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Daily
Dispatch Tuesday 4th April 2006
MAGINNESS:
HANSON TREADING DANGEROUS PATH
SDLP North Belfast MLA Alban Maginness said Social Development
Minister David Hanson is treading a dangerous path in earmarking
funds for deprivation in exclusively Protestant areas.
He said: “The facts of deprivation in Protestant areas are
irrefutable and no one seriously questions the need for funding
to counter it. But it is important that funding is openly allocated
on the basis of need and need only, rather than denomination.
“Unfortunately, the DUP is being allowed to parade this
£33 million package around as a sectarian political trophy
which it has won. It is even being allowed to point to the package
as proof of discrimination, which is a dangerous nonsense and
pernicious falsehood.
“To take just one example, it is true that 13 of the 15
wards with the worst educational achievement are predominantly
Protestant. But it is also true that 20% more Catholics leave
school with no qualifications whatsoever.
“So let us deal with deprivation in these wards, but let
us not sow new divisions in the process. The deprivation statistics
are clear and convincing and show where need is greatest. The
principle of funding on the basis of need and need alone must
be upheld, particularly by government ministers responsible for
dispensing taxpayers’ money.
“Instead of cynically using deprivation as a political football,
the DUP might look to its own record. The problem in loyalist
areas is not just about a lack of funding. It is widely acknowledged
that poor use has been made of funding in the past, and that is
a direct result of poor political leadership. Cultivating victimhood
based on falsehood is a poor substitute for leadership.”
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MAGINNESS: SDLP PROPOSE BETTER WAY TO UNITY
SDLP MLA Alban Maginness, group leader on Belfast City Council,
said the party proposed real motions on North South co-operation
and Irish unity which will have real outcomes.
He said: “When it comes to debating Irish unity, talk is cheap.
Sinn Fein proposed a motion which isn’t going anywhere, couldn’t
go anywhere and could only create division. But if we have learned
one thing over the last thirty years, it is that unity cannot come
from division.
“We proposed an amendment to their motion calling on An Taoiseach,
Bertie Ahern TD, to immediately convene the Forum for Peace and
Reconciliation and seek a consensus that the Good Friday Agreement
would continue in a United Ireland. Sadly, Sinn Fein voted against
and pursued their own divisive motion, which inevitably fell.
”We
proposed a motion calling on the two governments to create a shared
economy on the island of Ireland; to institute joint planning in
order to get the best value out of the Euro100 billion of infrastructural
investment planned for the next ten years; further co-operation
on issues from roaming charges and illegal waste to organised crime;
and all parties to work together in advancing the North South agenda
to delivery a better quality of life for all the people of Belfast.
“This is the way forward: creating consensus, bringing people
together in order to bring them forward. This is the better way,
the SDLP way. This is the way that Ireland will actually be united.”
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