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Dismantle Murder Machine - Bradley
SDLP Youth Comments On Gap Child Labour Case
Ramsey Lobbies For Right Of Irish Citizens To Play For Their Country
Department of Finance Considering Taxing Agricultural Land

Sunday, 28 October 2007
Dismantle Murder Machine - Bradley
SDLP Newry and Armagh Assembly Member Dominic Bradley has said the South Armagh ‘community can no longer tolerate the control which those responsible for Paul Quinn's murder would wish to exert upon us'.

Mr Bradley said: “The recent murder of Paul Quinn was a brutal and savage crime. All political leaders have said so. Archbishop Sean Brady has said so. This community has said so.

“The murder of Paul Quinn confirms one thing - that our community can no longer tolerate the control which those responsible for this crime would wish to exert upon us. It is a control based on the use of violence to generate fear in order to subdue people for whatever reason to the will of those who wield the iron bar, baseball bat or other weapon.

“Paul Quinn's murder was pre-planned, organised, and co-ordinated using an existing network and its experienced personnel. It was not the work of an ad hoc gang. Those who did it were practised in inflicting brutal and savage violence on other human beings. The machine which supports the planning, organisation, and effecting of murder or any other crime, and which helps to cover it up must be dismantled once and for all so that no other person will be subject to the brutal beating and death which Paul Quinn suffered.

“We have stood up for justice down through the years; we must now stand up for justice for Paul Quinn. The Quinn family deserve justice for their son's death. The only form of justice open to them is to see those responsible for his death brought before the courts to face the legal punishment which is due to them. The Quinn family has quite rightly said that there should be no retaliation for Paul's murder as that too would be totally wrong and would only play into the hands of those who murdered him.

“The only way forward for us is to work with the police to help create a safe, secure, and peaceful society for us all. There is no alternative to this except the control, intimidation, and violence of those who murdered Paul Quinn.

“There can be no ifs or buts about murder. There is no acceptable reason or circumstance to justify murder.

“The people of this area, as well as the majority of the people of the North and of all Ireland have shown that they do not want to be ruled in this way; they have decided to embrace the policing reforms arising from the Patten Report, most of which are now implemented. The Patten reforms have built-in accountability mechanisms including the Police Ombudsman's Office which have gained the overwhelming support of the public.

“Anyone who has any information which may be of help to the Gardai and PSNI in solving this brutal crime has a moral duty to ensure that that they get that information to the Gardai or PSNI by whatever means they wish to use.”

 

Sunday, 28 October 2007
SDLP Youth Comments On Gap Child Labour Case
SDLP Youth Chairman Gary McKeown has welcomed a move by Gap Clothing to remove from a sale a product which was made using child labour, but has criticised the fact that the incident could have been allowed to happen.

Mr McKeown said: “It is certainly a positive move by Gap to stop selling a product which it has been shown was made using child labour in India. However, this situation should never have been allowed to come about in the first place. It is extremely important that western retailers ensure that the goods that they are selling are ethically produced.

“We wouldn't let children make clothes instead of going to school in Europe, so we shouldn't stand by and let it happen elsewhere in the world, especially when the clothes we are wearing could have been made in this way.

“It is repulsive to think that major corporations could be lining their pockets through the misery of children in the developing world.”

Mr McKeown concluded: “SDLP Youth is currently running its ‘Think Before You Buy’ campaign which is urging shoppers to make sure that the clothes they are buying are not made through slave or child labour. Incidents like this prove how important it is to keep the focus on retailers to make sure that they are not exploiting people less fortunate than ourselves.”

 

Sunday, 28 October 2007
Ramsey Lobbies For Right Of Irish Citizens To Play For Their Country
SDLP Sports Spokesperson Pat Ramsey has written to FIFA President Mr Blatter and Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern to lobby for the rights of Irish citizens born and living in the north to play for their country.

Mr Ramsey said: “I have written to both the minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, and the FIFA President Mr Blatter, in relation to football players from Northern Ireland who wish to play for the Republic rather than the north's team.

“Given that many people from Northern Ireland regard the Republic of Ireland as the national team, it makes sense that they should be allowed, by FIFA, to play for the Republic. Given the Good Friday Agreement and the Irish Constitution, there is a strong case for this.

“Most people would argue that it would be in the best sporting interests to combine the talents of both parts of the island to have a single soccer team, as is the case with most other sports. In the mean time, players born in the north should be allowed to play for the Republic's team if they wish.

“I have pointed out to Mr Blatter the sensitivities of this issue, and the relevance of both teams on the island to both unionist and nationalist people in the north. I hope the FIFA takes the view that players should be able to make a personal choice on this matter.”

Text of letters as follows:
Mr Pat Ramsey MLA Constituency Office 1 Infirmary Road Derry N. Ireland BT48 7HG

DATE 24.10.2007

Mr Joseph S. Blatter
President FIFA
FIFA-Strasse 20
P.O. Box 8044
Zurich
Switzerland

Dear Mr Blatter,
I write in relation to recent reports in relation to apparent FIFA rules that people from Northern Ireland can only play for the Northern Ireland soccer team and not for the Irish Republic.

The SDLP recognises that unionist people see Northern Ireland as a country and, from their point of view, it makes logical sense for Northern Ireland to have its own team. However, for Irish nationalists, and it is a fact, Northern Ireland is a state rather than a nation or country and therefore its football team is not seen, by Irish nationalists, as a national team. Given the Irish constitution, which formally recognises the Irish citizenship of people born in Northern Ireland, Irish nationalists see the Republic of Ireland team as the national team and many would opt to play for the Republic's team.

Any decision by FIFA to prevent people born in Northern Ireland from playing for the Republic of Ireland would seem to ignore the Good Friday Agreement (Article 1 section vi) which recognises the right of Northern Irish people to be Irish or British or both. It would also ignore Article 2 of the Irish Constitution which says.

“It is the entitlement and birthright of every person born in the island of Ireland, which includes its islands and seas, to be part of the Irish nation.....”

It would seem ludicrous that an Irish citizen born anywhere in the world would have an entitlement to play for the Irish team, but that a citizen from my own city of Derry could not.

I would therefore ask you give strong consideration to the arguments that that Irish Citizens from Northern Ireland should be allowed to play for their national team.

Yours sincerely
Pat Ramsey

 

Sunday, 28 October 2007
Department of Finance Considering Taxing Agricultural Land
SDLP MLA Declan O'Loan has discovered that the under Peter Robinson is currently considering the taxation of agricultural land. He obtained this information in a response to a written question following some discussion of the matter at the Assembly Committee for Finance and Personnel.

Declan O'Loan said “I think that this will come as an absolute shock to = the whole farming and rural development sector. I have never before heard any suggestion that the rating system might be extended to agricultural land. But there is no doubt that it is now under serious consideration. I welcome the frankness and clarity of the answer, but the message from it is very clear.”

“I do not believe that the incomes available from agricultural land are such that taxation of land can be considered. The role of farmers in maintaining and protecting our landscape is now clearly recognised to the extent that EU payments are available to them for this purpose. To tax that same land that is subject to subsidy for environmental reasons would be absurd.”

“The whole agricultural sector needs to address itself to this threat before it develops any further. I believe that this suggestion should be dropped from the current review of the rating system.”

* Mr Declan O'Loan asked (AQW 1034/08) : “To ask the Minister of Finance and Personnel what consideration his department is giving to the rating of agricultural land.”

Answer (complete) 25 October 2007
“Under the current rating system agricultural land is not valued nor rated and there are no plans to do so. However as you are aware the current review of the new domestic rating system that was introduced by Direct Rule Ministers in April 2007 is examining a wide range of options for change in the shorter and longer terms, which were included in terms of reference agreed by the Executive. Strand 2 of the review is addressing longer term issues including possible alternatives to the current arrangements and one such alternative, is Land Value Taxation.

I have commissioned the Ulster University to investigate the experience of other jurisdictions that have used Land Value Taxation as a revenue raising measure and I understand they have shared some of their preliminary findings with the DFP Committee. It is clear from the preliminary evidence provided by the Ulster University that in those countries that apply land value taxation, agricultural land normally forms part of the tax base.

However their work is not complete and therefore no decisions have yet been taken. Once I have had time to consider their full findings and taken the views of the DFP Committee I will bring forward my recommendations to the Executive later in the year.”

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