Last night was the fourth night of recent violence in the North. Police officers have been attacked by rioters still wearing their orange regalia. Many police officers have been injured. There were attacks last night, including bomb and petrol bomb attacks on St. Matthew's Church and on homes in the Short Strand. Violence from any quarter must be condemned and deplored but what we are witnessing on the streets at this time is naked sectarian aggression.

I do not believe the scenes we are witnessing reflect the majority within the Orange Order and the loyal orders and more especially the majority of citizens in the North. I hope the Taoiseach will join me in saying that solutions can only be found through dialogue involving the loyal orders and residents of the host communities. The experience of Derry and other areas is evidence of that.

I argue specifically again very strongly that we must all recognise that Orangeism is a part of who we are as a nation and a people. The loyal orders have the right to parade and to promote their sense of identity but that must be on the basis of equality and tolerance. We cannot tolerate sectarianism, bigotry or incitement to hatred. Will the Taoiseach join me in calling for an end to the street protests, appeal for calm and urge the order to enter into real dialogue on the contentious parades? The Taoiseach will recall that I have constantly argued for the Government to be in continuous contact with the British Government as part of its responsibility as co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement. The Agreement specifically affirms the right of citizens to live free from sectarian harassment. Has the Government spoken to the British Government on the recent violence?

The answer is “Yes”. The Tánaiste was in direct contact with the Secretary of State, Ms Villiers, on the matter and the Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland, Mr. Ford. Everybody agrees with the sentiment Deputy Adams expressed that there should be harmony and community peace in Northern Ireland.

On the morning of the recent North-South Ministerial Council in Dublin Castle the Orange Order issued a statement saying it wished to engage with communities in the Ardoyne about the parade and the issues that might arise. Clearly, the Government supports the role and the remit of the Parades Commission and the PSNI, which has been under serious pressure in carrying out its duties in terms of maintaining peace and community cohesion.

The Orange Order addressed the Seanad last year and made its comments. I met it myself. Clearly, Deputy Adams will not find anyone in disagreement with the sentiment he expressed in the House. All we can do is reinforce the message by continued direct contact with the representatives of the British Government and of the political parties. I am also aware of the comments made by Vice President Biden. Everyone is now aware of the appointment of Richard Haass, the experienced special envoy, to chair the work dealing with parades, protests, flags, symbols and emblems dealing with the past. Those are serious issues. I saw some of the television pictures of naked sectarianism at work and it is not a pretty sight.

This House should unite in its call to all the communities to show restraint. This is not good for Northern Ireland, its reputation and the perception of the people of Northern Ireland. Following on the successful G8 summit where the reputation of Northern Ireland and its people was greatly enhanced this does down the economy, in particular of Belfast, and it also does down the reputation of community efforts to have cross-community peace and harmony. In so far as sending that message is concerned, we will reinforce it very strongly and will continue our contacts directly with the British Government and the representatives of the people in all of the parties.

Hear, hear.

I thank the Taoiseach for his answer. I know that there are lots of worries and responsibilities upon the Government at this time but these issues must be continually worked at. It is all relative. The violence was quite localised; it was only in Belfast. It is disastrous for people who live in those small terraced houses in what are called interface areas to live under that constant threat and worry. It is something I would not wish on anyone. A total of 550 orange parades took place over 12 July. That is a huge amount of parades. The full total of parades by the loyal orders was 4,993. That is outside the experience of most people from this part of the island of Ireland.

It is welcome hat Drew Nelson, the grand secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge addressed the Seanad. I also welcome the fact that at the last moment the Orange Order engaged in dialogue of a sort. The Government must find ways of continuously engaging. I refer to normal ministerial visits. I do not mean high profile visits, but small visits to the Short Strand and loyalist areas such as the Newtownards Road. Ministers will be given a very good welcome. That should be possible under the aegis of the Good Friday Agreement. We must find ways to encourage dialogue because that will allow us to find a resolution to the outstanding matters. Could Ministers be asked to visit the North more often, in particular the poorest, most disadvantaged working class areas that suffer the brunt of the sectarian violence?

The answer is “Yes”. I spoke to Mr. Nelson last year when he visited Dublin. That was one of the issues the parties discussed for inclusion in the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, of substantial funding under the peace dividend, the inclusion of INTERREG funding, and a recognition that of the many parades to which Deputy Adams referred the vast majority passed off without any difficulty, rancour or confrontation.

Deputy Adams knows better than most that in the interface communities it is community leaders on both sides who are able to bring about a sense of restraint and calm. What happened before and after Christmas did not help the situation. The intervening period of calm was for a small minority a period of build-up to what is happening now. I hope community leaders and the political process will keep very active and vigilant and that we can get through this period with no further serious violence as we have seen in the past.

The answer to Deputy Adams’s question on ministerial visits is “Yes”. Arising from the North-South ministerial meetings, a great deal of work is going on. The fact that the Presidency went from 1 January to the end of June did require a great deal of attention from all Ministers. Deputy Adams can take it that I am determined that Ministers and Ministers of State will involve themselves on a more active basis in visiting areas in Northern Ireland and different communities there in respect of building on the work of the North-South Ministerial Council and the engagement that is ongoing on a constant basis. That is only to be expected and would be in the interests of building further on the harmony between different communities. That will happen from the autumn.