Alasdair McDonnell
Main Page: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)Department Debates - View all Alasdair McDonnell's debates with the Northern Ireland Office
(11 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Gemma Doyle (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab/Co-op)
9. What assessment she has made of the recent public disorder in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.
Dr Alasdair McDonnell (Belfast South) (SDLP)
10. What assessment she has made of the recent violence in Belfast.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mrs Theresa Villiers)
The recent violence in Northern Ireland has been intolerable. The Government fully support the efforts of the Police Service of Northern Ireland in their efforts to combat this disorder and to bring to justice those responsible for it.
Mrs Villiers
The impact of the recent disorder on resources is certainly a cause for concern. However, the United Kingdom Government are already giving the PSNI significant assistance through the £200 million of additional security funding that we allocated in 2011, and that money is helping the PSNI to deal with the current protests. Not only has it released resources for other forms of policing, but it has enabled the PSNI to purchase a new fleet of Land Rovers which are being deployed directly in policing the protests and combating the violence.
Dr Alasdair McDonnell
The current difficult situation is of concern to all of us. There is significant violence and illegal behaviour, and daily we hear anecdotal evidence of the potential economic withdrawal of some of the hard-earned foreign direct investment that we have received for the past few years. We need a solution. Would the Secretary of State be amenable to a round-table conference with the two Governments and all the Northern Ireland parties to sort out all the issues that confront us?
Mrs Villiers
All Northern Ireland’s political parties must work together to find a political way forward. The violence is unacceptable. The protests need to stop, and be replaced by a political dialogue. I have been urging the parties to engage in such a process, and I welcome the hard work they are doing in trying to set it up. I believe that the constructive meeting that I had with the First Minister, the Deputy First Minister and the Irish Foreign Minister last week has provided an impetus for the political parties to continue their discussions on a political solution.