Mr Harold McCusker: I know nothing of biological standards, and I know nothing of the detail which the Under-Secretary of State has gone into. I merely want to make two observations, both of them propaganda points in their own way. Hon. Members may now be saying to yourselves, "Why do these Irishmen always manage to make propaganda points out of any legislation that comes into force here?" Having received...
Mr Harold McCusker: Is the Secretary of State aware that there is still room for improvement in co-operation between the RUC, the Army, and customs officers in border control duties, and that this view was frequently expressed by my right hon. Friend the Member for Down, South (Mr. Powell) during a recent tour of the border? Will he have discussions with his colleagues in the Treasury with a view to improving...
Mr Harold McCusker: asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he next intends to visit Dublin.
Mr Harold McCusker: When the Secretary of State does visit Dublin, will he tell the authorities there that Her Majesty's Government view with continuing dismay the sanctuary offered to people like Roisin McLaughlin and Bartholomew Burns, who have been implicated in some of the most terrible crimes in Northern Ireland? Will the Secretary of State say whether it is still his intention, if possible, to bring those...
Mr Harold McCusker: Will the Minister bear in mind that, traditionally, there has always been a high density of population in rural areas in Northern Ireland, and that while we fully appreciate the environmental arguments we are more concerned with having the people living in the country than having vast areas depopulated?
Mr Harold McCusker: Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that when there is increasing unemployment on the mainland it has an accelerating effect in Northern Ireland? Is he aware that his right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Northern Ireland has indicated this week that he is seriously concerned about unemployment prospects in the Province? This is because mainland-based companies frequently trim their...
Mr Harold McCusker: My colleagues and I were motivated to seek this debate on the Customs Service in Northern Ireland—with special reference to their functions in relation to the land frontiers—by three factors. The first was the observations made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Down, South (Mr. Powell) and me on recent tours of the frontier, where we noticed that there was no apparent liaison or...
Mr Harold McCusker: What about Dudley?
Mr Harold McCusker: I shall not quibble, but I stopped my car and walked in and had a talk with the officer. I did not identify myself.
Mr Harold McCusker: Will the hon. Gentleman confirm whether a car leaving the Republic has to stop at the post? This is a critical matter even in the normal performance of customs officers' duties.
Mr Harold McCusker: I welcome and support the right hon. Gentleman's comments about assistance to the area west of the Bann. However, he has now been responsible for the former Ministry of Commerce for nine months. In that period, has he uncovered any evidence of a policy in the past to direct employment to certain areas of Northern Ireland on the ground of political expediency?
Mr Harold McCusker: asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many labourers' cottages in Northern Ireland have been sold to sitting tenants by the Housing Executive; and what was the average price in 1973 and 1974.
Mr Harold McCusker: Is the Minister aware that the houses were built more than 50 years ago at a total cost of £150? Does he realise that there were no facilities in them and that facilities were subsequently provided at the expense of the tenants, who have remained virtually the same families throughout? Is he aware that the houses are being offered for sale this year at £3,000? Taking into account all...
Mr Harold McCusker: I can appreciate that in 1968 there may have been financial reasons for this decision. There may not have been the money available to produce the right craft. But surely the hon. Gentleman does not defend the decision to convert vessels to hold only two roll-on, roll-off container systems as a proper business and commercial judgment. The tourist traffic could have generated business only for,...
Mr Harold McCusker: For the benefit of his back benchers, does the Minister agree that the only reason that these two boys were hounded from that training centre is that they are Protestants? If one is to ask loaded questions about religious balance and the effects of it in Northern Ireland, does my right hon. Friend not agree that we must take account of the whole situation? I am not prepared to list a number...
Mr Harold McCusker: The Minister might be interested to know that my hon. Friend the Member for Belfast, North (Mr. Carson) and I travelled home to Belfast via Liverpool on Tuesday night. The boat on which we travelled was filled almost to capacity. That was on a Tuesday night early in March, at a time when one would not expect any pressure for accommodation whatsoever. Having had that experience, I am really...
Mr Harold McCusker: On behalf of my colleagues in the United Unionist Party I welcome this order. I have been in touch with a number of manufacturing industrialists, large and small, in the past week. They all have a great regard for this premium. At a time of financial stringency, when cash flow problems are particularly difficult in Northern Ireland, they see this payment as a way of alleviating some of these...
Mr Harold McCusker: From time to time the present Northern Ireland administration have been accused of a lack of direction and perhaps even indecision. I suppose earlier this evening we had an echo of that in terms of "drifting too far". Over the past few weeks I have noticed that in areas where Northern Ireland nerves are not so exposed their scruples are not so displayed and they can be decisive and incisive...
Mr Harold McCusker: Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that I shared his indignation earlier at the comments of some hon. Members, particularly Labour Members, who show a strange ambivalence when we arc dealing with workers in Belfast compared with workers in Great Britain? The right hon. Gentleman has not given us any details of the findings of his project team. Has the project team come to any conclusions with...
Mr Harold McCusker: Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, with the so-called cease-fire currently breaking down, the release of these terrorists may become a priority for the Provisionals? What measures did he take to satisfy himself that Armagh prison was sufficiently secure to prevent that from happening?
