Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There was a good deal of scepticism and prior to the Cardiff conference many people thought that they were just going through the motions. I heard reports from people who had attended the conference that it had certainly helped to ease tensions prior to the march at the weekend, the first so-called Tour of the North parade. Those who participated in the Cardiff conference heard concerns and ideas about how to resolve difficult issues and, as the Tánaiste said, they talked about keeping lines of communication open at all times. Unfortunately, there was an incident at the weekend which resulted in the arrest by the PSNI of a young man. It happened after the march, by which stage much of the tension had eased. Mr. Gerry Kelly, a local MLA, went to the area to try to ease the tension and engage in dialogue and communication, but he ended up being caught on the side of a Land Rover. The Minister, Carál Ní Chuilín, was hurt in trying to prevent him from being injured. If commitments are made at conferences, it is important that they be followed through. I do not have all the detail of what happened and presume the Tánaiste has sought a report on the matter. The way the incident was viewed in the area was that the response had been handled badly. The policing was heavy handed and the communication promised did not happen. Mr. Alban Maginness of the SDLP said it had been really dangerous and that he felt that what had happened to Mr. Gerry Kelly was over the top. Everyone believed the commitments reached at the conference had helped to ease tensions.

I am concerned that if we do not follow through on our commitments, further incidents of this nature will take us backwards instead of allowing us to move forward.

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