First Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill has said an emergency intervention is needed to resolve the ongoing dispute over a proposed Orange Order parade on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown.
Speaking after meeting Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris at Government Buildings, Ms O’Neill said the best intervention would be for the proposed parade to be taken off the table.
She said Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Bryant had the powers to intervene and stop the march.
Ms O’Neill said she and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald had asked the Taoiseach and Tánaiste to intervene and put the issue directly to British Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
She said there were “a small number of people” in the North who wanted to return to the period before 1998 and “the hardest of times”.
Ms O’Neill said the Taoiseach and Tánaiste had been briefed on the severity of the situation and warned that “the stakes are very high”.
Ms McDonald said after the meeting that she and Ms O’Neill had “fully informed” the Taoiseach and Tánaiste about events on the ground in Portadown, including the level of distress among residents and the damage already caused by the dispute.
She said they were also aware of the potential for further damage if the crisis was not resolved.
Ms McDonald said she had told the Government that “the only responsible option” was for immediate action and for Mr Bryant to use his powers to stop the proposed march.
She warned that any failure to act urgently risked causing further damage to the peace process built over the past 30 years.
Earlier, Ms McDonald accused Mr Bryant of “sitting on his hands” over the dispute and said 28 years of peace in the Garvaghy Road area were now “in jeopardy”.
She said people in the area expected the Irish Government to intervene and press the British Government to stop the parade.
The meeting at Government Buildings involving Mr Martin, Mr Harris, Ms O’Neill and Ms McDonald concluded this evening.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee is due to meet Mr Bryant in Belfast this evening to discuss the situation.
The latest developments come after nationalist residents returned to court to challenge a decision allowing a restricted Orange Order parade on the Garvaghy Road.
The parade was approved by the Parades Commission following a marathon legal case in Belfast at the weekend.
After 13 hours of legal argument, a High Court judge refused residents permission to appeal the commission’s determination.
The parade had been due to take place on Sunday but did not proceed following a large nationalist counter-demonstration.
Lawyers for the residents are understood to be preparing a further judicial review challenge to the judge’s decision to refuse permission to appeal. The fresh legal challenge could take place in the coming days.
The Taoiseach told the Dáil earlier that resolving the situation was not as straightforward as simply ordering an end to the parade.
The Irish Government remains in contact with the British Government, while Mr Martin and Ms McEntee have also backed a role for an independent international figure in mediating the dispute.
