Vol. 507 No. 1
48 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the discussions, if any, he has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Dr. Mo Mowlam, in relation to the groups currently on ceasefire in view of the murder of Ms Elizabeth O'Neill and the reports that there has been an average of three pipe bomb attacks per week; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15384/99]
At the outset, I express in the strongest possible terms my condemnation of the murder of Mrs. Elizabeth O'Neill in Portadown earlier this month. I express my deepest sympathy to Mrs. O'Neill's family and I urge anyone with information on who may have planned or carried out this attack to pass it on to the authorities without delay.
The Government has conveyed its deep concern to the British Government at the number of attacks on nationalist homes and businesses in recent months, both directly to the Secretary of State and on a continuous basis at official level through the framework of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. There have been more than 150 petrol and pipe bomb attacks since the Good Friday Agreement, not to mention the numerous incidents of intimidation and violence which have also taken place.
I understand that it is the judgment of the British authorities that the ceasefires by the main paramilitary organizations are holding, and that the situation continues to be kept under active review.
