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Ulster Unionist Party Leader Sir Reg Empey called on the DUP to ‘wake up’ to tentative moves by Fianna Fail to organise in Northern Ireland after Dermot Ahern appeared on a television debate yesterday evening on the issue.

Sir Reg said the move was an attempt to by-pass the settled issue of sovereignty enshrined in the Agreement and would ‘re-constitutionalise’ political debate in Northern Ireland at a time when the new power sharing government was just beginning to bed down.

In a statement Sir Reg said,

“I am alarmed at the complacent attitude of the DUP to this move. I find it incredible that they appear to be so relaxed and un-enthused at the prospect of a major Irish Republican Party seeking to organise in Northern Ireland.

The move in itself may indeed fragment the nationalist vote but they are missing a fundamental point if this is all they have to comment on the move.

The Ulster Unionist Party has been calling for the normalisation of politics in Northern Ireland. We want a transition to dealing with the normality of life here and the concentration on our social and economic policies. With the return of Stormont the door has opened once again to achieving this progress to normality. The constitutional question has been settled and dealt with.

Now the prospect of Fianna Fail Ministers being in both the NI Executive and the Dublin Government could put unbearable strain on the political process before it has had a chance to settle down and re-open the tired old constitutional debate.

There are no clear benefits to the people of Northern Ireland - who want pressing issues dealt with like education, health, the economy and the environment, to name but four - to see nationalist and republican politicians shifting their focus to old constitutional quarrels, which are already settled, in an effort to out green each other. It is like having a debate about how to build a castle in the sky.

The people of Northern Ireland have only just got their devolved institutions back, this move is ill-timed, ill-advised and seeks to by-pass settled sovereignty matters. I am urging the DUP to wake up to this issue, which of detriment to the political process, and join with us in opposing it.”

UUP Police Board Member Basil McCrea has described as premature moves to wind down the numbers in the Full-Time Reserve. The plans, unveiled today by the Chief Constable, involve cutting numbers from 680 to 381 starting in April next year, followed by the remainder gradually by March 2011.

The Lagan Valley MLA did say however that the packages on offer appeared at first glance to be generous and the manner of the winding down, if it must happen, was sensible.

In a statement Mr McCrea said,

“I feel this move is premature given the not insignificant threat still posed by dissident elements. Public order problems may also still arise although the relatively peaceful parading season this year has been encouraging. The public are however crying out for more policemen and women on the streets as incidents of anti-social behaviour, and ‘normal’ crimes, if such a term exists, are on the increase. To me the PSNI should be reassuring people that this downgrading and eventual ending of the full-time reserve makes sense. To me, in the current circumstances it does not.

However, at first glance the packages on offer do appear to be generous and the manner in which the reserve is being wound down, if it must indeed happen, is sensible and sensitive to the membership of the reserve.

I and my Party will be studying the detail of this proposal before giving a fuller response.”

Responding to increasing speculation that a new Unionist Party is to be formed to oppose the DUP and Sinn Fein’s Power-Sharing arrangement, Kenny Donaldson, an Ulster Unionist Party Officer has stated:

“Many Unionists of my parent’s generation will feel a deep sense of deja-vu. The reality is that Unionism started internally dividing itself when the present First Minister, Dr Paisley and others decided they neither had the stomach, nor the political or civic responsibility to face up to the challenges of accommodating nationalism within an internal political settlement. 30 years later and the penny still hasn’t dropped for some people.

“Let’s be clear; we have the sectarian carve up that we have because people refused to share responsibility for the governing of Northern Ireland decades ago. Furthermore, the terrorist campaign of the PIRA and so-called ‘loyalist’ terrorists were major factors in instilling deep hatred and mistrust between our respective communities. This cocktail of factors meant that no political settlement was deliverable here for a generation.”

Kenny added: “In the run up to 1998 and for the 7/8 years thereafter, the DUP and Sinn Fein set about destroying the centre-ground, fuelled by their own selfish agendas they sought to bring about the conditions, which ensured our Country was carved up between the ‘prods’ and the ‘taigs.’ Despite the fact that this reality has come to pass I am confident that in the medium-long term, the public do not want their children to grow up in a society where there is mutual loathing between the principle protagonists charged with delivering Government. Forget about the amicable photographs, the mutual nods of agreement, the stomach-churning camaraderie on show between the ‘chuckle brothers’ and their respective merry men and women. This is but self-serving spin and mutually constructed choreography.”

Kenny continued: “Unionism collectively needs to realise that fracturing does nothing to assist the aims of promoting the Union. Yes that’s right, I use the word ‘promoting’ because the Union is already ‘protected’ by the enshrined principle of consent which Ulster Unionists negotiated and won in the run up to the 1998 Belfast Agreement.

“My core objective is to see the Ulster Unionist Party rebuild itself so that it can go forth and deliver for the people of Northern Ireland. I do not see the introduction of a new Unionist Party as advantageous. Do people really believe that Sinn Fein can be removed from Stormont at this stage? The parameters of our political settlement have been set, principally by the UK Government and supported by the Government of the Irish Republic, people need to get real; they need to deliver positive change for the people of Northern Ireland within the realms of possibility. For too long politicians in Northern Ireland sought power, now they have it but they need to realise that with power, comes responsibility,” concluded Kenny.

Kenny Donaldson, an Ulster Unionist Party Officer has called for all sides involved in the ‘classroom assistants’ dispute to get around the table immediately to negotiate a resolution so that strike action might be averted.

Classroom assistants across Northern Ireland are planning a one-day strike next Wednesday unless agreement is reached over pay.

In a statement, Kenny said: “Foremost, my thoughts are with the children who neither caused nor deserve to be adversely affected because of others’ inability to act responsibly.

“The Department of Education have said that they regret the move by Classroom Assistants, which they say could “disrupt the education of some children”. If that position was to be followed through to its’ logical conclusion then they would step up their efforts at brokering a deal with classroom assistants. Inaction is neither an appropriate nor responsible position to adopt.
“The reality is that if the present situation isn’t sorted out the children’s education will suffer more. Experienced and qualified staff will be forced to leave the job and many others will be deterred from seeking employment in this field.

“The Education Assembly Committee has indicated their resolve that this debacle should be resolved equitably. Common-sense and fairness must prevail. Classroom Assistants are a key component in the developmental experience, a child receives at School; they are an essential complimentary support for Teachers. They must receive their just desserts, they must be fairly rewarded for the priceless job they do. Classroom Assistants for too long have been looked upon with disdain by elements within Government. Let’s get real - without them, Teachers could not deliver the Curriculum to the standard and efficiency which they do,” concluded Kenny.

Responding to comments made by the Lord Chief Justice, Brian Kerr in which he defended the Judiciary from accusations of lenient sentencing, Kenny Donaldson, an Ulster Unionist Party Officer has stated:

“The Lord Chief Justice has apportioned responsibility squarely at the door of Parliament claiming that ‘judges do not make the law, they perform the task of sentencing within it.’

“Such comments mean little to the public; the fact of the matter is that there is an inherent anger within the public towards our Criminal Justice system and the sentences which are being handed out. The public perception is that, a message is being sent out to criminals and ‘would be criminals’ that, crime pays.

“The public frankly do not care whether its’ Parliament, the Judiciary or both who are responsible for sentencing. What they desire is to be protected, they crave to have confidence in the Criminal Justice system, and they want to see the perpetrators of crime held to account for their actions. The rights of victims should always be paramount, perpetrators of crime through their actions deprive themselves of certain rights extended to those who are law abiding.”

Kenny added: “I 100% respect the independence of the Judiciary, it should not be comprised by political interference however I equally believe that the Judiciary must be held accountable for its’ interpretation of law and its’ refusal to hand out the stiffest possible sentence within the parameters available through law.

“The public cry is for the Judiciary to mirror the general populace, it must cease to be aloof from wider society, if it continues to operate within a vacuum, public support and respect for the system will dwindle even further. Its’ crunch time for the law makers and the law implementers and the public are growing increasingly impatient,” concluded Kenny.