asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the present position on whether all patrols of the Ulster Defence Regiment are accompanied by the Royal Ulster Constabulary in their operations.
Written Answers. - Ulster Defence Regiment Patrols.
20.
As it is not customary for the British Government to release detailed information regarding operations of the security forces, I am not in a position to furnish precise data in response to the Deputy's question. From the indications I have received to date, however, I am satisfied that a sustained effort is being made to implement the policy of RUC accompaniment of military patrols (both regular Army and Ulster Defence Regiment). There is still a considerable way to go. Nevertheless, the situation is substantially better than was the case in November 1985. Deputies will understand that progress involves substantial changes in the management of the deployment of the police and armed forces at local level and this has been made more difficult by the events of the past summer. I have, of course, been pressing the British Government at meetings of the conference—most recently at the meeting held in Dublin on 6 October—to achieve full implementation of this policy with all possible speed.
The Hillsborough Joint Communique, however, makes it clear that the policy of accompaniment relates not to all patrols but only to those which involve direct contact with the community.