northern Irish politicians in specific and appropriate debates in the Oireachtas. The Government supports making the necessary procedural arrangements to allow MPs elected in Northern Ireland constituencies to speak on periodic debates on Northern Ireland, particularly on matters relating to the Good Friday agreement."
The forthcoming Dáil term offers the Government the opportunity to match those words with deeds.
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin is the Sinn Féin leader in Dáil Éireann