On the hustings

The BBC news website takes a look at the political statements in the campaign for the general election in Northern Ireland.

Thursday 7 April 2005

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Sir Reg Empey, Ulster Unionist (East Belfast)

Sir Reg said he wanted to take the DUP to task over its slogan 'Leadership that is working'.

The DUP could not have picked a worse slogan. To suggest that their leadership is working is an insult to people's intelligence.

The Northern Bank Raid, the McCartney killing, troop cuts and Army base closures, impending water charges, savage cuts in education and a comprehensive agreement so loaded with concessions to republicans that Mitchel McLaughlin was lauding it as a great victory at the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis only last month.

Under the DUP and Sinn Fein Northern Ireland is moving closer to two Bantu states. This is in nobody's interest. People don't want this province carved up between Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley where each side controls its own community.

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David Simpson, DUP (Upper Bann)

Mr Simpson said he rejected Sir Reg Empey's attack on his party's election slogan.

In less than two years at the helm of unionism, the DUP has achieved more than the UUP did in a generation. For the first time in a long time, it is Sinn Fein/IRA who are on the back foot.

They are under pressure as never before. Whenever the UUP led unionism, Sinn Fein were put into government on three occasions without an end to IRA illegal activity, twice without any decommissioning at all.

The UUP were prepared to put them into power for a fourth time before unionists stopped them at the polls. The UUP served alongside the representatives of armed and active terrorism. This was the very thing Reg Empey previously pledged not to do.

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Dominic Bradley, SDLP (Newry and Armagh)

Mr Bradley welcomed the publication of a manifesto for children in Northern Ireland.

I am glad children here have a vocal and well organised children's sector working so effectively for change but the sad fact remains that we are letting our children down.

The political stalemate is bad for our children's future - and bad for their present as the good work begun under devolved government is slowed down and in some cases reversed.

The SDLP went into government ambitious to improve the lot of children, determined to change the way government worked - and we made great progress.

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John O'Dowd, Sinn Fein (Upper Bann)

Mr O'Dowd said he wanted to reiterate his party's call for a children's minister.

As a party we reaffirm our support for the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child with its clear demand 'that the child should be fully prepared to live an individual life in society and brought up in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity'.

It is our contention that all state actions in relation to children should adhere to the letter and the spirit of this convention.

The reality is that children and children's services are still seen as the Cinderella service. Children's services have been under funded for a number of years.