asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether he is concerned at the delay in holding the appeal in the Birmingham Six case; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I have written to the British Home Secretary, Mr. Douglas Hurd, welcoming his decision on 20 January this year to refer the case of the Birmingham Six to the Court of Appeal but expressing my disappointment that it would not be possible to have the case heard sooner than 2 November.

The fixing of the date for the appeal is a matter for the court itself and I understand that the Home Secretary has no authority in this regard.

As the situation has changed over the past week, does the Minister agree that a further representation from him to the British Home Secretary might be fruitful?

That is an excellent suggestion which I propose to follow up.

Has the Minister been approached by the families of the people involved for financial assistance in relation to bail?

I had a very full meeting with the families concerned but that aspect did not arise. We had a very frank exchange of views on the merits of the case and the progress made, on which they congratulated me.

At a meeting with the Birmingham Six some weeks ago, they indicated that they were very anxious for the Irish Government to send observers to the court hearing later in the year. Have the Government any plans in that regard?

That is the meeting to which I referred in my reply to Deputy Higgins. We propose to have an observer at the court hearing.