Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 611: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the Government intends to raise the issue of the continuing deployment of the British parachute regiment in south Armagh with the British Government; and if the Government will press the British Government for their speedy removal from the area. [25720/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The British Government has announced its intention, in the context of an enabling security environment, of proceeding with an accelerated programme of normalisation measures in the period between now and August 2007. The first phase of this programme is currently underway and involves the deconstruction of observation posts in south Armagh and their return to green-field status.

At the completion of the programme, the British military presence in Northern Ireland will be reduced to the level recommended in the Joint Declaration; two brigades totalling 5,000 soldiers in no more than 14 posts across the region. In relation to the regiment referred to in your question, I have asked my officials in the British-Irish Secretariat in Belfast to take up the issue with the British authorities.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 612: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps the Government intends to take to ensure that robust equality impact assessments are undertaken in relation to all high level strategies in the Six Counties; and if the Government will make this a priority in its discussions with the British Government, in view of Good Friday Agreement commitments on equality. [25721/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Good Friday Agreement provided for the creation of a statutory duty on public authorities in Northern Ireland to carry out all their functions with due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity in relation to religion and political opinion; gender; race; disability; age; marital status; dependants and sexual orientation.

This statutory duty was legislated for in section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. It requires public bodies to submit equality schemes and equality impact assessments to the Equality Commission for approval in relation to their policies and policy proposals.

The Government is firmly committed to the full implementation of all aspects of the Good Friday Agreement. We continue to actively monitor the implementation of a range of equality issues, including by raising issues with the British Government through the framework of the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference, BIIGC. There is also regular discussion of equality matters at the Ministerial meetings of the BIIGC.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 613: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the persistent under-representation of Catholics at senior grades in the North's Civil Service; and if the Government will make this a priority in its discussions with the British Government in view of the Good Friday Agreement commitments on equality. [25722/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The promotion of equality is at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement. This was collectively affirmed by the parties in the commitment within the agreement to "the mutual respect, the civil rights and the religious liberties of everyone in the community". This included, in particular "the right to equal opportunity in all social and economic activity, regardless of class, creed, disability, gender or ethnicity".

The Government is firmly committed to the implementation of all aspects of the Good Friday Agreement and continues to actively engage with the British Government to further the equality agenda set out in the Agreement and in the Joint Declaration of 2003.

I am concerned that statistics show under-representation of Catholics at senior grades in the Northern Ireland Civil Service. In addition, the issue of restrictions on employment, on the basis of nationality alone, to public service posts in the Northern Ireland Civil Service has long been of concern to the Government. We have raised our concerns on this issue with the British Government within the framework of the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference, BIIGC, including at the meeting of the BIIGC in March 2005.