Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Northern Ireland – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 18 March 1993.
Mr Seamus Mallon
, Newry and Armagh
12:00,
18 March 1993
The Minister will be aware that the six deaths to which he referred took place in my Constituency and I express my anger and resentment about them, not least the killing of the young soldier yesterday when everyone else was celebrating the memory of St. Patrick. However, that anger and resentment should not be allowed to cloud the fact that certain statements made recently by senior members of Sinn Fein may show a change of policy and tactics. If that is the case, would it not be wise to encourage those people away from violence? Our real strength is not in our determination but in our ability to capitalise on the potential for peace rather than dismissing it out of hand. Will the Minister and the Secretary of State keep an open mind and use every opportunity to explore that potential for peace?
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
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.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
