asked the Taoiseach if, in the course of his recent talks, he asked President Gorbachev to raise the cases of the Guildford Four and the Birmingham Six with the UK Prime Minister.

2.

asked the Taoiseach if, in recent talks, he raised with President Gorbachev the plight of Soviet Jews who wish to be allowed to leave the Soviet Union.

3.

asked the Taoiseach if, during the course of his recent meeting with President Bush, he advocated any special measures in favour of undocumented Irish immigrants in the United States.

4.

asked the Taoiseach if, during the course of his, recent discussions with President Gorbachev, he raised the question of the supply of arms and explosives originating in Warsaw Pact countries to the Provisional IRA and other terrorist organisations.

5.

asked the Taoiseach if he raised the question of Austrian membership of the EC with President Gorbachev during his recent visit; and whether the Soviet Union will continue to oppose any such application.

I would refer the Deputies to my statement to the House last Thursday in which I outlined the main topics I discussed at my recent meetings with President Bush and Chairman Gorbachev. It is not customary to disclose details of confidential discussions of this nature.

Can I assume we are dealing only with Question No. 1?

I can tell the Deputy that, departing from the restriction which I have laid down, this matter was raised from the Russian side.

I thank the Taoiseach for that piece of information. Let me ask if we are dealing only with Question No. 1.

I am sorry, I beg your pardon. I meant to say I proposed taking Questions Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 together.

That is a very omnibus reply, if I may say so. Could the Taoiseach indicate how it happened that there were reports in the newspapers after the visit of President Gorbachev to the effect that the Guildford Four and Birmingham Six cases were discussed?

I am not too sure how that happened but I think it may have arisen at the press conference. It was fairly common knowledge in the Russian delegation that these cases were a matter of considerable interest to the Russian side and to the President.

Could the Taoiseach indicate if there was any follow up to that interest that was indicated from the Russian side?

I am not aware of that though, as the Deputy knows, the President met the British Prime Minister shortly afterwards.

If I may be permitted another supplementary given the fact that the Taoiseach has taken several questions together, let me ask if it would be the Taoiseach's intention to take up, in diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, the subject matter of my Question No. 2, that is the plight of Soviet Jews who wish to be allowed to leave the Soviet Union.

We do that. Again, the President dealt with that question at the press conference.

Would the Taoiseach think it useful or appropriate that the group of Ministers shortly to go to Moscow to talk about trade deals would raise this issue also, given the backing Governments here have always expressed for approaches of that kind and in particular the Helsinki Declarations?

Our position is well known, and it is a part of our continuing policy to pursue that issue. I am not too sure though that the visit of the Ministers, which could be very much an economic visit, would be an appropriate forum.

Would the Taoiseach not consider that during the course even of an economic visit there would be occasions for more informal discussions which might be appropriate moments at which to take up questions like this? As my final supplementary, let me ask him if he would consider also in the same context asking the Ministers to take up the subject matter of my Question No. 4 which is a matter of grave preoccupation to all of us in this House, with a view to seeing whether action could be taken to cut off the sources of supply of weapons and Semtex to the Provisional IRA.

As the Deputy knows, a fair amount is being done in that area, particularly where Semtex is concerned. Naturally, these matters are kept on the table at all times. The Deputy is quite right in suggesting a fair amount can be done in informal discussions on matters of this kind and any opportunity that presents itself will be availed of.

Since the Taoiseach went outside his own restrictions on answering Questions Nos. 1 and 4, will he address Question No. 5? Since the Taoiseach will be President of the Council of EC Ministers from early next year, the question of Austrian membership is a matter over which he could have considerable influence in the EC. Was this issue touched on in his meeting with Mr. Gorbachev?

I will be dealing with that question later under Foreign Affairs. Perhaps the Deputy could come back to it then.

6.

asked the Taoiseach whether, as a matter of protocol, President Hillery, as the Irish Head of State, was invited to extend the welcome of the Irish people to the Soviet Head of State, Mr. Gorbachev, on his recent visit to Ireland; and, if not, the reason.

As a matter of well established international protocol a meeting between heads of state would not have been appropriate in the circumstances of the short working visit by President Gorbachev to Shannon recently.

Surely as a matter of protocol Mr. Gorbachev as a Head of State and President Hillery as a Head of State should have had some arrangements for a meeting?

No, certainly not. It would have been entirely inappropriate. Meetings between Heads of State have a very special protocol attending to them and require certain very necessary preparations and circumstances. The short working visit President Gorbachev did us the honour of paying us would not have been a suitable occasion for such a meeting. The matter did not arise in any quarter.