Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 116: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the most recent report of the Independent Monitoring Commission; if he is concerned at its assessment of loyalist organisations and their ongoing criminal and paramilitary activity; if the Government maintains contact with these organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10507/07]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Independent Monitoring Commission confirmed in its 13th Report that efforts by some in the leadership of the UVF and UDA to move those organisations away from violence and criminality are continuing, but that progress on this front remains mixed and limited. These findings were briefly reiterated in the 14th IMC report on progress with regard to security normalisation measures.

As I stated on 8 February, while it is to be welcomed that the level of loyalist shootings has continued to decline, and that the incidence of loyalist assaults is lower, I am concerned that progress towards full loyalist decommissioning has been slow. The Government is committed to supporting leaders in loyalism who are attempting to achieve positive transformation in their communities, and who are making real efforts to achieve an end to paramilitary violence and criminality. I again call upon all those in positions of influence in these communities to work in support of this objective.