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[Kilsally]

Ballymaconnelly Parade cost over £74k to police
http://www.ballymone...olice_1_3151778

Published on Friday 14 October 2011 10:37

North Antrim Sinn Féin MLA Daithí McKay has said that the failure to resolve issues around parades is taking much needed money away from the public purse.

Mr McKay was speaking after it was revealed that over £74,000 was spent on policing the Ballymaconnolly Parade in Rasharkin this year.

Mr McKay said: “At a time when every department, every organisation indeed every household is trying to minimise wastage in budgets it is absurd that millions are being spent policing parades, especially those where the organisers have made no efforts to reduce tensions or improve upon the situation which would lead to a reduction in such costs.

“Such money would have been much better spent on things that would benefit the health and well being of all the people living in this area and indeed it adds to the argument that those who organise contentious parades which drain the public purse should, in the absence of necessary restrictions placed on them, pay for the policing costs.

“£74,462 is a huge amount of money and if the parades situation here isn’t resolved the total amount for policing Ballymaconnolly parade in Rasharkin in recent years will soon reach the £1million mark.

“That is totally unacceptable and underlines the need for parade organisers here to resolve the issues around this parade by speaking with local residents.

“People here are sick sore and tired with not only the parade itself but in particular the effect that it has had on the community and relations in the area all year round. Pressure must be brought to bear on those who continue to allow this situation to worsen by their intransigence.”

[Kilsally]

‘Republicans to blame for PSNI parades bill’
http://www.newslette..._bill_1_3158341

Published on Sunday 16 October 2011 10:34

VIOLENCE and the threat of violence from republican protestors has been blamed as the major contributing factor to the bill of almost £6 million needed to police parades across Northern Ireland this year.

Figures released by the PSNI to the Policing Board revealed that £5.7 million was spent on marches across the province over a five-month period.

Almost £800,000 was needed to deal with the widespread republican violence in Ardoyne over the Twelfth period alone.

Elsewhere, the Apprentice Boys march in Londonderry cost £301,000, the Whiterock parade (Belfast) held in June cost £233,000, while the Tour of the North parade cost £154,000.

DUP MLA for East Belfast Robin Newton, described the total cost was disappointing.

“My attitude, is that if police were not needed at the these parades, then we would not be faced with such a bill,” he said.

“I look forward to the day, when the only police presence we need, is an officer on a motorcycle, directing traffic.

“The reason so much policing is needed is due to protests, and the threat of violence, surrounding contentious marches.”

He added: “The plain facts remain that the Orangemen and bands in Ardoyne did not cost the taxpayer the money; it was the intolerance and bigotry of those who attacked the parade and continued to riot afterwards which imposed this cost.

“Similarly the parades in small villages such as Newtownbutler and Rasharkin did not need tens of thousands of pounds to police, it was the intolerance of some within those communities who cannot bear to see any demonstration of their neighbours’ culture.”

Mr Newton, who sits on the Policing Board’s Human Rights and Professional Standards Committee, said his party had been working to find an alternative to the Parades Commission process.

“I think Peter Robinson deserves a lot of praise for bringing forward his initiative on parading.

“The DUP has been working to find resolutions to contentious parades, and that is something which we will continue to work towards.”

Assistant Chief Constable Alistair Finlay accepted that the vast majority of loyal order demonstrations were peaceful events.

“The vast majority of parades passed off peacefully, however, unfortunately, violence broke out in a few small areas during the summer.

“This was not representative of the vast majority of communities across Northern Ireland who are working side by side for a better future,” said ACC Finlay.

The SDLP’s Conall McDevitt who chairs the Policing Board’s standards committee, described the figures as “shocking”.

“Whilst policing costs are broadly similar to those of previous years these figures are still shocking,” said the MLA.

“Given current pressures on the policing budget and the public purse I have no doubt the wider community will share the concerns of board members on this issue.

“For communities that have been affected by serious public disorder there is a much wider cost that is not measurable in monetary terms but has a very serious community impact.”

In North Antrim, attempts made by Sinn Fein’s Daithi McKay to blame the £65,000 spent on policing the Ballymaconnolly Parade in August on the organisers were dismissed by the DUP Mayor of Ballymoney Ian Stevenson.

Mr McKay said: “People here are sick sore and tired with not only the parade itself but in particular the effect that it has had on the community and relations in the area all year round. Pressure must be brought to bear on those who continue to allow this situation to worsen by their intransigence.”

But Mr Stevenson who stood side by side with local priest Fr John Murray at the contentious march, rubbished the statement, saying local residents groups had failed to engage with a local forum.

“This cost should not be placed at the parade organisers.

“I can remember a few years ago, when there were few police needed at this parade, but as these protests have grown each year, so too has the policing bill.”

Peter Osborne, chairman of the Parades Commission described the overall figures as a “sobering reminder of the cost of contention around disputed parades” but added that the number of contentious parades had reduced.

Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly responded to the policing bill saying: “Since the start of the peace process the Orange Order has failed to play a positive and constructive role in moving our society forward and showing leadership. This policing bill cannot be distanced from that failure.”