16 Mar 2012, 16:25
The Chair of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement visited Belfast on 15 and 16 March for a public meeting on the Ulster Covenant and to meet with the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.
Committee Chair Joanna Tuffy TD, joined by Committee Members Deputy Frank Feighan TD and Senator Martin McAleese for parts of the visit, also attended a St Patrick’s Day reception at British-Irish Secretariat in Belfast.
Deputy Tuffy says: “Within its remit, the Committee has prioritised the issue of commemoration, in the context of significant anniversaries arising over the next decade. The Ulster Covenant was signed by 450,000 people in the aftermath of the introduction of the third Home Rule Bill in 1912. Organised by community organisation Feile an Phobail in Berry St Presbyterian Church in the city, the lively discussion on the Ulster Covenant with prominent local historians illuminated a rich part of our contested history, which in many ways still resonates in Northern Ireland today. The event will inform the Committee’s deliberations as it examines the commemorating of historic anniversaries in the coming months.
“Earlier today, I met with Virginia McVea, Director of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, who gave an insightful briefing on their work in protecting and promoting human rights. Like our Committee, the Commission was established in line with the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement. There is a significant significant cross-border dimension to their work, publishing with the Irish Human Rights Commission in Dublin advice for a Charter of Rights for the island of Ireland last year.”
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Ends
For further information please contact:
Paul Hand,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
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Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 4484
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paul.hand@oireachtas.ie
Members of the Committee:
Deputies Seán Conlan, Seán Crowe, Clare Daly, Regina Doherty, Alan Farrell, Frank Feighan, Martin Ferris, Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, Dominic Hannigan, Michael P. Kitt, Joe McHugh, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, Joe O’Reilly, Brendan Smith and Joanna Tuffy.
Senators Jim D’Arcy, Maurice Cummins, Martin McAleese, Mary Moran, Mary White.
Chair: Joanna Tuffy, TD Vice-Chair: Joe O'Reilly, TD