Trevor Sargent
Question:48 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will comment on the report of the US peace organisation on events surrounding the 1997 Orange Order march at Drumcree. [22067/97]
Written Answers. - Northern Ireland Marches.
I am familiar with the report to which I assume the Deputy is referring, which was launched in Dublin by PeaceWatch Ireland on 27 November 1997 and deals with the events on the Garvaghy Road earlier this year. The findings and recommendations in the report are currently being examined by officials in my Department.
The report will reinforce the view that everything possible must be done in the future to avoid a repetition of the events surrounding the marching season in recent years. I trust also that the report will be studied closely by the relevant British authorities, together with the comments of other observers of the events on the Garvaghy Road, including members of this House.
As the Deputy is aware, the British Government has published a Bill designed to implement the recommendations of the North Review and to establish a parades commission on a statutory basis. Successive Governments have put forwards views and proposals on the parades issue to the British authorities, including to the North Review. We remain in ongoing consultation with the British Government on this issue through the framework of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.
The draft Bill is currently progressing through the British parliament. We are pleased that the British authorities have now decided to abandon plans to extend the remit of the Bill to include "other expressions of cultural identity". We were not convinced of the need of this general extension and welcome the confirmation that this has been withdrawn. Our embassy in London will continue to monitor closely the parliamentary debate on the Bill.
As I have previously stated on the record of this House, I broadly welcome the establishment on a statutory basis of an independent parades commission with determining powers. To succeed in its task, it is critically important that the Commission acquires the confidence of both communities in Northern Ireland in the fairness and impartiality of its operations. In carrying out its functions, it must attempt to strike a balance between the rights of those who wish to march and the rights of the community in the areas through which they seek to march.
The success of the parades commission will depend on whether its decisions are upheld. Should local agreements fail to resolve certain contentious parades, the Commission's determination on the issue should be resolutely upheld by the authorities.