Community Asks
What is Your Position Sir Reg?

Reg Empy now the only candidate undeclared on a public inquiry

Sitting MP William McCrea of the DUP added his voice last night to the overwhelming call for a public inquiry into the Lough Neagh Incinerator, which is now firmly placed in the South Antrim constituency.

However almost 100 people from the local community, local farmers, representatives of the eel fishermen and workers from Randox Laboratories who attended a public meeting at Antrim Civic centre were left asking the question, where do you stand Mr Empy?

At Lagan Valley the previous night Daphne Trimble, Mr Empy’s Conservative and Unionist colleague called for a public inquiry, but despite constant contact in the run-up to the public meeting last night, Sir Reg Empy’s position on this critical campaign issue remains a mystery.

Ray Clarke, Chairman of CALNI said that while they fully understood Mr Empy could not attend the meeting due to previous commitments, they could not understand why he would not send a message like William McCrea or a representative to speak on his behalf.

“We are all making decisions on how we should vote in this Westminster election next week. Our campaign supporters stretch across all sections of the community and with 7000 public letters of objection this is the biggest response to any planning application in Northern Ireland.

“This is the only issue for our community, the fishermen and the hundreds of Randox employees who could see their jobs go to Donegal, America or India if this Incinerator is given planning permission.

“We are very grateful to Michelle Byrne of the SDLP and Mitchel McLaughlin of Sinn Fein who not only attended our meeting and fully supported our calls for a public inquiry but showed they had a real grasp of the dangers this incinerator would pose to jobs and the environment.

“William McCrea’s declaration is evidence of the importance of this issue to South Antrim. Sir Reg has agreed to meet with us on Friday 30 April at the Site in Glenavy and we hope that after he sees the impact of this monstrous proposal he will give us his full support.

“The next phase is taking the fight back to the door of Environment Minister Edwin Poots. He granted a public inquiry into the runway at Belfast City Airport, the constituency of his party leader. We need to know what influence his party colleagues have in South Antrim and Lagan Valley.

“We need Reg Empy to come out publicly in support of 700 jobs at Randox, 250 jobs in the Lough’s fishing industry and hundreds of local farms and small businesses. He has to show that he knows enough about this constituency that he understands this is the only issue in town in this election.”