DUP suggestion to close border over COVID cases branded ‘unbelievable’

DUP Alderman Graham Warke made the suggestion following a proposal for an all-island strategy to tackle COVID from People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin.

At a meeting of Derry & Strabane Council’s Heath and Community Committee on Thursday, following amendments to that proposal, a majority of Councillors agreed to call upon the Stormont Executive, the Dáil, and the Welsh, Scottish and English governments to urgently consider an all-islands Zero Covid strategy ‘to eliminate the community transmission of the virus in order to protect lives, health services and bring a return to normality’.

The move followed presentations delivered by Prof. Anthony Staines, Dublin City University and Prof. Helen Dolk, representatives of the Zero Covid Group.

Speaking after the presentation, Colr. Harkin said: “This isn’t about borders, it’s about having a national policy to deal with a health crisis. It’s not about an all-island strategy, it’s about having a Zero Covid strategy. We should have been able to take decisive steps at the start right across this island and I think we would have been in a different situation right now. We could have been where New Zealand is.”

UUP Alderman Derek Hussey however raised the issue of infection rates in the Republic. “We are looking at a situation currently where the Republic of Ireland has now got the worst infection rate in the world and the last time I looked Northern Ireland had the best situation within the British Isles.

“Within that context I’m mindful of those who would call for an all-island policy, but I’m mindful that New Zealand is not one island. Why would you not call for a British Isles policy or a way forward on this, it would seem more logical to me given that there is a dependency between all parts of the British Isles.”

DUP Alderman Graham Warke agreed. “I’m really glad we didn’t take an all-island approach and that’s not political points scoring,” he said. “At the start of Christmas the Republic of Ireland was one of the lowest in Europe and now they have come out now with the highest in the world. They were completely different with the closure, they had restaurants open, on Boxing Day they had the shops open, they had Christmas as normal. For us in Northern Ireland it was completely different, we more or less went into lockdown and I do feel now the decisions were correct up here.

“I do agree with Derek Hussey that it should be the British Isles looking at a response instead of an all-island, everybody in it together. At the minute we really need to look at these borders closing more or less to contain it in the Republic with the infections down there.”

Colr. Harkin responded to Alderman Warke saying: “I was dismayed by the contribution by the DUP which I believe called for the border between north and south to be put up to stop the infection rate coming up from the south to the north.

“We live in a border county here, think about how disruptive that would be for people’s lives. We have health workers who work in Altnagelvin who live in Donegal who would be stopped from coming to work. This is just ignorant and unbelievable and explains why we are in the situation we are in.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Sandra Duffy proposed a small amendment which Colr. Harkin accepted before Alderman Warke also added an amendment adding the Welsh, Scottish and English coalition governments to the original proposal.

A vote was taken and the substantive motion was passed with 13 votes for and 1 against.

By Gillian Anderson

Local Democracy Reporter