Vol. 487 No. 5
39 Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the response, if any, he has received from the British Government to his representations on the need for complete reform of policing in the Six Counties. [3435/98]
70 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the Government's view on the proposed reform of the police authority in Northern Ireland, in view of the importance of the policing question to nationalists in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3888/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 39 and 70 together.
The Government believe that the problem of policing in Northern Ireland is one of the crucial issues to be addressed by the current talks process. The creation of a policing service, wholeheartedly supported by all sections of the community, must be an essential goal of that process. For a police service to secure and enjoy crosscommunity support, it must reflect the communities it serves in its composition, identity and ethos, and must accord equal esteem to the Nationalist and Unionist identities.
There have been a number of proposals from the British Government in recent years which have addressed managerial and other improvements to policing structures in Northern Ireland. They focus primarily on changes to the existing tri-partite structure of policing, that is the relationship between the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Chief Constable of the RUC and the Policy Authority for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Dr. Mo Mowlam, published a consultation paper on 9 February 1998, entitled, "Your Voice, Your Choice — Community and Police Partnership", which put forward various options for deciding the future composition of the Policy Authority. The Police Bill currently before the House of Commons is also part of this approach.
While these proposals from the British Government are welcome in so far as they contribute to the general debate on policing, they do not address the fundamental issues I have referred to and should not in any way pre-empt discussions on policing in the talks process. The Government has emphasised this point in our representations to the British Government within the framework of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. I would note that, in her introduction to the recent consultation paper, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland states that: "the improvements to the policing of Northern Ireland the Government will introduce in the current Police Bill do not pre-empt the all-party talks process which is currently under way".
The Government looks forward to all the parties in the talks process addressing the problem of policing with the seriousness and attention it requires.
