Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 June 2014
118. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views regarding the upcoming marching season in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26854/14]
View answerI maintain regular contact with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers MP, about the current situation in Northern Ireland, including contentious marches and the overall parades issue. My officials in the British Irish Joint Secretariat in Belfast closely monitor the situation on the ground and maintain regular contacts with political and community leaders who work to manage and to resolve parade related difficulties. Thanks to such community work and dialogue, the vast majority of parades pass without incident. Last year, for example the Parades Commission dealt with over 4,000 notifications of parades, of which 146 were contentious and required Parades Commission determinations.
Contentious parades in Northern Ireland give rise to annual concerns and they heighten sectarian tension at community level. In the past, disagreements over some contentious parades have spilled over into street violence, have deepened division and have put the Police Service of Northern Ireland in harm’s way. There is considerable concern about the prospects for this year’s marching season, particularly centered on the current impasse in relation to the Ardoyne/Woodvale/Twadell parading issue. I welcome all the work that has been underway at community level in recent months to try to overcome the serious concerns about those contentious parade issues. The Church led talks initiative, in particular, is to be commended. Sustained, meaningful dialogue to resolve difficulties is the key to a peaceful and honourable resolution of these issues.
While seen as a local issue, the Parades impasse in North Belfast goes to the very heart of the challenges of building support for reconciliation and a shared society in Northern Ireland. Therefore, resolving the Ardoyne/Woodvale/Twadell issues through agreement is important - not only for the communities in North Belfast but for the people of the Northern Ireland more generally. I would therefore call on all the party leaders to actively encourage and support local efforts to resolve the contentious parades problem in North Belfast. A resolution of the parades issue is essential for politics to be seen to work and could build momentum for the early completion of the wider talks process on parades, flags, and dealing with the past. The memory of the dreadful violence of previous summers; the memory of the harm done to PSNI and local communities; and the real damage done to Northern Ireland’s international reputation by street violence in previous summers, makes early efforts to reach agreement in North Belfast both necessary and urgent.
