SAOIRSE32

BreakingNews.ie

02/11/2005 - 07:21:58

Justice Minister Michael McDowell is reportedly planning to order an independent examination of every diocese in the Republic to establish if any serving priests pose a threat to children.

Reports this morning said the examination would run in parallel with the proposed statutory inquiry into the Church’s response to allegations of sexual abuse against more than 70 priests in the Dublin archdiocese.

The audit would then recommend whether or not other dioceses should also be the subject of statutory inquiries.

Meanwhile, this morning’s reports also said Circuit Court Judge Yvonne Murphy had been asked to chair the inquiry into the Dublin allegations.

Sinn Féin

Published: 2 November, 2005

Martin Ferris

Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris has said failure to pursue Irish unity “will condemn the north eastern counties of this country to another prolonged period of crisis.” Speaking on the Sinn Féin Private Members Motion in the Dáil this evening he said, “Republicans do not believe that political normality can ever be achieved while the British claim and exercise jurisdiction over that part of Ireland.”

Speaking on the Sinn Féin Private Members motion on Irish Unity in the Dáil Deputy Ferris said, “There is a clear and pressing need for the case for Irish unity to be actively promoted. Not to do so will condemn the north eastern counties of this country to another prolonged period of crisis. There are those like Deputy Rabbitte who argue the opposite. In his speech here on September 28, Deputy Rabbitte spoke about the six counties as though it was some exotic country the other side of the world, and its inhabitants a strange band of beings whose actions and motivations are a constant puzzle to all of us ‘down here’.

“Deputy Rabbitte and others contend that the solution to their problems is to engineer a permanent settlement in which the six counties remain forever under British sovereignty. Republicans who argue to the contrary are accused of going beyond the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, and of deepening divisions.

“Republicans do not believe that political normality can ever be achieved while the British claim and exercise jurisdiction over that part of Ireland. Far from that jurisdiction being “bedded down” as hoped for by Deputy Rabbitte and others, the period since 1998 has proven that it is the ultimate and ongoing cause of tension and instability. Therefore, the logical solution to that is to bring about a situation in which all of the people of Ireland can create a state in which all cultural identities and interests are accommodated. It is our belief that that can be best achieved in an All Ireland republic.

“Deputy Rabbitte also accused republicans of failing to recognise or to address what he terms inter-communal divisions. That is patronising nonsense. How could republicans in the six counties fail to recognise differences that govern every aspect of life there.

“As for failing to do anything to address those divisions, I can assure Deputy Rabbitte that my party has far closer and more genuine links with members of the unionist community than either himself or anyone else “down here”. Those links are extensive and ongoing and sometimes, in the light of sensitivities, of necessity low-key. They are something we take very seriously and not as something to be used as occasional publicity stunts.

“Over the course of our dialogue with unionism we have come to recognise deeply held beliefs and fears, and have sought in various ways to address them. We have no wish to oppress or to dominate those with different belief systems and cultures, but we are none the less convinced that the best way in which to protect all differences is through the creation of a genuinely republican society as envisaged by the founders of Irish republicans and by the framers of the 1916 Proclamation and the Democratic Programme.” ENDS

Full text of speech follows:

As this motion states, there is a clear and pressing need for the case for Irish unity to be actively promoted. Not to do so will condemn the north eastern counties of this country to another prolonged period of crisis.

There are those like Deputy Rabbitte who argue the opposite. In his speech here on September 28, Deputy Rabbitte spoke about the six counties as though it was some exotic country the other side of the world, and its inhabitants a strange band of beings whose actions and motivations are a constant puzzle to all of us “down here”.

I wonder, however, to what extent the leader of the Labour Party speaks for all of his members when he adopts this attitude. The vast majority of Labour members and supporters that I know see themselves in the tradition of James Connolly and strongly support the aspiration for a united Ireland. But then perhaps Deputy Rabbitte is speaking more from the perspective of the anti-republican ideology that dominated Democratic Left.

Deputy Rabbitte and others contend that the solution to their problems is to engineer a permanent settlement in which the six counties remain forever under British sovereignty. Republicans who argue to the contrary are accused of going beyond the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, and of deepening divisions.

Republicans have never made any secret of the fact that we do not regard a devolved administration as the final settlement. What we have done, and along with others who do not include Deputy Rabbitte, is bring about a situation in which advocates of Irish unity and defenders of the union can argue their respective positions in something approaching a normal political environment.

However, we do not believe that political normality can ever be achieved while the British claim and exercise jurisdiction over that part of Ireland. Far from that jurisdiction being “bedded down” as hoped for by Deputy Rabbitte and others, the period since 1998 has proven that it is the ultimate and ongoing cause of tension and instability. Therefore, the logical solution to that is to bring about a situation in which all of the people of Ireland can create a state in which all cultural identities and interests are accommodated. It is our belief that that can be best achieved in an All Ireland republic.

Deputy Rabbitte also accused republicans of failing to recognise or to address what he terms inter-communal divisions. That is patronising nonsense. How could republicans in the six counties fail to recognise differences that govern every aspect of life there.

As for failing to do anything to address those divisions, I can assure Deputy Rabbitte that my party has far closer and more genuine links with members of the unionist community than either himself or anyone else “down here”. Those links are extensive and ongoing and sometimes, in the light of sensitivities, of necessity low-key. They are something we take very seriously and not as something to be used as occasional publicity stunts.

Over the course of our dialogue with unionism we have come to recognise deeply held beliefs and fears, and have sought in various ways to address them. We have no wish to oppress or to dominate those with different belief systems and cultures, but we are none the less convinced that the best way in which to protect all differences is through the creation of a genuinely republican society as envisaged by the founders of Irish republicans and by the framers of the 1916 Proclamation and the Democratic Programme.

It was not Irish republicans who allowed this state to be turned into a narrow clerical dominated society in which the sort of horrors we read about in the Ferns Report were allowed take place. A society of mass poverty and emigration. The people responsible for that were successive Fianna Fáil governments and coalitions that included Fine Gael and the Labour Party. Republicans did not create that society and we have no wish to recreate it and foist it on our fellow Irish men and women in the Six Counties.

I must also refer to the positive role that has been played in attempting to bring about a settlement by the IRA. The IRA helped to initiate the peace process and the ceasefires declared by the organisation were crucial steps on the way to the Good Friday Agreement.

Unfortunately the goodwill displayed by the IRA and the risks taken by that organisation, have not always been reciprocated. Nonetheless the IRA has continued to take bold initiatives. In September it took an unprecedented step in relation to its structures and arms. That was done despite considerable unease among republicans conscious of the dangers inherent in a situation where unionism retains the physical means to attack nationalists.

Again, while I know that there has been a generally positive reaction from members of the unionist community, there is little leadership among its political representatives who appear either unwilling or afraid to reciprocate in a way that would lead to a re-establishment of the political institutions.

It is of course also the responsibility of the two governments, and particularly of the British Government, to ensure that this does take place and as soon as possible. Once that is done there can be some semblance of normal democratic politics. Unionists will be free to argue their positions and Sinn Féin will certainly not be found wanting in promoting the need for an all island settlement.

BreakingNews.ie

02/11/2005 - 16:58:18

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams tonight attacked the political establishment for failing to support his party’s motion in support of a united Ireland.

The motion calls on the Irish Government to draw up a Green Paper to prepare for the political, social, economic and cultural unification of the island and to engage in dialogue with unionists.

Outside the gates of the Dáil, Mr Adams said he could not understand the lack of support from the Government and opposition parties.

“For the life of me, why these parties which have as stated policy positions the objective of Irish unity, cannot support this motion, it’s beyond me,” he said.

The five Sinn Féin TDs have secured private members’ time to debate the motion in the Dáil tonight, but the lack of support from other political parties means that it is unlikely to pass.

Sinn Féin TD Caoimhghin Ó Caoláin defended the motion by saying that it was imperative for all parties to work towards a United Ireland.

“We’re asking them to join with us to change it from an aspiration into a proactive achievement. Working together we believe that we can indeed hasten that day,” he said.

Mr Ó Caoláin said he believed that re-unification could have benefits for all communities.

“As republicans, we’re absolutely committed to working towards a United Ireland not only in the interests of Irish republicans and nationalists, but we believe in the interests of all those who share this island,” he said.

“We believe it’s a process of convincing, it’s a process of persuasion and we are up to the dialogue and the engagement.”

BBC

A third man has been arrested by police investigating the £26.5m Northern Bank robbery in Belfast last December.

>>Read it

Newshound

(Barry McCaffrey, Irish News)

LVF murals are to be removed from loyalist estates across the north in coming days, The Irish News has learned.

The move is seen as bringing an end to all visible signs of the paramilitary group which announced it was standing down on Sunday.

An LVF mural in the Ballysillan area of north Belfast is understood to have already been removed.

Loyalist sources say the LVF will continue an internal debate over future decommissioning.

While the LVF’s arsenal is thought to be limited, it is known to have imported a consignment of assault rifles from eastern Europe in 2002.

Loyalist sources claimed that the majority of the LVF’s weapons were now under ‘central control’.

One senior loyalist said the LVF would adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach over future UVF actions before it agreed to complete decommissioning.

It is understood the UVF and LVF have both given assurances that neither side will seek reprisals on named individuals.

“The LVF says it is going away and that individuals will not be allowed to use its name as cover,” the source said.

“It will have to be seen if individuals can accept that, but there will be no more LVF. The only LVF people remaining are the rear guard protecting the guns.”

It is understood the LVF disbandment will allow both the UVF and UDA to complete internal discussions aimed at standing down.

“There are separate talks going on within the UVF and UDA. I don’t see anything happening in the immediate future but there are efforts to move things forward.

“They will want to see the response from the wider Protestant community and the government before they take any final decisions,” the source said.

The DUP’s Nigel Dodds praised those who had helped to bring the feud to an end.

Ulster Unionist leader Reg Empey described the LVF move as a ‘positive’ development.

Sinn Féin’s Gerry Kelly welcomed the LVF move but said that nationalists remained to be convinced.

The SDLP’s Dolores Kelly said it was a “useful first step but there are many more steps to take.”

Alliance leader David Ford said that the LVF/UVF feud had only served to destroy the Protestant community.

Methodist leader the Rev Desmond Bain said the community now expected other paramilitary groups to follow suit.

Ministers welcome move

The LVF’s decision to stand down was welcomed as a “step forward”, by Secretary of State Peter Hain yesterday (Monday). The loyalist paramilitary group took the step in response to the IRA’s decision to decommission its weapons and the ending of the loyalist feud.

“I welcome any move which brings such murderous violence to an end,” Mr Hain said.

He also called for a complete and permanent end to all paramilitary activity. Irish minister for foreign affairs, Dermot Ahern, said it was an important step towards bringing about complete paramilitary decommissioning.

November 2, 2005
________________

This article appeared first in the November 1, 2005 edition of the Irish News.

Derry Journal

Tuesday 1st November 2005

There are aspects of Irish culture that must be confronted and, perhaps, the most worrying of these is binge drinking.Given the extent and growth of binge drinking in Ireland - and our poor record of enforcement - it would be absolute madness to introduce 24-hour licensing here.

And, yet, the North’s Department of Social Development is initiating a public consultation on the issue of extended opening hours. It is intended any changes will come into effect in 2007.As one addiction expert warned recently, the Irish psyche is not equipped to handle the 24-hour availability of alcohol. We are not a Mediterranean people, and have not been socialised into the respect for alcohol those cultures have.As this expert rightly pointed out: 24-hour availability of alcohol in Northern Ireland will mean the introduction of 24-hour bingeing, not a new age of temperance and moderation.It is as if we are almost breeding young people to drink heavily from the word go.Ireland is among a number of countries with a centuries-old culture of drinking heavily in a short space of time.

In other countries, like France and Italy, drinking alcohol is spaced throughout the week and often accompanied by a meal. This means young people learn to drink in a more civilised way.It may take a generation before we can successfully change the psyche, to readjust people’s thinking to appreciate that alcohol is not to be gorged: it’s not for bingeing.

Indeed, given the prevailing drinking culture, extending licensing hours here are more likely to transform our town centres into something akin to Faliraki as opposed to Florence.In theory, the aims of extended opening hours are worthy - reducing crime and disorder and tackling the binge-drinking culture.In practice, however, changes may well increase crime and disorder rather than curb it - putting more pressure on police and struggling emergency services.Indeed, evidence from the US, Australia and Europe suggests longer licensing hours mean increased alcohol-related problems.A new report analysing the drinking behaviour of young people between the ages of 11 and 16 in Northern Ireland has revealed worrying trends. Drinking behaviour among young people in Northern Ireland shows that young people here start drinking as young as 11 and that many young people are drinking to dangerous levels.The report, produced by the Health Promotion Agency (HPA) in association with the Irish Temperance League (ITL), also reveals that young people are more vulnerable than adults to suffering physical, emotional and social harm from their own and other people’s drinking.There are also strong links between high risk drinking and unsafe sexual behaviour, unintended pregnancy, traffic and other accidents, failure at school and mental health problems.

Responsibility for reducing underage drinking lies with parents, schools, the government, the drinks industry and our communities and requires a ‘joined-up’ approach.Family relationships, in particular, cannot be underestimated as a key factor in young people’s drinking behaviour and parents need to take responsibility for communicating with their children and setting an example.

We should never overlook the startling fact that, each year in Northern Ireland, around 150 people die from diseases directly linked to alcohol misuse and a further 650 die because of diseases or injuries related to alcohol.The social cost of alcohol misuse in Northern Ireland is estimated to be £700 million and now there is recognition that the increasing phenomenon of binge drinking is a major contributor to these human and financial costs.Research has also revealed that 48% of all men and 16% of women in Ireland binge drink at least once a week. Ireland is the highest of all European countries in terms of binge drinking. In Britain, the percentage of men who binge drink is 40%, while in France it is 9%.Northern Ireland has already seen a marked increase in binge drinking - with all its associated problems - in the past few years and longer opening hours is the last thing we need.

Belfast Telegraph

By Ben Lowry
02 November 2005

The mother of one of the men arrested over the Northern Bank robbery said she and her son came from a republican family, but they were involved in nothing political or illegal.

Irene Carlin, whose 23-year-old son Dominic McEvoy was arrested last night, spoke of the overnight police operation, in which every room of the family home in Co Down was examined in detail.

Mrs Carlin lives in Mullandra Park, Kilcoo, with her husband Seamus Carlin, Dominic (Seamus’s stepson) and the couple’s two daughters.

The other man arrested, Peter Morgan, lives with his family nearby in Kirk Lane.

Mrs Carlin, who is a care worker, said: “I came in from work at 11.15pm and the police had just come in.”

Seamus Carlin, who was in the house when the police arrived, said: “They rapped the door severely and shouted: ‘Police, we’ve got a warrant.’”

The couple said that there were around half a dozen police officers in the house, and a number of vehicles outside. Dominic, a building contractor currently working on a shopping centre in Dundalk, had only returned from work.

He was taken away for questioning in handcuffs, but no force was used, the Carlins said.

“We are a republican family, but we are not involved in anything at all. We like a quiet life.”

Dominic’s main interests were gaelic football and work, the Carlins said.

The police searched the house throughout the night, with several teams of officers working at the same time.

“Every CD was opened, every book was opened,” Mr Carlin said.

“It is horrible, a gross invasion of your privacy.”

The police left with a number of mobile phones, a couple of computers, bank account details and credit cards. Mrs Carlin said she could not believe what had happened.

“You hear the jokes, texts, about the bank robbery. It happened at Christmas, I was more worried about Santa. It was all in the news, and to lift two young fellas.”

At 12.30pm today, more police Land Rovers arrived at the property and officers wearing masks gathered outside the Carlins’ house.

At the Morgan address in Kirk Lane, the Belfast Telegraph was prevented from going down the driveway by a man in a white van, who emerged to ask what we were doing.

Belfast Telegraph

By Noel McAdam
02 November 2005

Sinn Fein and the DUP have clashed over Government plans to tackle deprivation in loyalist and unionist areas.

As a team headed by civil service chief Nigel Hamilton prepares to implement a special taskforce team report targeted on Protestant areas, the DUP accused Sinn Fein of attempting to thwart the programme.

It came after Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams sounded alarm bells over working-class unionists blaming nationalists for their communal problems.

Mr Adams said deprivation and poverty had risen in unionist areas over the years because they had been “abandoned” by unionist politicians.

And he warned the approach being taken by the Government in the Shankill area is unlikely to result in any boost to local socio-economic conditions.

After a meeting with Direct Rule Minister David Hanson, Mr Adams said: “I am concerned a potentially dangerous situation is developing where working class unionists blame working class nationalists for their difficulties and that the British government might feed into this through the decisions it takes in the allocation of resources.”

DUP Assembly member Diane Dodds hit back however: “The very fact that Adams is running to the Minister in response to the representations being made by the political representatives of loyalist areas demonstrates how outlandish his claims are in relation to unionist areas being abandoned by their political representatives.

“The only abandonment has been on the part of Sinn Fein who never represent the needs of their areas in Parliament.”

BreakingNews.ie

02/11/2005 - 14:05:56

Northern Ireland‘s Police Ombudsman was today labelled a waste of money after an Ulster Unionist peer claimed the office had secured only four successful convictions over the past four years.

In an attack on Nuala O‘Loan‘s investigative team, Lord Maginnis of Drumglass demanded an inquiry into how her office operated after a response to a Parliamentary Question revealed the office received £26.5m (€38m) between 2001 and 2005.

Lord Maginnis was also told there had only been four successful convictions against police officers out of a total of 475 cases referred to the UK’s Director of Public Prosecutions during that time.

“In effect it works out at over £6.6m (€9.7m) per conviction,” the UUP peer claimed.

“By no criterion could this be described as value for money.

“In effect the per capita cost of a criminal conviction arising from complaints investigated by the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland is over 250 times the equivalent cost of a criminal conviction by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.”

The Police Ombudsman investigates complaints against PSNI officers and has also probed the work of the PSNI‘s predecessor, the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

Lord Maginnis condemned the office for taking an unsuccessful case against Constable Trevor Purcell for alleged dangerous driving during a riot.

The peer said not only was it scandalous that a case was brought against Constable Purcell in the first place but it was disgraceful that it was adjourned on at least 28 occasions between May 2003 and its dismissal in November 2004.

This, he said, had put Constable Purcell and his family through a huge amount of unnecessary stress and uncertainty.

Lord Maginnis said the ombudsman‘s office was an expensive luxury which had only served to hinder the delivery of effective policing in Northern Ireland.

Urging the British government to instigate a root-and-branch inquiry into the ombudsman, Lord Maginnis said it needed to be replaced with a body capable of enjoying the confidence of both police and public.

He added: “It is the antithesis of justice that the Police Ombudsman is not accountable or answerable to any person or any authority including the Commissioner for Justice.”

BBC

Friends Damien Trainor (l) and Philip Allen (r) were shot dead in the bar

The release of the killers of two men in County Armagh has been called for by a DUP member in North Antrim.

Stephen McLean and Noel McCready are serving life sentences for killing Damien Trainor and Philip Allen.
The friends were killed in .

The two Catholic and Protestant friends were shot dead in the Railway Bar in Poyntzpass by the Loyalist Volunteer Force in 1998.

The DUP’s press officer, Gary Blair, said other paramilitary prisoners had been released under the Good Friday Agreement and so should they.

“When the early releases came, for the mainstream groups if you like, in 1998 the prisoners were released, all but two,” he said.

“I think the DUP and any other right thinking party would want to see the law applied with total impartiality - right across the board,” he said.

The call has been condemned by the SDLP’s John Dallat.

“The ink has hardly dried on the LVF statement and already the DUP are making demands for the release of prisoners involved in one of the most shocking double murders to take place during the campaign of genocide by this notorious gang of ruthless killers,” he said.

In July 2005 the House of Lords dismissed an appeal for release by McClean who was barred by NI Secretary Peter Mandelson in 2000 from the early release scheme.

Mr Mandelson said McClean must prove he was not a danger.

Daily Ireland

Click to view great photo of Best Mate from mischiefblue.co.uk

Animal rights campaigners are questioning the pressures on top racehorses after the death of Irish-born horse Best Mate.

The return to the track of one of the sport’s best-loved racehorses ended in tragedy yesterday when he suffered a suspected heart attack and died during his comeback race.
Anticipation surrounding triple Cheltenham Gold Cup-winner Best Mate’s reappearance soon turned to concern when he was pulled up in the William Hill Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter. Jockey Paul Carberry stopped the champion horse and tried to take him back to the stables but he collapsed with a suspected heart attack and died.
A spokesman for Animal Aid said a recent report on equine deaths revealed that more than 370 horses are raced to death each year in Britain.
Animal Aid horse racing consultant, Dene Stansall, said: “Horse racing is an intrinsically punishing and exploitative activity.
“The industry is producing more and more thoroughbreds every year and the burden placed upon them is increasingly demanding.
“Tears will no doubt be shed for Best Mate. But such shows of sentiment are meaningless unless action is taken to protect future victims. There needs to be real root and branch reform.”

Daily Ireland

Connla Young

“It’s a genuine and honest effort on our part to ensure cross party consensus on the issue of Irish reunification.”
~Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin~

Political parties in the Republic will today be challenged to support a Dáil motion calling for a united Ireland.
The Sinn Féin motion calls on deputies to renew their support for the Good Friday Agreement, promote all-Ireland strategies and prepare for Irish reunification.
A Fine Gael TD last night said he will “seriously consider” supporting the motion.
Cavan and Monaghan TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, the party’s Dáil leader will table the motion, which calls on the government to prepare a green paper to help in the “transition to a united Ireland”.
“People have to accept that this motion is moderate in terms of its construction and should receive the support of all the voices in Leinster House,” said the TD.
In recent weeks, the main political parties in the South have all scrambled to highlight their republican credentials.
Growing support for Sinn Féin is viewed by many observers as the reason for the sudden surge in republican sentiment being expressed by parties south of the Border.
The Sinn Féin TD said his party hoped that today’s motion would tap into the renewed spark of patriotism apparently flooding the halls of power in the South.
“I hope Fianna Fáil; Fine Gael, the united Ireland party; the Labour Party, who claim the mantle of James Connolly, will all be able to support this motion.
“It’s a genuine and honest effort on our part to ensure cross-party consensus on the issue of Irish reunification. It was constructed to reflect the claimed policy positions of the various parties.
“Irish unification is a legitimate objective and one we hope all the political voices who claim to support it will translate into active support,” he said.
The Sinn Féin man said his party remained committed to persuading unionists to accept a united Ireland.
“In the motion, we say that we want to actively seek to persuade unionists. That’s a very important statement.
“Irish republicans recognise this as part of the challenge and the project that lies before us. We have a will to continue and are hopeful a growing number of people from our island will share our approach that the interests of Ireland are best served by a single economy and a single political identity.
“Regardless of the outcome, Sinn Féin will remain steadfast in working towards Irish unity and independence and that’s a cornerstone of our political life.”
Donegal Fine Gael TD, Dinny McGinley, last night told Daily Ireland the motion will be discussed by his front bench team this morning.
He said Irish unification was a priority, and that he would “seriously consider” supporting the motion.
“The party will take a decison on the motion this morning and I don’t want to pre-empt anything,” said Mr McGinley.
“It will be taken very seriously and I am keen to see what it contains.
“I want to see a united Ireland, Fine Gael is the united Ireland party, it’s one of our objectives to have a united Ireland through consent. It’s a 30-year-old policy.”

Daily Ireland

Protestants fear for their future, says new study

ZOË TUNNEY

A new study aimed at identifying the extent of Protestant alienation in Derry has uncovered a “tale of two cities”, it was claimed yesterday.
The Population Change and Social Inclusion Study found that Protestants had deep-seated anxieties about their future, felt alienated in the community, and believed that local politicians worked to a nationalist agenda.
The research was undertaken by academics from the University of Ulster and Queen’s University Belfast in association with the St Columb’s Park House Reconciliation Centre in the city.
The report claimed that, with a few notable exceptions, Protestant neighbourhoods in the city were relatively underdeveloped, and younger Protestants felt fearful about entering predominantly Catholic areas and had difficulties accessing leisure, educational and other facilities in the city, which is 70 per cent Catholic.
The findings also showed there was a strong sense of cultural and political decline within the Protestant community.
Among the key findings is that the Protestant population in Derry city increased by approximately 1,000 between 1991 and 2001.
Census data indicate signs of increased segregation of Protestant and Catholic communities within the Waterside area, the mainly Protestant community on one side of the River Foyle.
The majority of Protestants said they were happy to work, shop and socialise in the predominantly Catholic cityside areas. Most of the Protestants who work in mainly Catholic workplaces said they had no problem doing so.
The findings showed, however, that Protestants were generally less comfortable in the Guildhall Square, Waterloo Place and Foyle Street areas of the city centre because of the presence of nationalist symbols.
Republican symbols in the City Cemetery were cited as causing particular upset.
The study found a perception among Protestants that Derry City Council was working to a nationalist agenda that was biased against Protestants.
Charlotte Cox, a project worker for St Columb’s Park House, said her group had been approached by community workers in the city who had noticed increasing alienation among the Protestant community.
“Although we knew Protestants were leaving Derry, felt alienated and excluded, we still needed evidence to tackle the problem,” Ms Cox said.
“Now we have the facts and statistics to say that Protestant alienation is a reality.
“We in St Columb’s House noticed that, when we spoke to Protestant focus groups, they had a distinct lack of confidence. Derry city of 1969 is different than the Derry of today and I think Protestant communities realise they can change a lot.” Brian Dougherty of the Tullyally Development Group is one of the community workers who decided to research the issue of Protestant alienation.
“I grew up in Derry. I witnessed the change in the Protestant outlook over the years,” he said.
“We were told for years by our politicians that the alienation we felt was because of discrimination and that created a chip on our shoulders.
“We had to conduct the research to either back up the claims that we were being discriminated against, dispel the myths or hit back at nationalist politicians who had been discriminating against the Protestant community in Derry,” he added. Derry City Council said it was in the final stages of producing a good-relations strategy that would address many of the issues raised in the study.

Sinn F�in: Sinn Féin

Published: 2 November, 2005

Sinn Féin National Director of Elections Pat Doherty MP has said that it is crucial that everybody fills out and returns their electoral registration form before the cut off point of November 18th.

Mr Doherty said:

” Hopefully this round of registration will be the last based upon the disastrous annual registration system which has effectively disenfranchised well over 100,000 voters since its introduction. Sinn Fein have been lobbying the British government to change this system and have secured agreement that from next year on we will move to a rolling registration model.

” Despite this welcome move the current round of registration to prepare the latest resister due for publication on December 1st is based upon the old system. Given this we do have real concerns that once again a deeply flawed document will be produced.

” I am encouraging people to ensure that they obtain a registration form and fill it in and return it before the cut off point of November 18th in order to guarantee they are on the next register.

” Sinn Fein are currently seeking a meeting with the British government to discuss their plans for changing the current system and also to ensure that all of those on the current register, including the 70,000 carried over in May before the Westminster election are also transferred en block onto the new register.” ENDS

BreakingNews.ie

02/11/2005 - 11:09:11

The British government today insisted all community justice schemes in Northern Ireland it approves will have to involve the police.

In a written statement to MPs, Northern Ireland Office Criminal Justice Minister David Hanson moved to allay fears that the Government could sanction schemes in republican areas which froze out the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

But Mr Hanson insisted: “There is absolutely no question of the government approving such schemes without the involvement of the PSNI.

“Any rumour to the contrary is completely without foundation. The government will not approve a two-tier system of justice.”

Northern Ireland’s Policing Board, unionists and the nationalist SDLP have all voiced concern that republicans, who have refused to endorse the PSNI, are hoping to turn restorative justice schemes into a quasi police force with stop and search powers.

The programmes, which operate in Belfast and Derry, bring the perpetrators of crime face to face with their victims in neighbourhoods to agree an appropriate penalty.

They are seen as a way of tackling the problem of paramilitaries shooting, beating or expelling people for anti-social behaviour.

In a hard-hitting statement two weeks ago, Policing Board chairman Sir Desmond Rea warned he and his colleagues would oppose any back door move by the government to approve unaccountable schemes with stop and search powers and which did not involve the police.

Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain met the board in Belfast yesterday to address their concerns.

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Judith Gillespie also insisted the schemes must involve the police and other criminal justice agencies.

She also told the UK government a fortnight ago that community restorative justice programmes must not become or be viewed as alternative police forces.

Supporters of the restorative justice including Sinn Féin have dismissed the claims as nonsense, insisting the programmes are properly scrutinised.

Sinn Féin justice spokesman Gerry Kelly yesterday claimed SDLP and Policing Board criticism of the schemes did not match the reality of how they had operated since 1999.

The North Belfast MLA said: “The SDLP and the Policing Board would be far better off supporting a community-based scheme which is working and has impacted positively in hundreds of cases, rather than attempting to prevent further policing and justice change in order to justify their own political view.”

Mr Hanson confirmed today the government would publish guidelines next month that would provide safeguards and conditions to the operation of local schemes.

Northern Ireland’s criminal justice review recommended a role for community-based justice schemes in dealing with some types of low-level crime, the minister recalled.

He continued: “But the recommendation also specified important safeguards and conditions which need to be in place before any progress can be made.

“Guidelines will therefore be required to set out exactly how these safeguards will be implemented.

“The guidelines will unambiguously specify the involvement of thepolice and other statutory criminal justice organisations in the operation of the community-based schemes.

“That is why the work on the guidelines is being taken forward by a group including representatives of the PSNI, the Public Prosecution Service, the Probation Board for Northern Ireland and the Youth Justice Agency as well as officials from my Department.

“We have been in contact with the community-based schemes about the guidelines and aim to complete the current round of discussions with them by around November 30, 2005.

“Following that I plan in December to circulate the guidelines to the main political parties in Northern Ireland as well as to the Policing Board and other key stakeholders for comment.

“I would expect this process to be completed in the New Year, when decisions will be taken on the way forward.”