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In a statement today UUP Leader Sir Reg Empey said,

“Last week Nigel Dodds said that the devolution of policing and justice was ‘not on the agenda.’ I beg to differ. Far from not being on the agenda, for both the Government and the republican movement, it is top of the agenda.’

If it is not on the agenda, why did the Secretary of State, Shaun Woodward, make it the principal point in his New Year message? Why did Gerry Adams, in an increasingly rare intervention, raise the issue before Christmas, calling for the implementation of all of the St Andrews Agreement? Why did Ian Paisley jr raise it in a recent interview?’

All of this activity, and its re-branding by the Secretary of State as the ’second phase of devolution’ tells Ulster Unionists that it is a top priority for 2008 and beyond.’

The developments of last week in the Eames/ Bradley debate over ‘amnesty and a potential reclassification of the ‘troubles’ as a ‘war’ indicate possible linkage between these two key issues. This is not a healthy development.’

Nigel Dodds has already said that he did not see devolution of policing and justice taking place in his political lifetime. In light of developments, how credible is this? It is widely known that the Northern Ireland Office is totally focused on devolving police powers. What I think is a mistake is to link this exclusively to the standing down of the IRA’s so called army council. This is not the only important matter to be considered. It is however, the one area where republicans have bargaining power with the Government. This is where the link to the kite flying of last week over dealing with the past could carry grave dangers for all of us.’

Most people do not see further devolution to Stormont as a key issue going forward. People want to see the Assembly delivering better services for health, housing and the economy generally. If the key aim of the Executive is to grow the economy, then lets all focus on that as we run up to the economic conference in May. Let us get Stormont to work for the people rather that side track the whole political process with endless rows over devolution of policing and justice.’

I think the parties can unite on the economy this year. Shaun Woodward should not be seeking to divide us on policing issues where disagreement is inevitable.”

Following the publication in today’s Newsletter of an article by 5 north Belfast clergy, urging a greater commitment from the Executive to building good community relations, Ulster Unionist MLAs Danny Kennedy and Fred Cobain have given their support to the statement.

Deputy Leader of the Ulster Unionist Assembly Party, Mr. Kennedy, said, “in my capacity as Chair of the Committee of the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister, I met with the north Belfast clergy group towards the end of 2007. They made a powerful case – as they do again in today’s Newsletter article – that if Government is truly committed to the common good of our society then it must invest in building a shared Northern Ireland, challenging sectarianism and building respectful relationships between the various political, cultural and faith traditions in Northern Ireland.

“The key point made by these clergy – that the Draft Programme for Government fails to acknowledge the need to invest in a building a shared Northern Ireland – demands an urgent and positive response from the Executive”.

Ulster Unionist MLA for North Belfast, Fred Cobain, also voiced his support for the statement. Mr. Cobain said, “the statement by these north Belfast clergy underlines the risk Northern Ireland now faces – of a society governed by a ‘separate but equal’ principle. A Northern Ireland truly at ease with itself needs to be much more than two communal power blocs governed by parties happy and content with ‘separate but equal’. The challenge given by the clergy statement is that the Draft Programme for Government falls far short as a template to build a shared Northern Ireland. This needs to be carefully heeded by the Executive and Assembly”.

Ulster Unionist Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Tom Elliott today criticised the DUP for forcing the forthcoming by-election in Dromore.

In a hard hitting statement Mr Elliott accused the DUP of wasting rate-payers money in the Dromore area which could have been avoided with a simple co-option. He said,

“Tyrone Howe stood down honourably on the grounds that he felt unable to devote the necessary time and duty to the post of Councillor given his other business commitments.

From my experience in Fermanagh where Arlene Foster stood down last summer, we in the UUP did not force a by-election. We also did not ridiculously insist, as the DUP tried to in Dromore, whom our preferred candidate to replace Arlene in Fermanagh should be. It is a ludicrous, arrogant and infantile assumption for any political party to make.

As a result of this arrogant and infantile approach is that the people of Dromore will be subjected to a needless by-election that wastes rate-payers money. The DUP have a lot to answer for.”

Ulster Unionist Party Leader Sir Reg Empey today wrote an open letter to the Secretary of State urging Mr Woodward to issue a clear statement indicating that there will be no amnesty or expunging of terrorist records and no reclassification of ‘the troubles’ to ‘a war’.

Sir Reg is concerned at the stepping up of ambiguous language used firstly by Commission for the Past and latterly by the Prime Minister this week on the subject. He warned that any moves towards an amnesty, expunging of records or reclassification of ‘the troubles’ to ‘a war’ would have far reaching consequences.

In his letter Sir Reg said,

“As Secretary of State, you will be aware that few things are more likely to cause controversy than discussions about the past.

The ideas floated at the first public meeting held by Archbishop Eames and Denis Bradley concerning an amnesty and a redefinition of the ‘Troubles’ to a ‘war’ have caused great anxiety and distress to the many families and individuals who have been traumatised as a result of terrorist activity in recent year… Should HM Government be tempted to do some sort of deal with republicans on this issue, perhaps as part of an arrangement to pave the way for the devolution of policing and justice, the consequences would be far reaching…

…The legal, as well as the political consequences of any such move would destabilise our fledgling institutions and divert our attention away from the urgent task of restoring our economy and public services which have been starved of investment due directly to terrorism…

… The Prime Minister was asked in the House of Commons this week to confirm that the Government had no intention of going down this road. Unfortunately he failed to take the opportunity to do so. It may be that there was some agreement reached behind the scenes at St Andrews that links devolution of policing to the reclassification of the Troubles. If there was, or if you intend to consider such a move, then I can only advise you, most sincerely, to reconsider what would be the last straw for many who have reluctantly been prepared to give our present level of devolution a chance to prove itself…

…I would urge you to quickly put people’s minds at rest by making a clear statement confirming that the Government has no intention of following this path. Such a move would restore confidence, and allow a mature debate on how we might bring as much relief as possible to those who have suffered greatly in the recent past.”

full copy of letter:

Open letter to Shaun Woodward MP

As Secretary of State, you will be aware that few things are more likely to cause controversy than discussions about the past.

The ideas floated at the first public meeting held by Archbishop Eames and Denis Bradley concerning an amnesty and a redefinition of the ‘Troubles’ to a ‘war’ have caused great anxiety and distress to the many families and individuals who have been traumatised as a result of terrorist activity in recent years.

I have received very significant reaction to the idea of an amnesty or expunging of records for former terrorists, and similarly, there has been a wave of anger at the idea that what happened between 1969 and the present day was anything other than an insurgency.

You must be aware that the IRA has long sought international justification for its ‘war’ always keen to portray itself as a legitimate army fighting forces of occupation.

I can assure you that the people my party represents, and I believe many others, are appalled at the prospect of elevating what happened here for nearly 40 years as anything other than what it was – pure terrorism.

Should HM Government be tempted to do some sort of deal with republicans on this issue, perhaps as part of an arrangement to pave the way for the devolution of policing and justice, the consequences would be far reaching.

Most people agree, that if we had been at war, and the rules of war had applied, then far fewer members of the security forces would have been killed and injured, and the campaign waged by both republicans and loyalists would have been crushed in short order. Instead, the police and army had to fight terrorism under civil law, unable to defend themselves as an army would on a conventional battlefield.

The legal, as well as the political consequences of any such move would destabilise our fledgling institutions and divert our attention away from the urgent task of restoring our economy and public services which have been starved of investment due directly to terrorism.

The Prime Minister was asked in the House of Commons this week to confirm that the Government had no intention of going down this road. Unfortunately he failed to take the opportunity to do so. It may be that there was some agreement reached behind the scenes at St Andrews that links devolution of policing to the reclassification of the Troubles. If there was, or if you intend to consider such a move, then I can only advise you, most sincerely, to reconsider what would be the last straw for many who have reluctantly been prepared to give our present level of devolution a chance to prove it.

In conclusion, I would urge you to quickly put people’s minds at rest by making a clear statement confirming that the Government has no intention of following this path. Such a move would restore confidence, and allow a mature debate on how we might bring as much relief as possible to those who have suffered greatly in the recent past.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Sir Reg Empey OBE MLA

Mid Ulster Assemblyman Billy Armstrong has described as “visionary” the plan by two of Northern Ireland’s largest poultry producers to build a £100m biomass power station to produce energy from waste, in this case, chicken litter, at a site near Glenavy in County Antrim.

The Ulster Unionist MLA said;

“I welcome these proposals from Moy Park and O’Kane Poultry.
The power station which they propose would deliver 30 megawatts of electricity, fuelled mainly by poultry bedding, and this would provide enough energy to power a town the size of Larne.
The plant itself would create 30 jobs, but would also safeguard over 7,000 jobs in the local poultry and agri-food sector. It hardly needs to be said that these jobs are vital to the local economy, particularly to the rural economy which has faced great challenges in recent times. These are local jobs, with local firms, supplying high quality food to leading supermarkets both in Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

Environmental issues are rightly taking centre stage in the public debate with an increasing focus on issues such as waste management, recycling etc.

We must seriously address the challenges we face, and also seek potential solutions, such as waste to power. As existing sources of energy are exhausted, alternatives must be found and utilised. Waste – both farm, industrial and domestic - must be an obvious field for exploration as an alternative source of energy.

An EU Directive which came into force in January 2007 restricts the amount of fertiliser which farmers can spread on land. These proposals will help dispose of poultry bedding in a way which brings positive benefits for society – namely power - while at the same time reducing waste and the amount of material which would previously have been spread on land.

A great opportunity has been presented to the Executive. This will be a test of their commitment to joined up Government, particularly for the Department of the Environment and DETI. This scheme will improve the environment and generate renewable energy. These are two aims which these Departments are already committed to.

The ball is very firmly in their court. The Private Sector has come forward with a solution. Government must not be seen to let red tape, bureaucracy or inter-departmental turf wars cause this opportunity to be lost.”

Speaking at Knock and Ballyhackamore Ulster Unionist Branch AGM, Ulster Unionist deputy Leader, Danny Kennedy MLA, said :

“The one thing political observers in Northern Ireland have become aware of in the past year are the warning signs that the DUP and Sinn Fein have done yet another deal behind closed doors and are in the process of selling that deal to a public they consider to be putty in their manipulative hands.”

“We had evidence of this in the past week when Ian Paisley Junior said he would offer leadership on the issue of the devolution of policing and justice to be rapidly followed by the unedifying spectacle of an unruly public meeting of the Consultative Group on the Past, following heavily staged leaks that the troubles were to be regarded as a war rather than a terrorist campaign.”

“No doubt, having worked up a spurious debate on the issue of whether the suffering inflicted on innocent civilians for thirty five years was a war or a murderous terrorist campaign, the inevitable collapse of that ridiculous assertion will be hailed as a victory by the DUP and, on the back of that artificially created debate, that party, having created the wriggle room they need to get away with it, will then deliver on the secret promises it has made behind closed doors to Sinn Fein during the St Andrew’s Agreement negotiations - or offer leadership as they put it.”

“The sequence of deals being made behind firmly closed doors between the DUP and Sinn Fein over a whole range of issues is not only in danger of excluding the smaller parties from ownership of these DUP-Sinn Fein decisions but it will also leave the public behind.”

“The issue that best brings this out is the devolution of policing and justice. There is, quite simply, no demand or appetite for this from the wider unionist community. Yet here we have Junior Minister Ian Paisley offering what he calls “leadership” on this issue. I don’t think the people want to be “led” anywhere.”

“What we need to ask is what is the deal cut by the DUP and Sinn Fein - of which Mr Paisley’s comments no doubt form a sequenced part ? Will there be another six months slippage with the deal being done in October rather than May, if past form is anything to go by?”

“What are the behind the scenes shopping lists of the two big parties ? Have those shopping lists anything to do with the well-being of the people or have they more to do with a shopping list of “goodies” for the two big parties ? No doubt what we are really being asked to believe – or swallow – is that what is good for the DUP is good for Northern Ireland.”

“The two big parties, the DUP and Sinn Fein, are both set on self-gratification, on what could be called a carve-up of the spoils of office. Both are intent on following agendas which are to the benefit and self-interest of those two parties but which have little or nothing to do with the well-being or interests of the people of Northern Ireland.”

“The tragedy in all of this is that neither of these monolithic bullies – Sinn Fein or the DUP – have any ideas when it comes to rebuilding Northern Ireland and its economy. Their programme is lacking in imagination which is really all you could expect from two command and control structures which prize and value control freakery over ideas.”

“Producing a Programme for Government and a Budget, after a motion I proposed in the Assembly asking where these items were after 6 months of inactivity, forced their hand, and was like watching an elephant giving birth to a pea. The Programme was, on the whole, banal and uninspiring. It lacked vision and looked, in the main, like a civil service rehash.”

“In devolving policing and justice both the DUP and Sinn Fein are seeking to increase their patronage and extend their control and dominance in this double-lock vice-like grip or stranglehold which Sinn Fein and the DUP currently have on political life in Northern Ireland.”

“At some point people will tire of the self-interested political fixing of the DUP and Sinn Fein and they will ask – what is really in this for us ?”

Ulster Unionist Party Parades Spokesman Michael Copeland toady said that comments made by Parades Commission Chairman Roger Poole, who condemned the recent spate of attacks on Orange Halls, were facile, purile and transparent.

In a statement Mr Copeland said,

“The organisation led by Mr Poole represents and remains an un-decommissioned element in the war of cultural attrition being wages against the Orange Institution.

Mr Poole cannot escape the responsibility for his organisation’s role in the previous and continuing demonisation of those involved in the Northern Irish parading tradition.”

Sam Gardiner MLA, the Ulster Assembly Member for Upper Bann, has said that the total ban on television advertisements for unhealthy food and drinks timed around children’s programmes and adult programmes which children watch has now come into force.

“I believe this is a very important step. Not only does it curb adverts for products high in fat, salt and sugar but the ban will be extended to all specific children’s TV channels by the end of this year. As someone who has campaigned for this for several years, I believe this represents a big advance in the war against childhood diabetes.”

“I also want to praise the regulator Ofcom for developing these new regulations. This is a major step forward but it is not the end of the action which is needed. The next step must be a total ban on advertising these foods, before 9pm.”

“We have got to get children totally out of harm’s way where junk food is concerned. The advertising industry is very inventive and we need now to look at the advertising of junk foods not merely on television but also in other less obvious places, such as teacher packs in schools supplied free by food and drink manufacturers and in the sponsorship of television programmes and series.”

“We cannot afford to lose the battle against diabetes. If we fail, the advance of the disease will do irreparable damage to our health service. Where something is easily preventable we must prevent it. There are enough illnesses out there which will be hard for medical science to conquer without having to divert our much needed health service resources into conditions we can more easily do something about.”

Ulster Unionist Party Leader Sir Reg Empey today responded to comments made by Nigel Dodds in the House of Commons last night in relation to the devolution of Policing and Justice powers where Mr Dodds said it was not on the agenda.

In a statement Sir Reg said,

“I disagree with Mr Dodds’ analysis that the devolution of Policing and Justice is not on the agenda. I recall that last year Mr Dodds said that he did not anticipate it in his political lifetime. Now with Sinn Fein comments and recent comments from people within his own party, it seems the only thing preventing the devolution of these powers is the standing down of the IRA army council.

I believe that a major push will take place this year but I also believe that the issue of the devolution of policing and justice should not be solely dependent on the standing down of the IRA army council. There are a whole range of other matters that are relevant, it is also naïve to suppose that the Government and Republicans will simply rest on their oars on this matter.

I warned yesterday that there could be a link between the devolution of policing and justice and some sort of amnesty or expunging of criminal records and a declaration on the status of the troubles.

Extreme vigilance will be required in the months ahead.”

Ulster Unionist Party Leader Sir Reg Empey today posed the question as to whether there was some choreography going on to lay the ground for the early Devolution of Policing and Justice powers, linked to an amnesty for terrorists and the standing down of the IRA army council. Sir Reg asked whether Northern Ireland could be witnessing the outworking of a side-deal between the DUP and Sinn Fein made at talks in St. Andrews.

In a statement Sir Reg said,

“Before Christmas we saw Gerry Adams calling for the early devolution of Policing and Justice powers, followed by Ian Paisley Jnr. suggesting that the DUP were prepared for it provided that the IRA army council ceased to exist, followed by speculation that there could be amnesties for terrorists and an expunging of records and a redefinition of ‘the troubles’ to ‘a war’. All of this has a whiff of choreography about it.

Are we witnessing the outworking of a side deal made between the DUP and Sinn Fein at St. Andrews?

The question of the devolution of Policing and Justice is not only a matter of the standing down of the IRA Army council. Whether to devolve or not covers a whole range of other issues including confidence in the community, which does not exist at present. This choreography, if indeed it is choreography, is unhelpful and has the capacity to destabilise our fledgling institutions. ”