THE grand secretary of the Orange Order, Mr John McCrea, said last night that he had "lost hope of any good coming out" of the consultation period suggested by the Northern Secretary in proposals to deal with parades.
Speaking last night at an Orange Order meeting in Belfast, Mr McCrea said Sir Patrick Mayhew's proposals to deal with parades - which include stricter curbs on drinking and three week advance notice of parades - showed the "considerable pressure that he has come under from the Dublin administration following the publication of the North Review Body report."
Meanwhile, the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, rejected unionist opposition to his call for the Irish Government to send officials to monitor contentious parades. He told a meeting in Castlewellan, Co Down, that there would be "no need for any observers if the issue of contentious parades was dealt with now.