DUP Ministers scared to rock the boat
20 June 2008
STATEMENT BY TRADITIONAL UNIONIST LEADER JIM ALLISTER MEP
“One of the boasts of the DUP before devolution was that once in office they would shake up the local departments and right the wrongs perpetrated under Direct Rule. Experience, alas, is showing that far from doing so, they are meekly adopting the civil service line and failing to act where they ought.
The Equality Commission upheld a complaint by me about how DCAL, under Direct Rule, had short circuited due process in the Irish Language Act consultation. One of its findings was that DCAL “acted with undue haste in deciding to accede to the request of one organisation (POBAL) to issue draft indicative clauses whilst consultation on the general policy was ongoing.” Thus suggesting POBAL had remarkable influence within DCAL to be able to swing such an outcome.
Accordingly, I invited Edwin Poots to investigate how POBAL came to be in such a privileged position and to examine the procedures within his department. Mr Poots ignored the issue. Having raised it again, I am appalled by the new Minister, Gregory Campbell, also refusing to deal with the issue. He has refused to investigate how the situation arose that the Equality Commission could find that POBAL – a rank republican culture organisation – had such privileged influence within his department.
I would have thought a DUP Minister would be anxious to root out any culture of special POBAL influence within DCAL, but, sadly, it seems he doesn’t even want to investigate. He would have been better doing that than rushing out to welcome an extra £6M to fund Irish language broadcasting – something, no doubt, POBAL is well chuffed with as a means of furthering their republicanised cultural agenda.”
