'I won't step down' says Parades Commission chair after Drumcree parade ruling

The chair of the Parades Commission has said she and her colleagues do not intend to resign.

Professor Evelyn Collins was speaking two days after a court case highlighted mistakes made by the commission in its ruling on last month's planned parade by the Orange Order to Drumcree church in Portadown.

Unionist parties and the Orange Order have called for the commission to stand down, but Prof Collins said they intend to stay in post.

"We will work hard to regain the trust of all sections of the community," she said.

Speaking to Good Morning Ulster, Collins added: "Rather than resign, the commissioners and I are very committed to fulfilling our responsibilities under the legislation, to completing our terms of office and to addressing and fixing the problems that have been identified."

She also said they "accept criticisms that have been made".

Nigel Dawson, Portadown District Master for the Orange Order, told The Nolan Show he was in "disbelief" listening to Collins on Good Morning Ulster.

Dawson called for Collins' resignation, adding that her position is "untenable" and that she "must take responsibility".

"[The Parades Commission] doesn't command the confidence of the loyal orders," he said.

"They don't command, I think, the confidence of the greater unionist community."

Dawson said the commission is "no longer fit for purpose", and that the reputations of those on the committee "are in "tatters".

"They cannot class themselves as independent," he added.

Dawson said he has contacted the Secretary of State, Sir Chris Bryant, to request a meeting.

• LISTEN: Parades Commission chair tells Good Morning Ulster she won't resign after High Court Drumcree case

• LISTEN: Orange Order District Master calls for Parades Commission resignations on The Nolan Show

The Social Democratic and Labour Party leader Claire Hanna said the mistakes made by the commission "were a complete mess", but that it should not mean people "ignore the progress of the last 25 years".

"Residents have a right not to be intimidated."

However, Hanna added that "there will be resignations, and there should be resignations" within the commission.

Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister called on all members of the commission to resign.

"They're all culpable, and all of them, in consequence, must go," he said.

The DUP's Carla Lockhart has written to Collins after her interview on Good Morning Ulster and said: "Regrettably, you and your fellow Commissioners have lost the confidence of the entire unionist community. The interview this morning has only compounded matters."

First Minister Michelle O'Neill, who attended the Drumcree Community Centre on Wednesday and met residents said the community was "anxious by what they saw" on Tuesday.

She added that the "days of pushing any parades or any sort of negative experience again on any community here will not be acceptable or tolerated by anybody".

The UUP leader Jon Burrows said that "if the commissioners will not go the secretary of state must remove them".

The Orange Order has confirmed it intends to apply for another Drumcree parade in the coming days and a "significant date" in the calendar may be chosen for the parade.

Dawson said the Orange Order was agreeable to mediation with Garvaghy Road residents but questioned whether they wanted to engage in discussions.

A representative of a residents' group said there would be no point in discussions if the Orange Order had a "pre-determined outcome".

The current Commission was appointed from January 2024 on a three year term.

Professor Collins, a former chair of the Equality Commission, chairs a six-person panel. The others are Derek Wilson, a former banker, Billy Gamble, a former senior civil servant, Nicola Rountree, a barrister, Rachel Quigley, a solicitor and Pauline Leeson, a social worker.

According to the last annual report, the chair is paid between £50,000 and £55,000 while the other commissioners earn between £20,000 and £25,000.

The chair is expected to devote one to two days per week to the work of the Commission.

Commissioners are expected to devote approximately one day per week to commission business over the course of a year, with a proportionately greater commitment required April to August.

The member of the six-person commission who has faced the most public criticism is Billy Gamble.

He has been criticised over private comments he is alleged to have made about the Drumcree parade determination.

Collins said the comments were "out of line" but had no bearing on the decision-making process.

Asked if he should resign, the commission chair said: "That will be a matter for Billy Gamble."

In 1998, the Parades Commission ruled that the Orange Order should not march down Portadown's Garvaghy Road on the end leg of its annual march from Drumcree Church.

It was a move that ultimately led to a decades-long parading dispute, sparking some of the most serious public disorder in Northern Ireland's history.

Stand-offs continued in subsequent years as members of the Order walked to police barricades in protest at the restrictions. Protests were also held by residents living along the Garvaghy Road.

The High Court was told on Tuesday that the commission conceded the case last week and requested the court quash its determination before a full hearing.

The commission conceded a procedural error in how it dealt with the annual application for permission to walk along the Garvaghy Road.

Not all six members of the public authority had signed off on the final determination before it was issued last month.

Lawyers representing the local Orangeman claimed the commission's latest decision unlawfully breached his rights to freedom of belief, expression and peaceful assembly under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Lawyers for the applicant also argued that Garvaghy Road residents had refused talks with the Orange Order and the commission breached legislation by making it "a pre-requisite to a parade".

The Parades Commission said it "welcomes scrutiny and accountability".

The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland said the ruling made "the position of the current commissioners untenable".

Breandan Mac Cionnaith of the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition said people "had pointed out their concerns, their worries" at a meeting with Michelle O'Neill on Wednesday.

"I think people also have to be realistic, it is 28 years since the last Orange march ever came down Garvaghy Road and it has already been said who wants to open that can of worms again?"

He said the Orange Order parade "finished" in 1998 and it "will not be repeated".

The secretary of state met the Parades Commission chair on Wednesday.

A Northern Ireland Office (NIO) spokesperson said Sir Chris Bryant expressed "serious concern over the issues highlighted" in the judgement during the meeting.

Sir Chris has asked for written assurances that the commission's decision-making processes are "fair and robust", that they act "independently and impartially" and that they have a plan to "enhance public confidence".