UN General Assembly
1984

198. The debate which was inaugurated by the publication of the New Ireland Forum report has already shown that there is much that is now common in the British and Irish perceptions of the Northern Ireland problem. It is encouraging that the British authorities now acknowledge the importance of the Irish Government's concern for the interests of the minority community in Northern Ireland. My Government is concerned for the needs of all the people of Northern Ireland, and in recent months we have welcomed signs that some spokesmen in Northern Ireland, representing the people of the unionist tradition there who value their British heritage, are ready to be more open to their fellow citizens of the other Irish tradition.