IRA victim’s anger at Sinn Fein MP’s ‘disrespect’ for Parliament

Sammy Heenan was commenting after the South Down MP failed to respond in a timely manner to official questions about the naming of his Castlewellan advice centre in honour of two IRA members – Peter McNulty and Paul Magorrian.

Mr Heenan, whose father William was shot dead by the IRA in 1985 just a few miles from Castlewellan, has accused his MP of paying “complete disregard to the legitimate sensitivities” of those constituents bereaved and injured by the IRA.

Mr Heenan has repeatedly raised concerns that public money should not be paid in office expenses if the nameplate on an MP’s advice centre effectively deters any constituents from entering.

In September this year, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) wrote to Mr Hazzard, seeking an “assurance that he has complied with the Scheme of MPs’ Business Costs and Expenses.”

Earlier this week, an IPSA spokesman said: “We have had no response from the Member of Parliament to date.”

Mr Heenan said: “Once again we witness Sinn Fein demonstrating disrespect and disdain to the Standards Commissioner by ignoring their request for clarification in respect of this vile office naming.

“How can we as a society progress if parliamentarians can pay complete disregard to the legitimate sensitivities and hurt of their constituents who bore the brunt of a depraved terrorist campaign?

“The removal of this name must now be pursued with vigour and a collective approach taken by MPs to bring forward legislation to achieve that outcome.”

Mr Heenan added: “To some it’s just a name but for us as victims and wider society it symbolises a hatred and eulogises the thuggery of our brutal and bloody past, something we should be moving away from in 2020.”

Sinn Fein has not responded to a request for comment.