Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 September 2013
119. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his recent visit to Belfast; if he will detail the meetings he had during that visit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38804/13]
View answerI visited Belfast on 29 August 2013 to meet with members of communities living at interfaces, with representatives of the local business and retail sector and with a number of organisations and individuals involved with reconciliation and with legacy issues. The visit provided me with an opportunity to take soundings on the range of issues which will be dealt with in the context of the Haass process as well as to show my support for those living at interfaces following a particularly difficult summer. Among those I met were men and women in Ardoyne, Carrick Hill, Short Strand and in East Belfast who have worked tirelessly at a community level over the past year urging restraint, sometimes in the face of explicit provocation or intimidation. I commend all those who have shown constructive leadership within their communities in very difficult circumstances.
I received a number of clear messages from those with whom I met. Firstly, people do not want to lose all that has been gained over the past fifteen years of the peace process. Secondly, there is a genuine fear of a return of sectarian violence and grassroots communities are aware that their work, on its own, cannot deliver reconciliation. Thirdly, communities recognize how the two governments working both separately and jointly can bring helpful perspective and practical support, as can broader international focus. My visit also provided an opportunity to hear from those whose businesses have been directly affected by the ongoing street unrest. Retailers and those in the pub and restaurant trades said that the ongoing protests have caused a discernible drop-off in late-night and weekend shoppers and this is threatening the viability of many city-centre businesses.
I welcome the opportunity of the current talks process being chaired by Dr Richard Haass to address contentious issues, specifically Parades, Flags and Emblems and the Past, which are having such a corrosive effect on community and political relations and on the local economy in Northern Ireland. The Government is committed to supporting his work on each of these issues. I also met with members of the Ulster Council of the GAA to discuss the pioneering work which they are doing in terms of community outreach.
