Written answers

Wednesday, 18 September 2013

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Ministerial Meetings

Photo of Brendan SmithBrendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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119. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his recent visit to Belfast; if he will detail the meetings he had during that visit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38804/13]

Photo of Eamon GilmoreEamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I visited Belfast on 29 August 2013 to meet with members of communities living at interfaces, with representatives of the local business and retail sector and with a number of organisations and individuals involved with reconciliation and with legacy issues. The visit provided me with an opportunity to take soundings on the range of issues which will be dealt with in the context of the Haass process as well as to show my support for those living at interfaces following a particularly difficult summer. Among those I met were men and women in Ardoyne, Carrick Hill, Short Strand and in East Belfast who have worked tirelessly at a community level over the past year urging restraint, sometimes in the face of explicit provocation or intimidation. I commend all those who have shown constructive leadership within their communities in very difficult circumstances.

I received a number of clear messages from those with whom I met. Firstly, people do not want to lose all that has been gained over the past fifteen years of the peace process. Secondly, there is a genuine fear of a return of sectarian violence and grassroots communities are aware that their work, on its own, cannot deliver reconciliation. Thirdly, communities recognize how the two governments working both separately and jointly can bring helpful perspective and practical support, as can broader international focus. My visit also provided an opportunity to hear from those whose businesses have been directly affected by the ongoing street unrest. Retailers and those in the pub and restaurant trades said that the ongoing protests have caused a discernible drop-off in late-night and weekend shoppers and this is threatening the viability of many city-centre businesses.

I welcome the opportunity of the current talks process being chaired by Dr Richard Haass to address contentious issues, specifically Parades, Flags and Emblems and the Past, which are having such a corrosive effect on community and political relations and on the local economy in Northern Ireland. The Government is committed to supporting his work on each of these issues. I also met with members of the Ulster Council of the GAA to discuss the pioneering work which they are doing in terms of community outreach.

Photo of Brendan SmithBrendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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120. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions he has had with the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister of the Northern Ireland Executive in relation to violence on the streets of Belfast during the summer months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38805/13]

Photo of Brendan SmithBrendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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121. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in relation to violence on the streets of Belfast during the summer months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38806/13]

Photo of Eamon GilmoreEamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 120 and 121 together.

As co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, the security and political situation in Northern Ireland is a central concern for me, my Government colleagues and for members of the Oireachtas. I maintain contact on an ongoing and regular basis with the First and deputy First Ministers, with the party leaders within the Northern Ireland Executive and with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers MP. In the light of the deterioration of the security situation after the 12th of July, I had direct contact with the Secretary of State and with the Minster for Justice David Ford to discuss the difficult situation which the Police Service of Northern Ireland were confronting in North Belfast. Exceptionally, I issued a public statement calling for calm which my officials brought to the attention of all key stakeholders within the Cardiff talks process. In that statement I welcomed the talks which have begun this week under the independent Chairmanship of Richard Haass and the commitment by the Orange Order to engage with that talks process.

I visited Belfast on 29 August 2013 and had detailed discussion with community leaders in Ardoyne, Carrick Hill, Short Strand and in East Belfast who have faced the brunt of parades related tension this summer. I applauded them for their tireless leadership, restraint and support for a solution based on dialogue and respect, despite frequent explicit provocation or sectarian intimidation. I commend all those who have shown constructive leadership within their communities in very difficult circumstances.

Work must continue to ease tensions at interface areas and to support the rule of law and the Police Service of Northern Ireland charged with upholding the law. The events of this Summer, and the ongoing parades in Ardoyne point to a need to progress meaningful dialogue further and I again urge the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, and all Loyal Orders, to promote and to engage in dialogue based on the principle of respect with residents’ groups as a matter of urgency.

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