New draft legislation announced yesterday by the Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, aimed at resolving the parades issue has been criticised across the political divide. The draft bill transfers responsibility for decisions on contested parades from the police to the independent Parades Commission.
As predicted, the remit of the commission is to be extended, but this will have no impact on the activities of the GAA.
This new remit requires the commission to make recommendations on "expressions of cultural identity other than parades and sporting events which take place in the open air, and which may have an adverse impact on relationships within the community".
Dr Mowlam said this remit would come into effect "within a matter of months". She said she could not spell out what activities would be affected by this provision, saying it was a matter for the commission. The Chief Constable of the RUC will have the power to challenge any decision taken by the commission, and a ruling would then be made by the Secretary of State. The police also have final power on the day of a parade "to take whatever steps are necessary to preserve public order".
Five factors are spelled out in the legislation which the commission must take into account in deciding on a contested parade. One of these, "the recognition of the desirability of allowing a parade customarily held along a particular route to be held along that route", caused strong divisions between unionist and nationalist politicians.
The Ulster Unionist Party leader, Mr David Trimble, said this was "a step towards sanity" as it "put back statutory recognition of traditional parades".
Ms Brid Rodgers of the SDLP said she was concerned at any move to enshrine in legislation traditional parades that deliberately passed through nationalist areas. It was also worrying, she said, that the issue of demographic changes had not been mentioned.
Dr Mowlam said that while the "traditionality" of a parade would be a factor, it did "not mean that such parades will be guaranteed a free passage" as all the factors would have to be weighed up by the commission.
The other four considerations are the possibility of the parade leading to public disorder or damage to property, a disruption to the life of the community, any impact on relationships within the community or any failure to comply with a code of conduct.
Dr Mowlam also reaffirmed her confidence in the Parades Commission chairman, Mr Alistair Graham. Nationalist residents' groups had demanded his resignation earlier this week.
Yesterday Mr Graham welcomed the publication of the bill and promised widespread consultation on a code of conduct and guidelines governing parades, which the commission is to publish shortly.
Ms Rodgers said she generally welcomed the move to give powers to an independent commission, but said the decision to extend its remit to include other expressions of cultural identity "almost invited problems which have not existed in the past".
Mr Trimble said there was a "fundamental flaw" in the range of powers given to the commission, and that the basic concept of the state abandoning direct responsibility for public order was not workable. The commission could not carry out a conciliation and an adjudication function, he said.
The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland described the legislation as draconian and contrary to the principles of civil liberty. "There is nothing in this legislation for us and we reject totally the thinking that allows our faith, tradition, and culture to be treated with such contempt."
The Independent Orange Order said it was "horrified" by the legislation, which was "denying the full expression of the Protestant faith".
The Alliance Party's justice spokesman, Mr Steve McBride, condemned the proposal to extend the remit of the commission, saying it was "burdening the commission with additional ill-defined responsibilities".
Mr Nigel Dodds, of the Democratic Unionist Party, said the bill was one-sided and "another concession to the pan-nationalist front". He said it "gave powers to an unelected and unaccountable body to ban or reroute traditional lawful parades".
Sinn Fein's chairman, Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, said he welcomed the underlying intention of the bill to secure people's rights, and the fact that the remit of the commission would not cover sporting events. He was concerned that the RUC "ultimately retains the power to decide whether a parade will go ahead or not".
Ms Barbara McCabe, of the Women's Coalition, was critical of the move to extend the remit of the commission beyond parades, and said there was "an inherent danger in labelling particular activities as having a distinctive merit on the basis of the notion of `tradition'."
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, welcomed the provisions following a briefing in Dublin yesterday with the Northern Minister of State, Mr Paul Murphy. Mr Ahern expressed satisfaction that sporting fixtures, including Gaelic games, had been specifically excluded.
It would be vitally important in applying the legislation, he said, to distinguish legitimate expressions of cultural identity on different sides of the community which did not impinge on the rights of others from activities likely to give rise to intercommunal strife.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, welcomed the exclusion of sporting events from the remit of the commission, but said there were "understandable concerns in the nationalist community about the implications of extending its role". He said he had conveyed the Government's views on the matter through the framework of the Anglo-Irish Inter-Governmental Conference, and that he would be "closely monitoring this issue".