Vol. 410 No. 2
37 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the working group of officials, who were asked to make early recommendations on the speeding up of the rate of accompaniment of UDR patrols by the RUC, has reported to the Anglo-Irish Conference.
The working group on accompaniment to which the Deputy refers was established by the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in October 1989. The conference has taken careful note of the work done by officials on this issue. The British authorities have undertaken to provide regular reports, on a six monthly basis, on rates of accompaniment of patrols in Northern Ireland. The first of these reports was handed over last November.
The Government continue to be concerned at the unsatisfactory rate of police accompaniment of patrols of the armed forces — including the UDR — in Northern Ireland. The issue has repeatedly featured on the agenda of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference and has been raised on numerous occasions through the Anglo-Irish Secretariat. The Government will continue to press for full implementation of the objective set out in the Hillsborough Communique, namely that, save in the most exceptional circumstances, there is a police presence in all operations which involve direct contact with the community.
