SDLP Youth Representative Barry Magee has criticised those people responsible for rioting in the Holylands, Belfast during St Patrick’s Day.

I am disgusted and deeply disappointed by the actions of some people in the Holylands area. Disgusted yes, but not shocked.

This is a long term problem in this area and as an ex-resident myself I know only too well the levels of anti-social behaviour that have blighted the area in recent years.

The behaviour of some people is simply intolerable and is placing serious pressures on the quality of life of all residents.

The problem is primarily the anti-social behaviour of students who live there but it must be acknowledged that other people are responsible too for trouble in the area.

Some students think that because they are in the vast majority in the area that they can simply claim ownership over it and treat like their own personal play ground.

The majority of student residents are fine but there is a considerable hardcore of people who when intoxicated just wreck everything in sight, including cars, phone boxes and industrial bins.

As a result all students are being labeled as anti-social. This is worrying because there are a lot of students out there that abhor this type of behavior and totally reject it. Unfortunately there seem to be a small few that embrace it.

This is certainly not an isolated incident and trouble in the Holylands has been steadily building up over the years until it came to a head this week. The problem is one of culture, and drink culture particularly, and also local planning policy.

There is a serious absence of a coordinated and focused approach to land use in the area. Over recent years a few landlords have bought up nearly all the houses in the area and converted them into HMOs. This has created a dangerously high population density in the area with thousands of students crammed into an area of approx 2km squared.

This has contributed to turning the area into a student ghetto where some young people think that the normal rules of society do not apply and that anything goes.

It is not the fault of landlords but a lack of regulation and a coherent local land use/development strategy. The authorities need to adopt a much stricter and long term approach towards land use policy in the area in the future.

But, ultimately it is about people’s behavior and the people who live there need to take responsibility for their actions and behave themselves.

This issue is a magnification of the wider problem of binge drinking in society and it is imperative that people are educated about sensible drinking habits from a young age.

It is time that the police, universities, city council, government departments worked concertedly along with local residents to resolve the issue.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/StudentLoanSDLP/

Michael Rafferty (SDLP Youth Omagh) has welcomed Mark Durkan’s recently tabled motion in Parliament to increase from £15,000 to £18,000 the salary at which students begin to repay their student loans.

He said, “The biggest worry on most students’ minds in the next few years will be finding a job after they graduate. Northern Ireland will suffer a “brain drain” in those years as more graduates chase fewer graduate jobs or opt for jobs easily obtainable without a degree. Since the new system for student funding was introduced by New Labour in 2006, there have been two disproportionate hikes in tuition fees, allegedly down to inflation. Now that inflation is lower, it is unfair that this is not reflected in students’ loan statements.”

Graduates currently start paying back their loans when they earn over £15,000 per year. In 3 year’s time, £15,000 will be a much lower salary in real terms.

Pointing out the increasing pressure this will put on students, Mr Rafferty said,

“Why does this threshold remain constant? If the system is not changed, graduates will struggle under the weight of the loan, paying more with each year of study while they earn a lower salary. This could come to the point where it is no longer worth taking out a student loan to go to university, leaving many able young people unable to achieve their potential due to financial constraints.”

SDLP Youth have set up a petition to the British Prime Minister at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/StudentLoanSDLP to support Mark Durkan’s efforts on behalf of students in bringing this issue to the fore in Westminster.

Blog Piece

Voters in West Tyrone have clear choices when it comes to the European election on 4th June. For unionists, the yes, no and maybe camps of unionism are all represented. For republicans the choice is starker. Sinn Féin’s Bairbre de Brún who was responsible for the closure of the Tyrone County hospital or Alban Maginness of the SDLP.

I suppose the question, “Have I even heard of Bairbre de Brún since she was elected five years ago?” is one which comes to the fore of many readers’ minds. In short, if Alban Maginness were elected, there would be no such contempt shown to constituents. The SDLP will be fighting this election to fully restore the formidable respect and influence John Hume had in the European Parliament. Since 2004, Northerners have not had the representation they deserve with the current incumbents. Despite the futile rhetoric from Sinn Féin, only Alban Maginness can use the platform of the European Parliament to maximum effect as a member of the powerful Party of European Socialists - which will probably be the biggest group in the European Parliament after the election.

If the European election is viewed as a litmus-test of the effectiveness of the Executive in Stormont, people should use the election to express their frustration and anger at the poor delivery from the DUP and Sinn Féin.

People in West Tyrone realise that the Executive is failing them. Not meeting for five months in the mouth of a recession, making a mess of the abolition of the 11+ and not foreseeing a queue of hundreds of farmers seeking farm improvement grants are a few of the worst of a long list of examples of the contempt shown by the DUP and Sinn Féin.

On the other hand, while the stalemate and ineptitude flows from the ministerial suites in Stormont, unionists are getting everything they want from their leadership. Blocking Irish Language Acts, blocking stadiums, blocking 11+ reform, blocking social housing development. Despite the trust put in Sinn Féin, the republican agenda has not been advanced one bit since devolution “Take 2″. The DUP can continue to run rings around Sinn Féin, leaving republicans on the fringes of decision-making as in the days of “Never, never, never!”

While this happens, people’s jobs are in jeopardy, business slows and banks neglect their customers. The DUP and Sinn Féin-led coalition of contempt in Stormont remains, as ever, silent and useless. If the SDLP were in a stronger electoral position we would have an effective, listening and proactive representation in London, Stormont and perhaps Brussels to fight for Northerners’ needs in a recession.

What republicans need now more than ever is a party which is both willing and able to forward constitutional republicanism, protecting public services and convincing unionists of the benefits of an all-island republic. That’s never going to be achieved by Sinn Féin based on their dismal performance since devolution. Other notable hallmarks of the so-called struggle, including the painting of postboxes, is their apparent strategy for reunification! If they can’t keep a crowd like the DUP in check, how will they ever convince a unionist to throw their weight behind a United Ireland?

I doubt that Bairbre de Brún will be of any use to Northerners by saying nothing in at least three languages in the European Parliament for another five years. It’s high-time the time-wasting ended and people got what they deserved from their representatives.

Michael Rafferty
SDLP Youth Omagh

SDLP MLA for Newry and Armagh  Dominic Bradley has today quit smoking to mark No Smoking Day, March 11 2009.

Expressing his support for the campaign which last year got 1.2 million people off the dreaded weed,  Mr Bradley said:   ‘I welcome the opportunity that No Smoking Day gives me to stop smoking. People who have smoked know that it is not an easy habit to break but the support of and knowledge that others are giving up on the same day is a great help.

‘We all know by now the great damage which smoking does to our health and to the health of others around us, along with the fact that it is becoming an increasingly more expensive and anti-social habit.

‘I would encourage smokers young and old to join me in quitting on March 11.  People should consider all the supports available to them through the National Health Service in the form of replacement therapies, support groups, or if it can be done - traditional cold turkey - and the best of luck!!

Blog Piece

The callous murders committed by dissident so-called “republicans” on the Army and PSNI during the weekend and on Monday night deserve the unanimous condemnation from all parties in the Assembly we have seen in recent days.

These attacks were undoubtedly aimed at disrupting the peace process and destroying the Executive. The reality is that they have shattered the lives of the families and friends of the deceased and have brought terrible suffering upon them. On behalf of the SDLP Omagh branch, I wish to express my condolences to these families and my support to those who have been wounded and hope that they make a full recovery.

It is of extreme importance that our elected politicians have stood united in their condemnation of these assaults on the democratic will of the people of Northern Ireland. The Real IRA and Continuity IRA are enemies of the peace, progress, decency and democracy. Therefore, they are enemies of the people of Ireland, who have democratically endorsed the peace process. However, the threat they pose to the peace we have enjoyed for ten years is outweighed by the sheer force of the public’s wish to live in a peaceful, normal society

It is sickening that dissident republicans think that it is right to shoot soldiers, policemen and members of the public on the behalf of the people of Ireland. People in Omagh have already suffered at the hands of the Real IRA’s murderous campaign. The fact that people here have no appetite to return to the Troubles means nothing to them.

The logic of the dissidents is bizarre. Their hope is that the Army is put back on the streets and that we have helicopters back overhead. They crave the “security state” the SDLP and other parties have worked so hard to dismantle. Is this really their path to reunification? The reality is that they don’t command any support worth talking about and they have no workable strategy to achieve their aims.

However, these considerations are secondary to the sheer human suffering the dissidents’ actions bring upon their victims. How does shooting a Polish man earning a living delivering pizzas in Antrim serve any republican ideal?

Those so-called republicans who committed these heinous crimes would do well to listen to the powerful words of a true republican, James Connolly, who said:

“…the man who is bubbling over with love and enthusiasm for ‘Ireland’, and can yet pass unmoved through our streets and witness all the wrong and the suffering, the shame and the degradation wrought upon the people of Ireland, aye, wrought by Irishmen upon Irishmen and women, without burning to end it, is, in my opinion, a fraud and a liar in his heart.”

The dissidents, their attitudes and their actions are an affront not just to democracy, but to Irish republicanism.

On a hopeful note, the fact that our politicians have an unprecedented unity of purpose and have expressed their unanimous sympathy is something that victims’ families could not have expected in the past.

Michael Rafferty
SDLP Youth Omagh

This week, European regulators will start setting new efficiency standards for fridges, TVs, and other products. Strong rules could massively cut Europe’s climate pollution. By using Green technology in new household applicances we can reduce our energy bills and reduce the environmental impact.

Please take a moment to watch the Talking Fridge, then sign the petition which will be delivered to EU negotiators on Thursday.