Mr Harold McCusker: The hon. Gentleman talks about the benefit of the doubt, but does he not believe that the benefit of the doubt should be given to the person who probably has the right to vote, rather than to the Government, who may be preventing that person from voting?
Mr Harold McCusker: I say it in the nicest possible way, but the hon. Gentleman is demonstrating his ignorance of the situation in Northern Ireland. Polling cards are easily available in the Province. Indeed, one of the incidents that, I believe, brought the whole issue to the Government's attention involved the RUC stopping a minibus in Fermanagh and South Tyrone during one of the recent elections. It contained...
Mr Harold McCusker: I favour the objectives of the Bill. Unlike some hon. Members, I have personal experience of the abuses that occur. However, two activities in Northern Ireland have acquired a mythology—smuggling and personation. We all have our favourite stories. We repeat them, they become exaggerated and eventually form the folklore referred to in the background documentation provided by the Secretary...
Mr Harold McCusker: Yes, Sinn Fein does have a real increased vote. That vote has always existed potentially but Sinn Fein supporters did not exercise their franchise because it did not suit them at various times in the past 50 or 60 years. The likely effect of the Bill will be to reduce personation and vote-stealing, but it will also deter, discourage and prevent some people from voting who would want to vote...
Mr Harold McCusker: That may be the case, but there are remarkably few provisional licences available in Northern Ireland. About 500,000 people do not have driving licences, so they could not produce one when voting. Driving licences are not a sufficient means of identification. Passports could be used, but when I asked the Secretary of State how many passports were held by United Kingdom citizens resident in...
Mr Harold McCusker: Does the hon. Gentleman accept that, in all probability, the lady in question does not require marriage lines to justify to the presiding officer that she is the entry on the register, because the entry is in her maiden name and she is still that person, even if her name has changed? She would probably have ample evidence to show that that is still the case.
Mr Harold McCusker: The explanatory document provided to hon. Members gave me the impression that the last category included the medical card, plus the marriage lines, of the woman married during the period. Is the right hon. Gentleman saying that it is one or the other? If so, why is it important for the woman to have to produce her marriage lines?
Mr Harold McCusker: Why?
Mr Harold McCusker: rose—
Mr Harold McCusker: The right hon. and learned Member has made a strong statement about what many people on both sides of the community think. Will he take it from me that he is talking about a small minority of people in Northern Ireland? Most people there are concerned about getting through today to tomorrow, and staying alive into the next day. The people who have expressed the reservations that he is...
Mr Harold McCusker: I live among them.
Mr Harold McCusker: Bearing in mind that the hallmark of the most recent murders of security forces would appear to be that the murderers have had access to detailed personal information about the people whom they were about to kill, will the Secretary of State assure us that known members or supporters of Sinn Fein do not have access to sensitive information in either the Civil Service or the public service...
Mr Harold McCusker: asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the future of the the Northern Ireland gas industry.
Mr Harold McCusker: Will the Minister accept that that reply will cause disappointment in the gas industry in Northern Ireland and further afield? Will he also accept that it may well accelerate the drift away from the gas industry, which is at present running at 1 per cent. a month, and that that will further jeopardise any prospect of success? Can he scotch the rumour that the reason for the reconsideration...
Mr Harold McCusker: The House will be pleased to know that I do not intend to extend the debate unnecessarily. I find myself in the rather strange, albeit welcome, position—one that I should relish, perhaps even cherish—of welcoming what the Minister has said. I am sure that that position will not last for too long, so I may as well enjoy it while it does. I agree with the criticism expressed by the right...
Mr Harold McCusker: It works here because there is not the same degree of separation between the two systems. The divide in Northern Ireland in education is so clear that both sides are watching to see who is getting the greater advantage. I am not saying that the separation of systems is ideal—I wish that it did not exist, but that is reality. There are one or two Protestant voluntary schools in Northern...
Mr Harold McCusker: Unfortunately, that does not happen in both instances. When it comes to a disruptive pupil, however, the local parish priest says, "Out you go. You can go along and be educated with those heathens if you want. You will not cause trouble for us here." That poor boy or girl must be absorbed into an environment that may be hostile to him or her. He or she may create disruption in the next...
Mr Harold McCusker: How does the hon. Gentleman square his comments with the official figures for 31 March 1983 which showed that the three housing areas in Londonderry had 74, 71 and 10 vacant properties? In a town in my constituency, there are 1,161 such properties and a neighbouring town has 118. There are 140 vacant properties in Coleraine, 207 in the Belfast 5 housing area, 212 in Antrim and 171 in...
Mr Harold McCusker: If anyone has any doubt about the necessity for the additional expenditure which we are discussing he need do no more than read a speech made by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Patten), to a recent conference. I read his speech with interest, and I am glad that the hon. Gentleman is with us today. I hope that he will comment on one aspect of it, to...
Mr Harold McCusker: I welcome those comments. I assure the Minister that I did not intend to be highly critical of him. I was simply suggesting that, although he was not making those assertions, when he quoted them he tended to give some credibility to them. There are enough people in Northern Ireland prepared to beggar themselves and the Province to get another few pounds out of the Exchequer as it is, and I do...
