This guest blog is, as you see, from Ciaran Cairns. He’s just established a blogsite at http://derryasiseeit.com/sample-page and has been good enough to share this first blog with us. Go raibh maith agat, Ciaran – Thank you, Ciaran.
In 1980, word spread in Derry that the city was getting a new bridge. This bridge was to close the gap on the economic woes by linking the Water and City sides of the City, and add to the reconciliation process between the “two sides”. Work began. It was a colossal piece of work, secured by John Hume of the SDLP – The Foyle Bridge was born.
The Foyle bridge took 4 years to construct, and to date is the longest bridge on the island of Ireland, at a cost of £15,765,000. The work was welcomed, and the SDLP assured society that the work would continue and investment in our city was around the corner, and they would secure it in anyway possible.
More good news for the city in 1984; The Richmond Centre opened, a major coup for the city, again backed by those in power.
These two builds added an energy to the city that we hadn’t seen in, well, ever! The SDLP and Unionist parties explained that they were the future, and that they could attract investment, no matter what the obstacle.
We then had the introduction of Seagate and the birth of Foyleside, the glass beacon in the sky!
Then it stopped. Derry seemed to have peaked in 1984. We were then drip-fed numerous employment opportunities that were sold as secure, but seemingly built on sand – we all know what they are.
The expansion of a transport system was taken off the agenda. The idea that we could become a major player in the North, fell through the fingers of those in power; why?
We had MPs who, every four years, promised us investment and employment, but we got nothing. They delivered zero, and yes Mr Durkan MP, that includes you from 2005.
You took over from John Hume, and sat on his legacy, whilst claiming approximately £1,000,000 in wages to date; serious questions have to be raised on what you and the SDLP are doing for our city in London. (Many say you have retired in Westminster!)
In 2015 the SDLP floated the idea of a ‘City Deal’. On paper this plan was first class, and launched in the City Hotel.
The plan reads like a modern day Arcadia, infrastructure and employment at its core. In reality, this was pie in the sky (ever see the monorail episode of ‘The Simpsons’?).
The plan was to go cap in hand to the Tory Government, and ask for funding for the unemployment black-spot that is Derry. The SDLP have to get real. The Tories won’t get a single vote for giving money to Derry, so there’s zero in it for them; they would rather invest in Derby then Derry!
We currently sit in uncertainty, due to unemployment and infrastructure insecurities, due to Brexit and not knowing what Stormont will give us in the future; but what we must do, is deal with the positives.
We have been assured of £500m for the A5 and A6. We now have infrastructure work that we haven’t had since 1984. We have also been assured of plans to build a £25m transport hub in the old railway station. We have to build on these positives. We have to open our eyes to what section of our Government is delivering for us.
These positives in our city have been brought to us by Sinn Fein. The SDLP have had their opportunity to deliver for Derry, but they have dropped the baton.
The SDLP stunned many of us when they went into Opposition in Stormont. They didn’t know during their canvass if this was a good idea or not; but many voted for them due to the new leadership of Colum Eastwood and promises of a renewed energy for Derry.
This leadership and energy has since waned. The SDLP and Mr Eastwood have allowed themselves be led by Mike Nesbitt’s UUP.
The SDLP have failed to tell us, the electorate, what they intend to do in Opposition. They have told us, however, what Sinn Fein and the DUP aren’t doing, and what they would do in the Executive; so why not stay in and fight to bring opportunities to places like Derry? A conundrum..
We have 6 MLAs in Foyle. 1 DUP and 2 Sinn Fein in Government, 2 SDLP in Opposition and Eamon ‘The Man In Black’ McCann (more like a shadow!) – who to date, is to voice an opinion on anything in the Executive, locally.
To finish, I would like to pose a question to those in and outside the Government: What do you intend to deliver for Derry, and how do you intend to deliver it? And to you, the reader: What do you believe is next for Derry?
So, to conclude. We must deal with what we have. We can’t be negative due to our political opinion when a party delivers. We must take the positives and run with them. What we need next is employment; whoever delivers that, delivers a future to the people of Derry, and a secure political future at the helm.
Over to you…
This is a welcome wake-up call. The pandering and posturing of politicians…particularly the SDLP…is apparent. If you don’t know why you are in office or what you wish to stand and fight for get and let someone who does. For decades SDLP’s only success was due to the fact that they weren’t Sinn Fein. People have long got over that scam.
Why ‘the longest bridge on the Island of Ireland’ ? (RTE/IRISH TIMES-speak) Why not simply “the longest bridge in Ireland’?