Brexit meeting in Hilltown

Sinn Féin MP Mickey Brady met with residents at a public meeting in Hillotwn recently to discuss how an EU exit will affect people in the area.

Mickey Brady MP, Gerry O’Hare, Vincent MacDonald, Patrick McGinn and others who were at the event

The Newry/Armagh representative was standing in for MLA Caitríona Ruane MLA, who was unable to attend due to a family bereavement.

Concern about the impact of Brexit is still high in people’s minds, illustrated by the large attendance at the event.

One of the issues that came up numerous times was if Joint First Minister Arlene Foster realised the importance of the contribution made by the migrant community living here, according to Brady.

He said “While people are facing into a period of uncertainty the local economy would probably collapse were it not for the contribution of migrant workers. We have a moral obligation to support people who have contributed to our society.”

Another asked about a situation where a worker returns to visit his / her country of origin. What guarantees are there that he / she will be able to return? “What happens in these situations has yet to be worked out. The Tories don’t have a plan and the referendum result has placed us in a limbo.

“We need to focus on our own situation here in Ireland, instead of that in the South of England. We need to ensure that freedom of movement and workers’ rights are defended,” Brady said.

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“George Osborne is no longer in a position to honour commitments he made to make up shortfall in funding post Brexit. People from many backgrounds now have very serious concerns – from the business and agricultural sector to the community voluntary sector. ”

The local MP gave an assurance that he would be taking the concerns expressed in Hilltown to the British Irish Inter-parliamentary Body and stressed that there was a need for everyone to take a stand on the referendum result. “We have voted to stay in the E.U. We need to make sure the vote is respected which we must express by street protests and direct action,” he said.

“Calls for a border poll by Sinn Féin before and after the referendum have been labelled opportunistic by political opponents. SF’s calls for a border poll have been consistent with the party’s long standing opposition to partition and support for Irish unity,” he added.

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Posted by Newry Times News on Aug 19 2016. Filed under Community, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry