Unionist councillors: Our council has become dysfunctional ... the tone has shifted

The Fermanagh and Omagh District Council members were speaking to the News Letter ahead of a debate last night, when a recent proposal centring on the Omagh bomb was to be discussed.

There had been anger from some Troubles victims earlier this month when independent councillor Bernice Swift won majority support for a proposal objecting to the extradition of Liam Campbell from the Republic of Ireland.

He is wanted in Lithuania over allegations of arms trafficking, having earlier been found liable in civil court for the 1998 Omagh bomb which killed 29 people (plus unborn twins).

The extradition issue was to be debated last night alongside a motion calling for solidarity with the families of those bomb victims; it was not expected to conclude until very late.

Further stark divisions were evident in a debate on financial support for farmers this week, when republican and nationalist councillors clashed over claims that a government support package was designed to discriminate against Catholic hill farmers, in a session which descended into rowdy exchanges.

There had been heated exchanges during a debate about Black Lives Matter the previous month as well.

Unionists are in a minority in the council, with nine UUP and five DUP members out of 40 councillors in total.

With so much uproar in such a short space of time, the News Letter asked some unionists if they felt the mood had changed of late.

DUP councillor Deborah Erskine said: “I’d tend to agree with that. I don’t know whether it’s because we’ve a scenario where we’re doing our meetings virtually; we’re not in the chamber together, so we don’t have to look people in the eye.

“It’s like a keyboard warrior type of thing – if you don’t see the person, you don’t realise what hurt is being caused.”

She said the make-up of the council changed significantly after last year’s election, bringing fewer Sinn Fein and SDLP members, and in their place an Alliance councillor, a Labour Alternative councillor, and four independents.

Ms Erskine said “the tone has shifted” – perhaps due to both the virtual nature of meetings, and these independent councillors.

Meanwhile, UUP group leader Victor Warrington said since the 2019 election, “council business has changed dramatically”.

Previously “all parties strove to work together for all communities” but now “meetings are being prolonged indefinitely with very little chance of completing agendas”.

“One of the main reasons for the current council becoming dysfunctional is the ever-growing number of national, constitutional, and international topics being put forward for discussion,” he said.

“National, constitutional and indeed international issues should be dealt with at the appropriate government body, whether that be Stormont or indeed Westminster.

“Local authorities should keep local and ensure our ratepayers are getting value for their money.”

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Alistair Bushe