Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The best way to resolve parades issues is directly between the organisers and local residents. We have seen that work successfully for many parades. In the absence of such agreement it then falls to the Parades Commission to make a determination on how a parade should be organised and the various conditions attaching to it. I am very clear in that regard, as is Secretary of State Villiers. We have both expressed our view in the discussions we have had with the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, and with other political leaders in Northern Ireland. Our view is that the determinations of the Parades Commission must be respected. That is the purpose of the commission. There can be no equivocation or second-guessing of the determinations of the Parades Commission. That is the arrangement that is in place for dealing with issues relating to parades. There is a big parade on 21 June - the Tour of the North; the Battle of the Somme commemorations are on 7 July, there are the 12 July commemorations, the Apprentice Boys parade in Derry is on 10 August and the parade in Rasharkin is on 16 August.

There is a long parades season ahead and of course there are many other parades planned for various venues. I urge that discussions take place between the organisers and residents where there are issues to be resolved, that efforts are made to resolve them and that when the Parades Commission makes a determination, it is respected by everybody.

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