Mr. John David Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list, by location, those parades in Northern Ireland during the Easter adjournment 202W which (a) took place in contravention of a ban and (b) took place without the necessary statutory notice being served on the police; at which of these parades firearms were seen to be in the possession of civilians; how many plastic bullets were fired by the Royal Ulster Constabulary at each of these parades; and if he will identify which of these parades were Loyalist and which Republican.
§ Mr. Scott[pursuant to his reply, 14 April 1986, c. 243]: During the Easter adjournment (27 March to 8 April) one Loyalist parade took place in Portadown in the early hours of 31 March in contravention of a prohibition under article 4(3) of the Public Order (Northern Ireland) Order 1981. Later in the day a number of minor Loyalist parades took place in contravention of the same prohibition. One other Loyalist parade was deemed in contravention of the law when it deviated from its customary route in Belfast.
Four Republican parades, two in Londonderry and two in Belfast, took place without the required statutory notice being given to the police.
The Royal Ulster Constabulary did not fire baton rounds at any of these parades, however, in violent incidents which occurred in the vicinity of the Portadown parades, and in rioting which followed them in the town, a total of 193 plastic baton rounds was fired by the police. On one occasion, at a Republican parade in Londonderry, firearms were observed in the possession of civilians.