Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-29
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

I have been in touch with the British Prime Minister. We discussed it over the weekend. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, has been in constant contact with the Secretary of State. If we are honest about this, I do not think it is as simple as that. I think that one intervention is not going to resolve it. People have to stand back and there has to be some collective pathway determined with some degree of mediation.
I was listening to former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern this morning. He made the point that the issue has never been resolved. Although people thought it had been resolved, in many respects this is one that has never been resolved. We all know that for 28 years, there was never a decision to allow a parade down the Garvaghy Road, and that is how many of us find it difficult to comprehend how a decision was taken on this occasion. We will continue to engage with the British Government and all the parties involved with a view to finding a way through this that takes away the significant pressure that hangs over the residents of Garvaghy Road once and for all, or at least to create a pathway. A number of complications to this transpired over the weekend that really call for creative thinking in terms of how we can create a pathway of reconciliation and trust, building on the platform of work that has been under way in this community for quite some time to create a long-lasting peaceful resolution of this.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-29