Belfast images of violence were 'shocking' says Simon Coveney

The Irish Government will do its best, said Mr Coveney, but there were some things they could not do.

People gather by the Peace Gates in Lanark Way, Belfast, during further unrest in Northern Ireland last night. Picture: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said that both the UK and Irish Governments will work to ease tensions in Northern Ireland. 

He called for political leaders in Northern Ireland to condemn the violence and work out a response to diffuse the violence.

Mr Coveney told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that the images of violence on the street in Belfast on Wednesday night were “shocking.” 

“This needs to stop before someone is killed. That has to start at the top in terms of political leadership,” he said.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs said it was time for political and community leaders to respond and come together to help diffuse tensions. 

The Irish Government will do its best, he said, but there were some things they could not do.

“Statements from the Irish Government are not going to calm tension in many loyalist communities, it's got to come from the unionist community,” said Mr Coveney. 

Attempts to spread violence beyond Loyalist communities into Nationalist communities were very worrying, said the Minister.

Mr Coveney also said he hoped that there would be unity in the Northern Ireland Assembly when it meets today. 

He acknowledged that there had been issues in the past about Sinn Féin representatives attending the Bobby Storey funeral and the decision not to pursue charges, but there were processes that could be followed.

“That’s the way to do this – through good politics,” he said.  

Mr Coveney said the images of violence on Wednesday night were images that he had thought had been consigned to history. 

He said a tweet from First Minister Arlene Foster condemning the violence but describing Sinn Féin as the "real law breakers" was “not helpful” and said there was a need for all political leaders to help diffuse tensions.

Mr Coveney said all political leaders needed to be careful what they said. 

It was never difficult to criticise and create tension, he said and the real challenge for political leaders was to find ways to come together.

He said violence was not the solution to problems that only politics could solve.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs said the Northern Ireland Protocol could not be “just set aside” as it was part of an international treaty. 

The Protocol had been designed to deal with the disruptions of Brexit “as best we can,” said Mr Coveney. 

This was not a day for criticism or comments about what should have been, he said. 

Instead, it was a day for politicians to come together to diffuse tensions and make the political structures in Northern Ireland work again, said Mr Coveney.