- Mr President, as a new boy I shall try to obey your instructions on length of time.

Firstly, I should like to say what a privilege it is to make my maiden speech in this Parliament along with John Hume who made an outstanding speech which all of us applauded and rightly so.

My ancestors came from quite close to where Ian Paisley came from. I can understand their feelings. I can understand and appreciate also the dedication of John Hume and others to the peace process which we have rightly saluted.

We are living in a decade of momentous change, the likes of which we have not seen since perhaps 1848 - that great year of revolutions. We have seen South Africa go through the peace process, we are now seeing it in Ireland. It is a truly inspiring time.

Back in 1848 the British Government made the bad mistake of refusing the Irish request for Home Rule. At that time there was no Protestant/Catholic division within the nationalist movement and it was a tragic, missed opportunity.

But so much has changed since then. Now we have the framework of a democratic Europe. This democratic Europe is in a position to exercise influence so that London can no longer see itself as the centre of the greatest empire the world has ever seen, but instead as a part of a European Community of nations. This has helped in the process of bringing reconciliation between the Irish and British points of view and also the struggling and tormented people of the North of Ireland.

I very much welcome the application of the principle of self-determination to the Irish question and the pledge of a referendum. That is the way to solve problems of this kind. We warmly welcome this as the way forward for other conflicts or disagreements such as the Irish one.

Finally, what can Europe do to help now? In addition to the diplomatic support, we have to put our money where our mouths are; we have to support with funds to make sure that the unemployed of the North are given jobs and they are put back to work so they are no longer enticed into the arms of the paramilitaries.

(Applause)