Senator Niall Blaney has accused Sinn Féin of ‘creating blocks’ in what is a ‘good’ Mica redress scheme for Donegal.
The Fianna Fail representative made the comments in the Seanad yesterday.
He went on to criticise the intimidation of Donegal County Council staff by some protesters, an issue that has also been raised by members of the council’s executive.
Sen Blaney claimed the current Mica scheme was good and ‘the people of Donegal want it.’
In a major sideswipe at the main opposition party, he also called on them to ‘pull in their dogs in Donegal.’
Read the full, official, Seanad transcript of Sen Blaney’s address below:
“I raise an undesired situation in Donegal. The chief executive of Donegal County Council yesterday had to write to some of the protesters who attended the chambers in Lifford last week in respect of the mica scheme to raise the intimidation of his staff by certain individuals both online and at the protest that day.
“What is going on is completely undesirable. It is not on and a stop must be called to it. What is going on is beyond the pale. I have taken a great deal of abuse over the past 18 months. I am big enough to take it and I do not mind it. However, abusing officials is beyond the pale.
“The mica scheme is good and the people of Donegal want it. We are sick of people in the Opposition trying to create blocks. I am calling it out today. This is not happening in Mayo because Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh would not have it. Designers in the Sinn Féin Party in Donegal are behind this and are trying to muck up the scheme.
“It reminds me of Deputy Cullinane’s message after he was elected in the general election – tiocfaidh ár lá and eff the establishment.
“They are trying to eff the establishment in Donegal by blocking this scheme. It is not on and it is not good enough. We are having no more of it. I, for one, am not standing for it. We as politicians can take it but without officials, we cannot have this scheme. We lost a good official in the housing department in Donegal. That person was a number of years from retirement but could not take the online abuse anymore. It is uncalled for.
“We cannot have a scheme in Donegal without officials and without Donegal County Council making the scheme work. I will make one last call to Sinn Féin to pull in their dogs in Donegal. Have a bit of law and order in Donegal. We are not taking it anymore. If one more official is called out in Donegal, I will ask for a full-scale Garda inquiry into what is going on.”
