A local Sinn Féin Councillor has met with the Chief Executive of Belfast City Council to discuss the flying of flags at Council property.
Jim McVeigh says all flags should be removed from all Council properties and added that he has advised the Chief Executive of his party’s stance.
He was speaking after a tricolour was erected at the Springfield Road civic amenity site.
For over a year now flags – tricolours and union flags – have been appearing and disappearing at Council sites across the city, including yards at Agnes Street, off the Shankill, Charlotte Street, off Donegall Pass, and Kennedy Way and Springfield Avenue in West Belfast. As we have reported in the past, the flying of the flags has caused tension among mixed workforces at the sites and Councillor McVeigh is now calling time on the activity.
“I have a great deal of respect for the Irish tricolour,” he said, “and I think it is inappropriate to have it flying from a waste depot. Anyone with a love and respect for their national flag would not want to see it flying in tatters from a lamppost or at a waste depot. This is what loyalists do and it’s disrespectful towards any flag.
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“The tricolour flies at the Republican Plot in Milltown and in memorial gardens across the city, that’s where it should fly, somewhere it can be maintained and kept in good condition.
“With that in mind, I have been on to the Chief Executive of Belfast City Council asking that all flags be taken down from Council depots and sites. Our party is clear on this and wants to see action taken.”
A Council spokeswoman said they are assessing the current state of affairs.
“The situation with flags being erected at a number of Council depots has been ongoing for some time, and is a sensitive issue,” she said. “We continue to assess the situation at each site and are working with local representatives to try to resolve this issue.
“We also take into consideration the safety of our staff in reviewing our response to the situation,” she added.
