Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 September 2013
43. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Secretary of State or with Members of the Northern Ireland Executive in relation to the establishment of a civic forum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38973/13]
View answerParagraph 34 of Strand One of the Good Friday Agreement provided for the establishment of a consultative Civic Forum. Section 56 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 required the First Minister and the deputy First Minister, with the approval of the Assembly, to make arrangements for obtaining the views of the Civic Forum. The Forum was set up in October 2000 and was suspended along with the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2002. Following the restoration of devolved powers in May 2007, the then First Minister and deputy First Minister considered the position of the Civic Forum in the re-established devolved arrangements and commissioned a review of the effectiveness and appropriateness of its structure, operation and membership. In April 2013 the NI Assembly voted in favour of an SDLP motion to re-establish the Civic Forum. In my ongoing contacts with the Secretary of State and with the Northern Ireland Executive including in the context of the North South Ministerial Council, I have pressed for the re-establishment of the Civic Forum as a valuable and, as yet, unimplemented provision of the Good Friday Agreement. I welcome the recent invitation which Richard Haass, independent chair of the all-party talks, has given to community groups and to representatives of wider civil society to contribute ideas to the talks process.
In my address to the British Irish Association on 7 September, 2013, I pointed out that Northern Ireland was currently facing many difficult issues and that it was neither sensible nor realistic to expect the political system to shoulder these on its own. I have previously put on the record of the Dáil that I support the establishment of a Civic Forum which would provide for a broad range of voices on community relations and stimulate informed public debate in relation to key societal challenges.
I will be hosting a Reconciliation Networking Forum event in Dublin Castle on 16 October 2013 for people who are involved in community, peace-building, public policy or reconciliation work, to discuss what civil society, including the community sector, can and should do to meet the reconciliation challenges ahead. This is in line with the view of the Government that a strong and resilient civic society can play an important role in building a more reconciled and prosperous Northern Ireland.
