Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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42. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the most recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with Members of the Northern Ireland Executive and the political parties in Northern Ireland regarding parades during the summer months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30815/13]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The issue of Parades features in almost all of my regular discussions with the British government, the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and with political and community leaders in Northern Ireland. I have spoken in the past two weeks with both the Secretary State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers MP and NI Justice Minister David Ford. We have a shared concern about the potential for sectarian violence during the summer marching season. I re-iterated our view that it is essential that the determinations of the Parades Commission are fully respected and that the Commission itself and the Police Service of Northern Ireland receive full support from everyone. Apart from the risk to life and the potential for parades linked violence to damage community relations, it would be a real setback if the positive images about the North emerging from the success of the G8 conference were replaced with scenes of riots and attacks on police. The recent conference organised by the PSNI in Cardiff was not specifically about parades but was about relationships – relationships between community representatives and between such representatives and the police. And of course these relationships go to the heart of the parading dilemma just as they go to the heart of the solution to other sources of sectarian division. The fact that all participants committed themselves, inter alia, to support the police in upholding the rule of law in their communities and to commit to ongoing dialogue throughout the summer even when tensions are high is a very welcome development. I fully support and join with the leaders of the Northern Ireland Executive and the Chief Constable in their recent call on all political and community representatives to redouble efforts to reduce parade related tensions in the coming weeks.