Mary Flaherty
Ceist:103 Miss Flaherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the Government's current position in relation to the future of policing in Northern Ireland. [22155/96]
Written Answers. - Northern Ireland Policing.
The Government continues to believe that the problem of policing in Northern Ireland is one of the crucial issues which must be addressed by the parties within the context of comprehensive negotiations. In the Joint Framework Document both the Irish and British Governments accept that issues of law and order in Northern Ireland are closely intertwined with the issues of political consensus.
As I have stated on many occasions, for a police service to secure and enjoy crosscommunity support, it must reflect the communities it serves both in its composition and ethos, and must accord equal esteem to the Nationalist and Unionist identities. Achieving this remains the Government's objective in relation to comprehensive reform of the RUC and new policing structures in Northern Ireland.
I have availed fully of the Anglo-Irish Agreement and its machinery to put forward views and proposals on policing issues. Most recently, for example, a special meeting of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference was convened on 18 July at the Government's request in the wake of the disturbances surrounding Drumcree. The damage done to Nationalist confidence in the RUC by these events was central to the discussions at that special conference meeting. Indeed, policing has been discussed at most if not all of the Anglo-Irish conference meetings since 1986. It will continue to form a central issue within the framework of the Anglo-Irish Agreement and within the wider context of political negotiations involving the two Governments and the parties.