Jibes at Sinn Féin in chamber

WHILE things are looking better this week than last week on the ever fluctuating Brexit front, Sinn Féin representatives on Wexford County Council came in for some jeering in the council chambers on the topic last week.

Cllr Tom Forde had tabled a motion calling on the council to support border communities against Brexit and oppose any infrastructure or checkpoints near the border that would make it more difficult for business to operate on an all-Ireland basis.

Cllr Malcolm Byrne was first to speak on the motion. ‘I want to welcome the change of position among Sinn Féin,’ he said. ‘When I put a motion before the council opposing Brexit in November of 2015, Sinn Féin were the only party opposed to it. Admittedly, Cllr Forde wasn’t on the council then, but Cllr Ó’Súilleabháin and his colleagues were.’

‘It’s always welcome, even if it’s four years later, that Sinn Féin have finally come to the table and I hope it won’t be another four years before the assembly in the North sits!’

This generated some laughter in the chamber, while other members shouted ‘ hear, hear’ in approval. Visibly annoyed, Cllr Fionntán Ó’Súilleabháin said: ‘Mary Lou (McDonald) was one of those behind the backstop in the first place!’

This was greeted with laughter and derision from some of his fellow council members.

‘At least we stand for elections in the North, unlike Fianna Fáil,’ he concluded. In the end, despite the criticisms of his party, the motion was unanimously passed in the end.