Councillors walk out of meeting
Sinn Féin councillors walked out of a meeting of Armagh district
Council on Monday night, 30 January, in protest at the handling
of the issue of the striking of the local rate.
Sinn Féin
councillors Sean McGirr and Noel Sheridan refused to `rubber
stamp' the council's proposed 5.2% rise in rates along with the
regional rate of 8%. The argument arose when the Sinn Féin
councillors proposed an deferment of the decision for one week to
allow them time to analyise the proposals and the council's
figures for estimated expenditure for the coming year. The Sinn
Féin councillors complained that as the relevant figures had only
been presented to them at the meeting they had not received
sufficient time to see if any amendments could be put forward
with a view to easing the rate burden on local ratepayers.
Unionist and SDLP councillors who recommended that the rate
increase be adopted without any further consultation rejected
this proposal. Speaking after the meeting Sinn Féin Councillor
Noel Sheridan said, ``The crux of the problem is that as Sinn Féin
is excluded from the influential policy and resources committee
by both the unionists and SDLP we were then being asked to rubber
stamp a proposal into which we had no input. It was only fair
that we were allowed time to study the proposals and where
applicable make amendments, which hopefully would have been of
benefit to local ratepayers.''
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