The three Loyal Orders today met the Northern Ireland Secretary,
Paul Murphy, to discuss their views on the Quigley Report
aimed at resolving the parades issue.
It's the first time a joint Delegation from the Orange Order,
the Royal Black Institution, and the Independent Orange Institution
has met a Northern Ireland Secretary.
Describing the meeting as both "positive and constructive",
a spokesman for the Orange Order said they wanted to help
Mr Murphy in his quest to find a formula for protecting the
civil rights of everyone in the Province including those seeking
to uphold the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.
"Mr Murphy has described the Quigley Report as a complex
document and says that he doesn't wish to deny anyone sufficient
time to consider it fully" said the Orange Order spokesman.
"Previous consultation papers on the parades issue -
including the North Report - were rushed into legislation
without proper consultation with results that are painfully
obvious to all".
"It's imperative that this time we get it right. The
proposals we put to Mr Murphy this morning are designed to
move the parades debate forward and ensure that the views
of the Loyal Orders are fully taken into account before any
new laws are introduced".
The spokesman said he was hopeful Mr Murphy would carefully
consider the points put to him by the Delegation and would
want to avoid any suggestion that the Northern Ireland Office
was prepared to ignore the opinion of the thousands of loyalists
who take part in parades.
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