Daithi McKay

This Derry DEA is a six seater that in 2014 resulted in the SDLP beating Sinn Féin in first preferences but not in terms of seats – Sinn Féin’s 3 candidates took 3 seats and the SDLP took 2 after standing 4 candidates. This time the SDLP are running Angela Dobbins, Rory Farrell and Brian Tierney, Sinn Féin are putting forward Sandra Duffy, Caoimhe McKnight, Neil McLaughlin and Aileen Mellon. This is also the sitting MP Elisha McCallion’s old stomping ground from …

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Oldpark is a six seater that returned 3 SF 1 DUP 1 PUP and 1 SDLP in 2014. This DEA in Belfast City Council could have produced a shock result last time around when Independent Dee Fennell produced a strong first preference vote to challenge the SDLP’s Nichola Mallon. Mallon, who pulled ahead in the latter stages of that count to take the seat was replaced on the council by Paul McCusker in 2016 who is standing for the party …

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One of the most interesting polls will be this one in Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. This 6 seater returned 2 SF 2 SDLP 1 DUP and 1 UUP in 2014. However much has changed since then! This time around the 2 SDLP Councillors elected previously, Joanne Donnelly and Dr Josephine Deehan, are standing as Independents as is one of the Sinn Féin Councillors elected 5 years ago Sorcha McAnespy. McAnespy is now a Fianna Fáil member but is unable …

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Thousands of young people took to the streets of Ireland today to take part in the latest global youth climate strike. It is expected that strikes will take place in over 100 countries. These protests, kick-started by 16 year old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, are starting to gather momentum and today protests were held at Cornmarket, Belfast; the Guildhall, Derry; St Stephen’s Green Dublin; Cork City Hall and many more locations. In Dublin an estimated 10,000 gathered to protest. Ireland …

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The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has published a 120 page report entitled ‘Reducing emissions in Northern Ireland’. It follows a request by the Permanent Secretary of DAERA for advice on how the north could reduce greenhouse gas emissions between now and 2030. We remain in the dreadfully irresponsible position of not even having a local Climate Change Act but we nonetheless have obligations to meet arising from the Paris Agreement. The Committee reminds us that Northern Ireland’s contribution to …

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A is for Amalgamation There was much discussion throughout 2018 about a potential marriage between the SDLP and Fianna Fáil ahead of the 2019 local government elections. However a recent news article in the Sunday Business Post, drawing upon party sources, talked more about ‘co-operation’ than amalgamation. So will this be more along the lines of a UCUNF arrangement rather than a Labour- Democratic Left swallow-up? More detail has emerged from Gerry Moriarty in the Irish Times this morning: The …

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Earlier this month a number of cross-party activists staged a sit-in at the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment in Dublin to protest at the lack of government action on climate change. The group want the government to ensure that 3 Bills presented to the Dáil are passed and not blocked by the Fine Gael led administration: (1) Climate Emergency Services Bill (People Before Profit) (2) Microgeneration Support Scheme Bill (Sinn Féin) (3) Waste Reduction Bill (Green Party)  The Climate Emergency Services …

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DAERA has published its 16th annual report on air quality. According to the report a number of pollutants in some areas “continue to exceed air quality objectives”. There were 19 automatic air quality stations that operated for all of 2017 that provided hourly information on a wide range of pollutants. Air Quality Standards (AQS) were breached in relation to Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels: “Three sites exceeded the AQS objective for annual mean NO2 concentration (40 µg/m3). These were as follows: …

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On Thursday night former MP for West Tyrone Barry McElduff re-entered the political arena after he was selected by party members in County Tyrone to run for Sinn Féin in next year’s local government elections. What is notable about his selection to stand in Omagh Town is that this is also the intended launchpad of Fianna Fáil in the north (well certainly for a section of the party) as talks with the SDLP continue. At the last council election in …

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It’s just under 19 weeks until Brexit Day and the potential introduction of a hard border in Ireland. It remains a very frightening prospect indeed. Theresa May’s proposed deal with the EU has been greeted with fury by DUP MPs & hardline Brexiteers alike as a ‘threat to the union’. Of course the May deal that is being presented as a threat to the union can be flipped on its head. There is also the possibility that the north could …

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Diana Johnson’s bill to decriminalise abortion in England, Wales and the north passed its first reading in Westminster today by 208 votes to 123. Supporters of the Ten Minute Rule Bill included 5 Government Ministers among them Penny Mordaunt Minister of Women and Equalities. It now moves to the next stage in November. Perhaps more crucially however it comes ahead of the second reading of Karen Bradley’s Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions Bill on Wednesday. An amendment is being …

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Billy Caldwell, a 12 year old boy from Castlederg suffering from severe epilepsy, was admitted to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital via ambulance this afternoon after suffering a number of seizures. “Billy has had back-to-back seizures today,” Charlotte Caldwell, his mother said. “On his medication, which included the vital but banned THC component, he was seizure-free for more than 300 days.” Charlotte who has fought tirelessly to secure medication for Billy for a number of years has said that doctors back …

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Ireland was “Shocked, stunned, surprised” at the “unexpected” result of the referendum. Not perhaps by the fact that the Yes camp won but by the margin. There was no doubt before this campaign began that a majority of people wanted to see the eighth amendment repealed. What created uncertainty about the outcome was whether the public would show some reluctance through the ballot box due to the government proposal to allow abortion to be freely available up to 12 weeks. …

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