andMr. P. Gallagher asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make inquiries concerning the presence of RUC troops armed and in full riot gear, at future Fleadh Ceoil gatherings in the North of Ireland.
Written Answers. - Northern Ireland Security Forces.
521.
The Deputies will be aware that the report of the New Ireland Forum states that the New Ireland must be a society within which, subject only to public order, all cultural, political and religious belief can be freely expressed and practised. That concept is as relevant to the present as it is to the future.
In my capacity as Minister for Foreign Affairs I have been assiduous in seeking to ensure that due respect should be accorded to the rights of both traditions in Northern Ireland. Moreover, while accepting the need for effective security procedures in Northern Ireland, I have stressed that the presence of the security forces should not be such as to lead to provocation. Such provocation, when it occurs, can only serve the interests of those who seek to bring about political change by violent means. The Deputies may be assured that I shall continue to hold this view and to take whatever steps I consider necessary in defence of those rights.