Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 4 Feb 1997

Vol. 474 No. 3

Written Answers. - Use of Plastic Bullets.

Ivor Callely

Question:

63 Mr. Callely asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has raised the use of plastic bullets by the armed forces in the North of Ireland; if so, the case he has put forward; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2868/97]

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Spring)

The deaths and serious injuries arising from the use of plastic bullets in Northern Ireland have been a cause of widespread concern. The Government shares those concerns. It has made known its views to the British Government on numerous occasions within the framework of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. We have urged the need for stricter controls, effective guidelines and maximum restraint to curtail the use of plastic bullets to the greatest possible extent and to minimise the risk of death and serious injury.

The Government's concerns regarding plastic bullets were deepened by the manner in which they were used during the disturbances surrounding the contentious parade in Drumcree in July 1996. There was widespread concern at the contrasting numbers in which plastic bullets were used before and after the stand-off at Drumcree. Of the 6,002 plastic bullets fired during the disturbances as a whole, 662 were fired before the stand-off ended on 11 July. The vast majority, 5,340, were fired afterwards in nationalist areas. The concerns to which this disparity gave rise and other issues relating to the use of plastic bullets during the disturbances related to Drumcree were taken up by the Government at the special meeting of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference convened at the Government's request on 18 July 1996.

The Government welcomed as a first step the announcement by the British authorities in the aftermath of these disturbances that the Inspector of Constabulary "will conduct a review of the RUC's procedure and training for handling public order situations including those relating to the use of plastic baton rounds". The Government believe that the Inspector of Constabulary, in his review published on 22 January 1997, has made a number of detailed and potentially valuable recommendations governing the use of plastic bullets.

The Government supported the view of the Mitchell Commission that a review,inter alia, of the use of plastic bullets, combined with progress toward more balanced representation in the police force, would contribute to the building of trust. The Mitchell Commission's view on plastic bullets was noted in both the report of the Inspector of Constabulary and the report of the Independent Review of Parades and Marches, published on 30 January 1997. The Government welcomes the review's conclusion that the adoption of the thrust of the inspector's recommendations “relating to public order and the use of plastic baton rounds, and visible commitment by the RUC to sensitive, even handed policing allied to absolute professionalism of conduct, would contribute to a positive long-term solution of the parades issue”.

The Government will urge the British authorities to take account of the views of the north review and to implement as a matter of urgency the recommendations contained in the Inspector of Constabulary's review.

I wish to assure the Deputy that the Government will continue to pursue this issue in the context of its ongoing contacts with the British Government within the framework of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.