subscribe to the RSS Feed

Thursday, November 12, 2026

Stormont is a Farce

Posted by Jim on April 21, 2018

Stormont is a farce so board it up, says ex-MLA Francie Brolly

Francie Brolly11
Francie Brolly

By Leona O’Neill

A former MLA has launched a blistering attack on Stormont, describing it as “nothing but a load of hot air” and saying it should be “boarded up”.

Francie Brolly (79) said he had no regrets over resigning from Sinn Fein and that if he could live his life over again he wouldn’t pick politics.

He said Stormont was “just listening to a load of nonsense” until “the clock whizzed around to home time”.

The veteran republican, who was a Limavady councillor before becoming East Londonderry MLA between 2003 and 2010, was speaking at an anti-abortion event in Derry’s City Hotel.

He resigned in February after Sinn Fein voted to extend access to abortion last year.

The move came two years after his wife Anne, also a former councillor in Limavady, also resigned over the party’s stance on terminations.

Mr Brolly said life in Stormont was “an awful experience”.

“I have no regrets leaving Sinn Fein,” absolutely none,” he said.

“There just came a time to go. I could have left sooner.

“My thinking was do I stay in and try and change things from the inside or do I leave? But eventually it became impossible to change anything, you know how hardline they are.

“So I left and I am very happy. It means I don’t have to worry that I’m toeing a party line, I do my own thing.”

Mr Brolly said one thing he did regret was getting involved in politics in the first place.

He added: “If I had to live my life over again I wouldn’t have run for election in the first place. It was an awful experience.

“It’s not my kind of life, really.

“I was driving up and down to Stormont four days a week for nothing, really.

“I was listening to a lot of nonsense just. And that is what it is.

“It’s all just hot air and little pages of stuff that some civil servant has written out for some little man and he gets up and reads it off and sits down again.

“And someone else gets up and reads off his bit.

“Everyone is just waiting for the clock to whizz round so you can get home. That is politics for you.”

There has not been a functioning Executive for 15 months after Sinn Fein walked out over the DUP’s handling of the RHI scandal.

Mr Brolly said that the political impasse had drained any hopes of moving forward and he did not envisage an end to the deadlock any time soon.

“I can’t really see Stormont coming back, certainly not in the form that it was intended with the Good Friday Agreement,” he added.

“The longer it lies dormant the less likelihood there is of it coming back.

“It’s probably, in fact, time for boarding up the place.”

Belfast Telegraph

Comments: Be the First to Comment

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Official Communication from the UFA

Posted by Jim on April 20, 2018

April 20th

FRIENDS OF FIREFIGHTERS’ 5K MEMORIAL RUN FOR TOMMY PHELAN Friends of Firefighters is participating in Generosity Brooklyn, a multi-charity 5K Run/Walk taking place on Sunday, April 29th, 2018, in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Bib pick up will be at 7:30 AM with a scheduled start time of 9:00 AM for the run. They will be running and walking in memory of WTC Marine Pilot and Firefighter Tommy Phelan, a longtime FoF supporter and beloved 9/11 rescuer who sadly passed away last month of cancer. Cost of registration is $25 with each participant committing to raising $200 for Friends of Firefighters. After the race, all are welcome to gather at Tommy’s favorite watering hole, Farrell’s, 215 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, NY 11215, for a post-race party. Bagels and light refreshments will be served to all runners. Custom Tommy Phelan t-shirts and Friends of Firefighters stadium cups will be sold at the door. Honor Tommy’s life and legacy while helping Friends of Firefighters raise vital funds to support the continuation of free counseling and wellness services for active and retired FDNY firefighters and their families. Register today at www.generositybrooklyn.com/fof. For additional information or questions, call their office at 718-643-0980 or email info@friendsoffirefighters.org.     PLAQUE DEDICATION On Monday, June 11th, 2018 at 1100 hours, a WTC Plaque Dedication will be held honoring the memory of Firefighter William J. Gormly, Ladder 174. The dedication will take place in the quarters of Engine 310 and Ladder 174, 5105 Snyder Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11203. All off-duty members and their families are invited to attend. Members are requested to attend in dress uniform.

Comments: Be the First to Comment

Filed Under: Uncategorized

RADIO FREE EIREANN

Posted by Jim on

RADIO FREE EIREANN will broadcast  this Saturday APRIL 21st on WBAI Radio 99.5FM or WBAI.ORG at 12 noon-1pm New York time or 5pm-6pm in Ireland, or anytime after the program on WBAI.ORG – Archives.

MARK THOMPSON of Relatives for Justice will discuss a new bipartisan initiative in Congress backing families of legacy victims killed by British or their paid agents, in their fight to get truth and justice from the crown.

CORMAC O’MALLEY , will report on the Belfast launch of the new book THE MEN WILL TALK TO ME:Ernie O’Malley’s Interviews with the Northern Divisions,a collection of interviews conducted and recorded by his father famed Irish Republican Ernie O’Malley of interviews with IRA Volunteers who fought during the War of Independence and Civil War.

We will have a special report on Mayor Di Blasio’s latest moves against New York’s famed Horse drawn Carriages in Central Park


We will have a final update  on  April 24th  in ALBANY, which will now include  formal resolutions in the New York State Senate and Assembly  honoring  the centennial of Ireland’s 1918 Vote for Freedom which gave a democratic mandate to the Easter Rising and Proclamation as well as information about the Irish Freedom’s Easter Commemoration on Sunday April 22d.

John McDonagh and Martin Galvin co-host.

Comments: Be the First to Comment

Filed Under: Uncategorized

UK Border Force reviewing ‘British-only’ policy on jobs in Northern Ireland

Posted by Jim on

 

The Irish News revealed that only British passport holders are eligible to apply for the Border Force roles

Brendan Hughes

THE UK Border Force is said to be reviewing its policy of recruiting only British passport holders for jobs in Northern Ireland ahead of Brexit after being accused of discrimination.

The Irish News revealed on Monday that only British passport holders are eligible to apply for the posts.

The Equality Commission yesterday said it had raised concerns on grounds of fair employment legislation – and it understood Border Force is now reviewing the issue “as a matter of urgency”.

Hundreds of new posts across the north and Britain are being advertised within Border Force, which deals with immigration and customs checks.

The jobs are being created in preparation for the UK leaving the European Union – fuelling fears of a hard border.

Among them are 21 positions based in Belfast, but all applicants are required to have a British passport.

It means people in the north with only Irish passports cannot apply.

The SDLP and Sinn Féin hit out at the “exclusionary and chilling” policy, but DUP MP Gavin Robinson dismissed it as “nothing new” and rejected fair employment concerns as “noise”.

In a statement, Eileen Lavery, head of advice and compliance with the Equality Commission, said the watchdog has been in contact with Border Force “over some time regarding this issue”.

“The commission has made the point that the requirement for a person to hold, and produce at interview, a British passport in order to meet the criterion of being a UK national could exclude a large section of the Northern Ireland population who identify as Irish, hold no UK passport and, in many cases, hold an Irish passport,” she said.

“We have pointed out that this could raise concerns about possible discrimination on grounds covered by the Fair Employment and Treatment Order, which includes political opinion, and/or by the Race Relations Order.”

Ms Lavery said the commission also suggested Border Force should give consideration to the Good Friday Agreement, which allows people born in Northern Ireland to choose to be British citizens, Irish citizens or both.

“The commission understands that the Border Force, as a matter of urgency, is now reviewing this matter and the points the commission has made,” she added.

The SDLP’s Claire Hanna welcomed the Equality Commission’s involvement.

But the South Belfast MLA said the recruitment drive still raises questions over the future of the Irish border post-Brexit.

“We can never ever allow a situation where jobs are restricted on the basis of ‘British only’ – it flies in the face of the equality protections we delivered through the Good Friday Agreement,” the South Belfast MLA said.

“It is however troubling that an agency would be so lazy in its approach and is yet another aspect of Brexit’s impact on Northern Ireland that the UK government has not given sufficient thought to.

“Tragically Brexit continues to force issues of identity, allegiance and sovereignty, which the Good Friday Agreement sought to defuse, back into everyday life.

“But the fundamental question stills remains – what border are these posts supposed to be guarding?”

The British and Irish governments and the EU all insist they want to avoid a ‘hard border’ on the island of Ireland.

Earlier this week, the Home Office said the UK-wide recruitment campaign covers port and airport locations, but will also “respond flexibly to emerging requirements, including any future requirements as a result of EU exit”.

Comments: Be the First to Comment

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Donald Trump objected to the proposed wind farm near his golf resort in Doonbeg

Posted by Jim on

Varadkar’s Trump email led to wind farm report

Fáilte Ireland ordered fresh review of proposal

Peter O’Dwyer, Seán McCárthaigh

April 20 2018, 12:01am, The Times

Donald Trump objected to the proposed wind farm near his golf resort in Doonbeg

Fáilte Ireland ordered a report into a proposed wind farm in Co Clare the day after Leo Varadkar had relayed Donald Trump’s concerns about the development to the tourism board.

Mr Varadkar, who was minister for tourism, contacted Fáilte Ireland in 2014 after he received a call from Mr Trump, who owns a golf resort nearby in Doonbeg.

The taoiseach was strongly criticised after he revealed details of his contact with Mr Trump during a speech in Washington last month during his St Patrick’s Day visit.

Planning permission for the wind farm, proposed by Clare Coastal Wind Power, was ultimately refused by Clare county council and An Bord Pleanála upon appeal. Fáilte Ireland made one of 40 submissions to the council and argued that the proliferation of wind farms in west Clare would “detract” from tourism in the area.

Documents released under freedom of information show that Paddy Mathews, a senior executive at Fáilte Ireland, commissioned the report a day after Mr Varadkar’s intervention on February 24. AOS Planning, a consultancy firm, was charged with compiling the report to determine the likely impact on the value of local tourism amenities, including Doonbeg Lodge and Golf Course, owned by Mr Trump.

Records show that on February 25 a personal assistant of Shaun Quinn, Fáilte Ireland chief executive at the time, had asked Mr Mathews for an update on Mr Varadkar’s email. “Shaun [Quinn] asked me to contact you to see how you are getting on with the response he is waiting to go back to the minister with,” the assistant wrote.

Later that day Mr Mathews replied and said that the report was being ordered in line with normal policies and procedures. A spokesman for the agency yesterday repeated that the report was in line with standard practice.

The report was one of a number of similar assessments commissioned by Fáilte Ireland in relation to the proposed wind farm over a period of almost three years. Details of the assessment sought from AOS were included in emails between Mr Mathews and Mr Quinn.

Despite the records appearing to show that a response to Mr Varardkar was being drafted by Fáilte Ireland, a spokesman for the Department of Tourism said Mr Varadkar did not receive any reply. A spokesman for the taoiseach said it was a matter for the department.

Fáilte Ireland said it had no records from Mr Quinn in relation to the matter as it had deleted his emails after his departure from the tourism body in December 2016 as it was its policy to do so with all former employees within six months of them leaving.

The documents released to The Times show that the assessment commissioned the day after Mr Varadkar’s email concluded that the proposed wind farm would have a “slight to moderate” effect on Mr Trump’s Doonbeg resort. The conclusion was not included in Fáilte Ireland’s formal submission to Clare county council in September 2014. Instead it concluded that the impact on Doonbeg village was considered “moderate”. The report by AOS, commissioned in February, also highlighted the visual impact of the wind farm on the general Doonbeg area and views from the N67, which forms part of the Wild Atlantic Way. These were repeated in Fáilte Ireland’s submission to the local authority.

Fáilte Ireland last night denied that it had left the conclusion of the earlier report out of its final submission after the intervention by Mr Varadkar. “Both these [documents] were carried out by independent consultants and were not influenced by any circumstances beyond the relevant tourism impact considerations,” a Fáilte Ireland spokesman said.

He claimed it was “misleading” to equate the two documents but said they both concluded that the salient matter was “the excessive concentration of development of wind farms in this one part of the country”.

The dates of the documents showed that Fáilte Ireland had been following plans for a wind farm near Doonbeg since 2012, he said.

The taoiseach’s spokesman said any changes between the consultant’s report and the submission to the county council was “entirely a decision” for Fáilte Ireland. “All the taoiseach did was pass on an email,” he said.

Following his revelation last month, the taoiseach insisted that his actions were “entirely above board”.

TURBINE TURMOIL

January 2012 Fáilte Ireland makes submission about 45-turbine wind farm outside Doonbeg
July 2013 An Bord Pleanála refuses planning permission
February 3, 2014 Fresh application submitted for 9-turbine wind farm outside Doonbeg near original site
February 21 Donald Trump calls Leo Varadkar, then the tourism minister, about effect on his golf course
February 24 Mr Varadkar conveys Mr Trump’s concerns to Shaun Quinn, Fáilte Ireland chief executive, via email
February 25 Fáilte Ireland commissions report from AOS, a planning consultancy, on the wind farm, which finds its impact on Doonbeg golf course would be “moderate-slight”
September 10 Fáilte Ireland makes submission to An Bord Pleanála on wind farm without reference to Mr Trump’s resort and the consultancy’s finding
October Planning permission refused by Clare county council
July 2015 An Bord Pleanála rejects the appeal by Clare Coastal Wind Power against the council’s decision
March 15, 2017 Mr Varadkar reveals during visit to Washington he made enquiries about wind farm after being contacted by Mr Trump

Comments: Be the First to Comment

Filed Under: Uncategorized

« previous home top next »