– in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 15 May 1980.
Mr William Ross
, County Londonderry
12:00,
15 May 1980
I beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 9, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely,
the deteriorating security situation on the United Kingdom frontier with County Donegal.
I have a specific reason for wishing to move the Adjournment of the House, and that reason was given impetus by the murder yesterday of a 23 year-old workman, who was working on a building site—Ballymagroarty—close to the border. Indeed, the building site is within a few hundred yards of the border. The young man had no connection with the security forces. He was working with his companions when he was shot by three armed men. They were armed with a hand gun, a rifle and a sub-machine gun. He was shot to death in front of his workmates. He was the second civilian to die
in Northern Ireland at the hands of the IRA in the past few days.
The issue is important because there has been an apparent change in the IRA's tactics. In addition, it was one of a number of recent serious incidents in that area. It is important also because the Prime Minister will soon be meeting the Prime Minister of the Irish Republic. I think that it would do the Prime Minister a world of good if she heard the views of hon. Members, especially those representing Northern Ireland constituencies before that meeting.
Mr George Thomas
, Cardiff West
The hon. Member for Londonderry (Mr. Ross) gave me notice before noon today that he would seek to move the Adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that he thinks should have urgent consideration, namely,
the deteriorating security situation on the United Kingdom frontier with County Donegal.
I listened with concern to the hon. Gentleman, as did the whole House, about the continuing situation in Northern Ireland.
As the House knows, under Standing Order No. 9 I am directed to take account of the several factors set out in the order but to give no reason for my decision.
I have listened with anxious care to the hon. Gentleman's submission, but I must rule that it does not fall within the provisions of the Standing Order. Therefore, I cannot submit his application to the House.
An adjournment is a break in the course of parliamentary business.
The House adjourns at the end of each day's business.
On a daily basis the House adjourns, or breaks, half an hour after the moving of the adjournment debate.
The House is also adjourned for several holiday periods during the session.
The more lengthy adjournments - often coinciding with the academic calendar - are known as recesses.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
