NI ASSEMBLY: Public representatives in the North have to start taking responsibility for dealing with sectarian violence instead of apportioning blame, the Deputy First Minister has told the Assembly.
Speaking during Ministers' Question Time, Mr Mark Durkan said what was needed was unambiguous condemnation of any violence "with no reservations or suggestions someone has done something because of something someone else has done".
" We [Mr Durkan and the First Minister, Mr David Trimble] utterly condemn and will seek to counter sectarianism wherever it occurs. We have to move beyond that sort of whataboutery if we are to give people the clear leadership that is needed in circumstances where hotheads are trying to drive the agenda," he added.
Not only ministers, but also MLAs, councillors and community activists needed to provide clear and responsible leadership in facing down sectarian practices, Mr Durkan insisted.
An Alliance Party MLA, Mr Seamus Close, said paramilitaries on both sides were wasting "blood, lives and scarce government resources" by orchestrating violence. The Executive's spending plans regarding hospital waiting lists and addressing under-investment in the North's infrastructure were seriously undermined by paramilitary activities, he added.
Meanwhile, Mr Trimble announced that a Project Board had been established to decide what to do with properties such as the Maze Prison and Ebrington Barracks in Co Derry when they are handed back to the Executive by the British army in two years' time.