SINN FEIN'S SNUB TO THE LOCAL FARMING COMMUNITY - BRADLEY
SDLP Agriculture and Rural Development spokesman PJ Bradley MLA has accused Sinn Fein of snubbing the farming community.
The South Down Assemblyman said Sinn Fein's claim to support the farmers of Ireland was exposed as a sham after they voted against an Assembly motion to compensate farmers caught up in the 2006 Alpha Nortestosterone debacle.
He said: "Sinn Fein's claim to be supportive of the farmers of Northern Ireland was openly exposed in the Assembly chamber on Tuesday when the House voted on a SDLP motion that called for compensation to be paid to the innocent victims of the debacle surrounding the 2006 Alpha Nortestosterone debate.
"The sequence of events regarding the raids on farmer's homes, a number of which were located in the Rathfriland and Newry areas, and the financial loss incurred by the victims is well known in farming circles," he said.
"The best efforts of everyone have been unable to get Agricultural Minister Michelle Gildernew to accept the blame on behalf of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and she has stubbornly refused to compensate the victimised families.
"I brought the 'compensation' motion to the Assembly as a last resort and I was pleased that the vote confirmed the support of not only the SDLP but also the Ulster Unionist Party, the Democratic Unionist Party and the Alliance Party."
Concluding Mr. Bradley asked: "Why Sinn Fein Assembly Members decided to vote en-bloc against the farmers in question being compensated is beyond my thinking and I have no doubt the astute farming fraternity that work so closely together will greatly resent what has been an undeniable snub against them."
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Friday 10 February 2012
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