Then tánaiste Dick Spring insisted Ireland would not accept the State was not doing enough to ensure security around the Border during a meeting with British ministers in London in 1985. Spring and then minister for foreign affairs Peter Barry were invited to the foreign and commonwealth office for talks with the then British foreign secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe and Northern secretary Tom King on November 6th.
“Let us be very clear – we will co-operate but we will not accept inferences that we are not doing enough,” Spring said. “Look at the proportion of GNP which we spend on security. We could not accept any implication to the contrary.”
His comments followed King’s call, contained in a note of the meeting released under the 30-year rule, for better co-operation on security between the two jurisdictions. “We will be looking also for a chief constable/Garda commissioner meeting. I think it is only fair to spell this out for you,” King told his Irish guests.
Barry thanked King for being frank, but said the then RUC chief constable Sir John Hermon tended to suggest the Garda Síochána was not doing enough on security. “Our problem whenever you mention security is that it seems to be suggested that there is some kind of lack on the Southern side,” Barry said.
“We spend an awful lot on security. We recently decided to spend £4½ million extra between now and Christmas. I do not believe there is any lack on the ground – although I admit there have been personal difficulties between the chief constable and the Garda commissioner.”
Lawrence Wren was Garda commissioner at the time.
Barry said the Republic had more prisoners in its jails for crimes connected with political offences than the North did, and he thought two-thirds of those prisoners south of the Border were from the North. "Our record is stronger than that of the police in Northern Ireland. "
Referring to the Garda, Barry said: “What turns them off is after that what they see as a failure within Northern Ireland is turned publicly on to the South.”
Mr Spring then intervened with his comments, after which Sir Geoffrey struck what the note-taker described as a “mollifying tone”.
However Mr Spring continued, saying that a great deal of security was provided for the British ambassador in Dublin. “We take very seriously our obligations in this matter.”
