The DUP have facilitated meeting about North-South trade while East-West is trashed

I was surprised to learn that Diane Dodds had attended Wednesday’s North South meeting dealing with business and trade.

Isn’t the core point about the Northern Ireland Protocol that it disrupts business and trade within the UK?

Why, therefore, should we be seeking to advance our North/South links while Nationalism collectively doesn’t care about our East/West links and Unionist concerns are being ignored?

At the end of last week Sinn Fein, the SDLP, and Alliance got very exercised after the DUP blocked a North/South meeting.

On Monday the Sinn Fein president broke public health guidance and travelled from Dublin to Northern Ireland to lecture the DUP on the importance of the North/South arrangements.

On Wednesday Mrs Dodds turned up to the North/South meeting.

I note that her ministerial colleague, Conor Murphy, who has a past IRA conviction, issued a statement welcoming the decision of the DUP to facilitate the meeting.

I doubt if any unionists will share Mr Murphy’s sentiments.

John Brennan, Ballygowan

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