SAOIRSE32

By Victor Gordon
Belfast Telegraph
Saturday, 27 September 2008

A district council in Co Armagh is spending too much to help Orangemen ‘spend a penny’, a Sinn Fein councillor has claimed.

Cllr Mary Doyle from Armagh City and District Council wants the £10,000 set aside for portable public loos each year to be re-routed to other council facilities. The main drain on the toilet flush fund is the County Armagh annual Twelfth demonstration, with seven of the county’s 11 district situated within the area served by the Armagh council.

The county demonstration is alternated among the 11 Orange districts in County Armagh each year, the other four being in the Craigavon Borough Council area (Portadown and Lurgan) and in Newry and Mourne (Bessbrook and Newtownhamilton).

Said Ms Doyle: “I raised the issue with the council this week and discovered there isn’t really a policy on providing portable loos. It seems to date from a cosy arrangement some years ago between council officers and the organisers of parades. Most of the money goes on Orange demonstrations and loyalist band parades and this is disproportionate to the nationalist and republican section of the population.”

It is understood that the county demonstrations require at least 50 portable toilets and these are provided and serviced by private companies with Armagh council providing the finance. The seven Orange district falling within the council area are - Richhill, Tandragee, Loughgall, Armagh, Killyleagh, Markethill and Keady.

A spokesman for the County Armagh Grand Lodge said: “We understand that Armagh council finances the portable toilets and we appreciate that. We also believe that portable loos are provided for events like the Tandragee 100 and the St Patrick’s Day parade in Armagh city, but it’s up to each individual Orange district what arrangements are made.

“Newry and Mourne District Council has always been very co-operative in the Bessbrook and Newtownhamilton demonstrations and that is deeply appreciated. We understand that Craigavon Borough Council does not pay for portable toilets.”

This was confirmed by a spokesman for the Portadown District who said: “We have to organise and pay for them ourselves, and we do that through a private company. It’s a specialised service and it’s done very expertly, but the council pays no part.”

A spokeswoman for Armagh and City and District Council confirmed that Ms Doyle had asked for a policy to be established on the provision of portable toilets and this would evolve in due course.

Armagh City and District Council will be amalgamated with Craigavon and Banbridge councils in 2011 to form the new Armagh City and Bann District Council.