§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many members of Opus Dei have been convicted for scheduled offences in Northern Ireland in the last three years. [130500]
§ Mr. IngramThis information is not available.
1004W
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if he met representatives of Opus Dei before the decision to include that organisation in section 49(1) of the Police (Northern Ireland) Bill; [133488]
(2) on how many occasions his Department contacted the Opus Dei information offices in London or Dublin during the period 29 June to 11 July; [133490]
(3) what correspondence he has received from the Holy See concerning his decision to include Opus Dei in section 49(i) of the Police (Northern Ireland) Bill. [133489]
§ Mr. IngramThe Government did not meet any of the bodies listed in clause 49 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Bill about their inclusion in the list. The reason for any groups being included is set out in my reply of 24 July 2000,Official Report, column 443W. The Department has not contacted Opus Dei's information offices nor received any correspondence from the Holy See, though as I said in my most recent reply officials recently met representatives of Opus Dei to listen to their concerns and the Government are considering the points made.