GAA urged to rethink attitude to NI police

The Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation has called on GAA members to reconsider their attitudes to the police force in Northern Ireland.

Speaking at a GAA banquet in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, Dr McDaid asked members of clubs around the country "to give very serious thought" to the Northern Secretary's "milestone" statement on the reorganisation of the police force in the North.

The Patten Report and the subsequent statement by Mr Mandelson on its implementation reflected "a new approach to the whole concept of policing", Dr McDaid said. That approach was based firmly on the principle of parity of esteem, he said.

He said Mr Mandelson's statement "clearly reflects a desire to build a new and better society embracing all traditions in the North".