Orange Order rejects Parades Bill
The Parades Commission will remain in place for at least another year after the Grand Orange Lodge refused to back new laws on marching.
In July the Orange Order narrowly rejected the new system for overseeing controversial parades in Northern Ireland, which was set up by a Stormont working group under the terms of the Hillsborough Agreement.
The plans would see the Commission replaced by two new bodies encouraging rival sides to engage in dialogue.
The draft bill needed to be submitted to the Executive before the end of the month to be in place in January 2011.
However on Saturday the Orange Order decided not to change their initial position and declined to submit any recommendations to the legislation, meaning the planned legislative timeframe will now be missed.
First Minister Peter Robinson says he is disappointed by the outcome.
“Considerable effort was made at Hillsborough to solve the issues around parades and protests”, the DUP leader said.
“A new and improved framework to deal with parades was based on specifications outlined by the Orange Order”.
“It is disappointing this legislation will not now be introduced and the inevitable consequence of this is that the Secretary of State will reappoint the Parades Commission and regrettably, it will be given a new lease of life”, he continued.
Mr Robinson said he remained ready to talk on the matter.
“The reappointment of the Parades Commission will sadden many within the Loyal Orders as the Commission has proved to be part of the problem rather than part of the solution to parades disputes”.
“I see no advantage in moving from one system which the Orange Order does not engage with to another which, at the present time, does not have its support”, the First Minister added.
The Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on Parades said the Orange Order should not be allowed to veto Stormont legislation.
“The legislation is an important part of the outworking of the Hillsborough Castle Agreement. The Orange Order were not party to that Agreement and they cannot be afforded a veto over progress to resolve this issue”, John O’Dowd said.
“The fact that there is a parading issue at all is entirely down to past failures by the Orange Order to reach accommodation on a small number of contentious parades.
“The DUP should stop hiding behind the Orange Order and support the introduction of the Parades Bill into the Assembly.”
An Orange Order spokesman said: “We don’t intend going into the details of the letter” (from Peter Robinson).
“The Orange Order did not change its current position on the parading legislation.”
Violence broke out across Belfast over the Twelfth of July period after a controversial march passed by the Ardoyne shopfronts in the north of city.
