91. A key aim of the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 is to encourage parties to a parades dispute, through the Parades Commission, to reach a local accommodation. Our inquiry has demonstrated that the Parades Commission has made progress in achieving that aim. While the overall number of parades has grown, the number of contentious parades in Northern Ireland has shown a steady decline, and there are positive signs of a greater willingness in parade organisations and residents groups to engage in direct dialogue to resolve disputes.

92. It is our strong view that the responsibility for decisions on restricting parades based on public order considerations should not revert to the police. If this were to happen, it is likely that the perception would grow that the police were again directly involved in the parades determination process. This would undermine the recent strides made to provide Northern Ireland with a police force anchored securely in all parts of the community. It is our view that greater openness on the part of the Parades Commission about the grounds of determinations, including public order considerations on which the advice of the police will have been taken, will assist in achieving the increase in police accountability which is quite properly demanded of a modern force.

93. Replacing the Commission with new organisational arrangements is likely to involve a lengthy period of uncertainty and disruption at a point where there is evidence that the present arrangements are working and there is the prospect of further progress. We do not consider that it is sensible to embark on fundamental organisational change unless there are obvious and proportionate benefits to be gained. Nor do we think it necessary to include the suggestion in Sir George Quigley's report that the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 should be amended to incorporate Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. To do so would have no new legal effect because the Parades Commission is currently required to act compatibly with the Convention rights as a whole, including Article 11.

94. The current activities of the Parades Commission should be improved. We were concerned by the depth of frustration felt by the parading organisations over the lack of detail provided by the Commission about objections to parades. This perceived lack of transparency has contributed to the low level of confidence which the Unionist community has in the Commission. Everything possible must be done to improve that confidence. We recognise the crucial importance of protecting the identity of those raising objections to parades. Imaginative improvements in transparency to make the nature of objections to parades clearer and more accessible to parade organisers need not compromise the security of objectors. By providing in its determinations fuller explanations about the conclusions it reaches on the impact of a parade on community relations, the Parades Commission will do much to help foster cross-community confidence in its operation. Wherever possible, public order considerations should be included in these explanations.

95. We believe that the Commission's involvement in mediation needs to be revitalised. A review of the process needs to be undertaken urgently, and the Commission's Authorised Officer cadre strengthened as a key part of a vigorous, proactive and, we trust, progressively successful mediation operation. The government must ensure that there are sufficient funds available to the Commission for this purpose.