Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

67. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his proposals to have further discussions with the Northern Ireland Secretary of State and with Members of the Northern Ireland Executive in relation to the establishment of the Civic Forum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44073/13]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Paragraph 34 of Strand One of the Good Friday Agreement provided for the establishment of a consultative Civic Forum. Section 56 of the Northern Ireland Act1998 required the First Minister and the deputy First Minister, with the approval of the Assembly, to make arrangements for obtaining the views of the Civic Forum.The Forum was set up in October 2000 and was suspended along with the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2002. Following the restoration of devolved powers in May 2007, the then First Minister and deputy First Minister considered the position of the Civic Forum in the re-established devolved arrangements and commissioned a review of the effectiveness and appropriateness of its structure, operation and membership. In April 2013 the NI Assembly voted in favour of an SDLP motion to re-establish the Civic Forum. In my ongoing contacts with the Secretary of State and with the Northern Ireland Executive, including in the context of the North South Ministerial Council, I have pressed for the re-establishment of the Civic Forum as a valuable and, as yet, unimplemented provision of the Good Friday Agreement. I welcome the recent consultations which Richard Haass, Independent Chair of the Panel of Parties, and Meghan O’Sullivan, Independent Vice-Chair of the Panel of Parties, have undertaken with community groups and with representatives of wider civil society in order to ensure that their views and perspectives are considered in the context of the talks process.

I have previously put on the record of the Dáil that I support the establishment of a Civic Forum which would provide for a broad range of voices on community relations and stimulate informed public debate in relation to key societal challenges. On my forthcoming visits to Northern Ireland, including when I visit Derry tomorrow, I will continue the practice of engaging with civil society representatives when time permits.

I will be hosting a Reconciliation Networking Forum event in Dublin Castle on 30 October 2013 for people who are involved in community, peace-building, public policy or reconciliation work, to discuss what civil society, including the community sector, can and should do to meet the reconciliation challenges ahead. This is in line with the view of the Government that a strong and resilient civic society can play an important role in building a more reconciled and prosperous Northern Ireland.