Are we being too hard on each other? Local councillor accused of trying to create divisions between Derry and Strabane
A member of Derry City and Strabane District Council has been warned that he is creating a division between the people of both areas as a result of his continual complaining during meetings.
The issue arose at a meeting of the council this week, where the Ulster Unionist councillor Derek Hussey (pictured) said that he was ‘ashamed’ after attending a funeral at Derg cemetery due to the state of the graveyard.
Alderman Hussey was speaking at Tuesday afternoon’s meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Governance and Strategic Planning Committee, where he also raised concerns about the number of overgrown weeds whilst driving through Sion Mills.
“Sorry, while I was being driven through Sion Mills,” he added.
Alderman Hussey said that such matters would have been addressed by the old Strabane District Council prior to its merger with Derry.
However, at that point, the Sinn Fein councillor Maoliosa McHugh interjected and said that he was no longer willing to listen to the type of comments being made by Alderman Hussey.
He said that Alderman Hussey’s comments were suggesting that there was ‘some agenda to victimise the people of Strabane and I’m not going to pay lip service to that’.
Cllr McHugh continued that some of the issues Alderman Hussey was complaining about would not have fallen under the remit of the old Strabane council, adding that when it was in existence, Mr Hussey had been complaining about the same matters.
He continued that some people were ‘hopping on a bandwagon’ and ‘fermenting that type of division’ between Derry and Strabane.
The SDLP’s John Boyle agreed with his comments, adding that it was an ‘attitude that had to change’ as ‘we’ve been listening to it for a couple of years now’.
The chair of the meeting, DUP Alderman Drew Thompson, added: “Over the last number of years it’s been indicated to some councillors that we are Derry City and Strabane District Council.”