STATEMENT BY JOHN P. COLLINS, NATIONAL CHAIRMAN, AMERICAN IRISH NATIONAL IMMIGRATION COMMITTEE, NEW YORK, N.Y. Mr. Chairman, Members of the Congress, we thank you for allowing us the opportunity of offering a statement for the record. Our committee, with chapters throughout the United States has as its primary concern the amendment of certain United States immigration laws. We represent all major Irish organizations in this area of concern. Our American Irish membership is composed of Protestants, Catholics and Jews. We speak today, not of immigration but rather of the plight of our brothers and sisters in the occupied six counties of Ireland. We remind you of the oppression these men and women have suffered in the past and in the present. They cry out for freedom and for justice. We support them in their quest. We request, that you endorse their rightful aims; that you encourage our government to publicly support them and that you report out to the House floor, Resolution No. 653. The American Irish community long served this nation of ours. It is time now for our nation to serve the ends of justice and to see that Ireland becomes a nation once again-free from the center to the sea. (424) A POLITICAL THEORY FOR A REUNITED IRELAND JOINT STATEMEnt by Robert CONNERY, Professor of Government, CoLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK, AND THOMAS W. RYLEY, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE, NEW YORK CITY COMMUNITY COLLEGE (CUNY) The following proposals are submitted with a view toward attempting to demonstrate how a United Ireland can be developed while taking cognizance of the existing deep religious differences. Protestant residents of Northern Ireland (Ulster) are concerned that any such unification will mean that they will lack a voice in the government, just as now, Catholics in the North lack any effective voice in the affairs of that government. It might be suggested that the gerrymandering tactics used in Northern Ireland, which have so seriously hampered the Catholic minority that only one representative in the Northern Irish parliament (Stormont) is Catholic, might give the ruling Ulster Unionist Party some ideas on how this could be done, and that a unified Ireland would mean a reprisal in kind. It is the contention of this paper that such fears are not valid. It is possible to maintain the existence and the integrity of Ulster within the context of a United Ireland. But, it is clear that the Catholics of the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland must accept certain basic premises if unification is to be achieved. The existence of stable, responsible governments in countries in which religious and ethnic differences have been the source of past grievances is not unusual. Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Canada and Lebanor. are examples of democratic states in which governments have developed ways of coping with these differences, providing for minority rights in such a way as to satisfy most members of the minority group. Some facts about the existing situation may be of some value in determining how the solution may be improved. 1. POPULATION The population of the Republic of Ireland and of Northern Ireland is as follows: The Republic of Ireland has a bi-cameral legislature. The Upper House or Senate, is largely appointive, has little power and in this paper is omitted from any projections. The Lower Chamber, or Dail, is composed of 144 members, all elected from single member districts or approximately one representative for every 20,000 persons. The results of the 1969 General Elections indicated the following distribution of party membership in the Dail: 77-178-72— -28 Northern Ireland The Northern Ireland Parliament (Stormont) is divided into two chambers. The Upper Chamber has 25 members, four (including two women) nominated by Queens University, the Lord Mayors of Derry and Belfast, and the rest selected by the Lower Chamber. Because of this indirect method of selection, it is omitted from any projections in this paper. The Lower Chamber has 52 members, elected from single member districts, or approximately one representative for every 30,000 persons. While under the Government of Ireland Act of 1920 Stormont has primacy in internal matters, the United Kingdom Government, of course, has ultimate responsibility, particularly in the areas of defense and foreign affairs. The results of the February 24, 1969 General Election indicated the following distribution of party membership in Stormont: Two points about the breakdown of the lower house. First, 41 of the members are Protestant, despite party identification. Second, new developments in Northern Ireland suggest that some new parties may be forming out of the difficulties, so that this lineup may well be obsolete in a few months. III. POPULATION AND PARTY DIVISION Based on most recent census figures the division of population would be as follows: Based on the premise of a Uaited Ireland, Non-Catholics would compose roughly one quarter of the total population. To project the specific party breakdowns in a United Ireland is difficult for several reasons. First, there is a sharp division between the two major parties in the Republic of Ireland over the issue of unification. The two parties arose out of the fight over the question of the acceptance of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, the anti-Treaty forces becoming Fianna Fail and the pro-Treaty advocates the forebears of Fine Gael. There are some divisions on other issues, but is it quite probable that without the issue of unification, which has forced party identification based on an issue over 50 years old, that some of the traditional lines could break down. Secondly, the gerrymandering in the election districts in Northern Ireland creates a disproportion of Ulster Unionists in that Parliament and a consequent disproportion of Protestants therein. We can only project our calculations based on the current lines. Certainly, any unification would require guarantees against gerrymandering for the proposed national and, if necessary, regional parliaments. However, there appears little doubt that the Protestants in general and the Ulster Unionists in particular, would still have a significant percentage of the seats representing Northern Ireland in the national parliament of a United Ireland. Thirdly, as noted earlier, the ratio difference is 1 for 30 for Northern Ireland and 1 for 20 in the Irish Republic. By projecting, based on either ratio for a United Ireland, the following figures result: 1 Includes only Labour representatives from Republic of Ireland, not Labourites from Northern Ireland. In either event, the Ulster Unionist Party, given their current representation, would be either the second or third largest part in the country. They would hold a little less than 25% of the seats and when combined with the Republic's more conservative Fine Gael party, they would come close to controlling a United Ireland national parliament. It would be difficult to project the exact role of the other non-Catholic representatives from Northern Ireland, some of whom represent positions similar to those of the Ulster Unionist Party. Fianna Fail currently has a simple majority of the seats in the Dail, however, the Government of Ireland has been a Coalition Government at least once since 1945. Therefore, assuming that the religious question could be settled, the Ulster Unionists, far from being a minority force, could have a major role in a United Ireland. It would be doubtful if any one of the other two parties could gain a simple majority for some time and the Ulster Unionists would probably be able even to tip the balance of power. The thesis of this argument is that in an United-Ireland Parliament, the often referred to subjugation of the Protestant minority would be more myth than reality. Protestants would represent close to one quarter of the people; moreover, the majority of them are geographically concentrated in such a way as to make their votes felt in a real and potent fashion. In addition, the total Protestant representation would no doubt be larger. The election of such non-Catholics as Sir Douglas Hyde to high posts suggests that religion has never been a real factor in the Republic and well known to most Americans is the fact that the Lord Mayor of Dublin in the 50's was Robert Briscoe, a Jew. Perhaps less known is the fact that the Senate of Ireland, which is designed to permit the inclusion of representation of significant groups in Irish life, stood at one point in the 60's at 34 Catholics and 26 Protestants. IV. PROPOSED GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE Under a plan for a United Ireland, the principle of federalism might well be introduced. While federalism is most commonly associated with larger nations, it is also the form of government for Switzerland, whose population is just a little over 6 million, little more than that of Ireland. Federalism in Switzerland has been necessary, owing to the fact that the cantons that make up that country are of French, German, Italian and Romance ethnic composition. Therefore, under a unitary type of government, there might be the distinct danger that one of these groups might dominate. In addition, Switzerland is fairly evenly divided in terms of population, 52% Protestant and 45% Catholic. Federalism is also the form of government in Canada, which, although much larger, offers some significant parallels to the Irish situation. One province, Quebec, is French and Catholic, while the remainder are, for the most part, English and Protestant. The concern of Quebec citizens with English domination was one reason for creating an arrangement whereby they have dominion over their own internal affairs. Similarly, while French Catholics are in a minority, they are such a significant minority that no government can be formed without some concern for the particular problems created by the existence of Quebec. One possible plan for a united Ireland would be to make each of the counties, north and south, the basic unit of government, with the national Constitution granting certain powers to them. The most significant disadvantage to this plan is the rather limited role that counties have played in the past; at present, the counties in the Irish Republic have limited powers. In addition, perhaps no more than four of these counties would have Protestant majorities, thus pointing up rather dramatically their minority status. The second alternative would be to divide Ireland into four basic units of local government, Northern Ireland, Connaught, Leinster and Munster, with each having specifically guaranteed Constitutional powers. This would ensure the maintenance of Northern Ireland as a unit of government. (It should be meationed at this point that the province of Ulster includes nine counties but six of them are currently part of Northern Ireland. The three other counties, Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan, have remained part of the Irish Republic. While it would appear logical that under this new structure these three counties would revert to their historic area, it would perhaps be politically expedient for them to be attached to one of the other areas, since they would reduce the Protestant majority to a point that might concern Northern Ireland's leaders by being included in Northern Ireland.) Under this provision, the Central Government could possess both residual and delegated powers in such areas as foreign affairs, military and defense matters, telegraph and communications, commerce, postal service, while the four above mentioned states would have certain delegated powers including health, education, highways, and other areas traditionally considered to be the responsibility of smaller units of government. In addition, other powers could be designated for federal and state responsibility, where some federal action might be necessary but local administration desirable. (i) The national government It is perhaps alien to Americans, having been rooted in the tradition that religion should no more be a qualification for office than a disqualification, that allowances should be made for religious or ethnic differences in selecting officials for a state. However, there are examples where religious or ethnic factors have been used equitably. In Canada, the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Deputy Speaker must be of different linguistic groups. In practice, this would usually work out to be one Protestant and one Catholic. In Lebanon, by law, the President and the Premier must be of opposite faiths. In Switzerland, the Federal Council (a collegial Presidency composed of seven members) must be chosen in such a way as to ensure linguistic representation. Therefore, it is not necessarily inconsistent with democratic principles to suggest that provisions can be written to guarantee meaningful representation for the Protestant minority. While history has shown that the Constitution of the Irish Republic has not discriminated, nor has Irish political behavior discriminated in practice, it is without a doubt that given the nature of the current situation, guarantees must be written into the Constitution. (ii) The legislature The Lower Chamber could be constructed on the basis of population. Reapportionment could be required every ten years and could be done by the Chamber itself in order to take cognizance of population shifts. The Upper Chamber could consist of an equal number of representatives from each of the four regions, to be appointed by the regional assembiles. It could have primarily a temporary veto power, with ability to delay, but not to block legislation. Its assent might only be necessary on Constitutional Amendments. In this way, the presence of the Protestant minority is guaranteed in a significant way in each Chamber. Northern Ireland would have a considerable percentage in the Upper Chamber, and since it would be one of the two largest areas, would be significantly represented therein. (iii) The Presidency Under a parliamentary system, the Presidency would remain largely a ceremonial position. The person selected by the legislature would have a deputy who would be of the opposite religious faith. Ceremonial tasks relevant to Northern Ireland could be handled by the one of the two who would be a Protestant. (iv) The Cabinet The deputy premier, by law, could be required to be of a different religious faith than the premier. In addition, at least two persons of cabinet rank could be required to come from each of the four regions. Similar provisions could be written into the law for each of the four regions in which the minority group represented at |