Mary Harney
Ceist:15 Miss Harney asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the representations, if any, made by him to the British Prime Minister regarding the staging of parades and marches in Northern Ireland. [15824/96]
Written Answers. - Northern Ireland Marches.
This is a matter to which the Government has been giving the closest of attention. The aftermath of the decisions taken in relation to the recent marches through the Garvaghy Road and the Lower Ormeau Road have been a source of the gravest concern.
I have raised with the British Prime Minister, in a very open and forthright manner, the just concern of Nationalists over recent events. I have strongly urged that a new approach has to be found for managing the potential focus points for confrontation during the marching season in Northern Ireland. In that regard, I proposed to him that an Independent Parades Routes Commission should be established immediately.
The whole issue of parades and marches also featured very prominenetly at the special meeting of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference on 18 July which had been called at the request of the Government.
I can assure the Deputy that the Government will continue to do everything possible to rebuild confidence in the wake of recent events and to fully restore the primacy of the political process as the means of achieving this.