Departing reflections from outgoing MLAs
agendaNi asked three veterans of the Assembly, having served since 1998, to reflect on their careers as they leave their benches in the House.
Thanks for the memories
Ken Robinson (UUP, East Antrim)
When I first entered Stormont on a primary school visit in 1953, I never imagined that in 1998 I would re-enter as an MLA for East Antrim.
Trooping into the chamber with the “new boys and girls” those 13 years ago was a privilege and a challenge. I am proud to say that despite some political grandstanding along the way the institution is now firmly established.
I shall miss the cut and thrust of the exchanges in the committees on which I served: Education, Procedures and Culture, Arts and Leisure. It was an experience to see members from across the political spectrum generally arrive at a consensus. It was heartening during the Bill to establish Libraries NI that members of the DCAL Committee, of all political hues, backed my insistence that councillors must be included on the board to ensure the diverse needs of our citizens were represented.
On a personal note I will miss the inspiring view from my office window. The backdrop of the city and the Belfast Hills always managed to lift my spirit after a long day in the House.
Remembering the good times with the bad times
PJ Bradley (SDLP, South Down)
As one that has been on the fringes of politics for more than half a century and an elected representative of the SDLP for thirty years, I know that I am going to miss the cut and thrust of front-line politics. Now that I have decided to retire, my quandary is whether to leave the world of politics completely behind or to go back to fringe politics. I believe I will settle for the former.
My contributions to society and to my community are well- known and documented but there is a lengthy chapter in my career that with time becomes forgotten by most people but not by my family and close friends.
I recall the times when my SDLP colleagues and I were constantly intimidated by the Provisional movement for daring to take our seats on council. I suffered like a great number of my fellow party councillors for taking the stance that I did to represent the people of my area. My office, my home and my car were attacked as many as seventeen times and on three occasions I received bullets in the post.
For my wife and family members, these were quite frightening times but thanks to their encouragement I continued in my elected role and I never refused to speak out against terrorism, whatever the source, when I felt it was my duty to do so.
Reaching a settled agreement
Sean Neeson (Alliance, East Antrim)
I have been involved in active politics since 1977 and, although I will not be standing in the Assembly elections, I will be standing in the elections to Carrickfergus Council. I was elected to the 1982 Assembly and have been involved in all the major political discussions of the 80s and 90s. I am pleased that at long last we now appear to have a settled
agreement on devolution for Northern Ireland.
When I was Leader of the Alliance Party between 1998 and 2001, my main aim was to protect the Good Friday Agreement. Through the years, I have been Deputy Chairman and Member of the Enterprise Trade and Investment Committee. I am delighted that we have concentrated on energy issues and our most recent report deals with the development of renewable energy in Northern Ireland, which is an essential part of the Green New Deal.
Since 2002, I have been Chairman of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Business Trust which is there to develop an understanding and links between elected members of the Assembly and the business sector. At the moment over 70 companies have joined the trust and it is regarded as being one of the major successes of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
In the future I want to concentrate on my interest in maritime heritage and at the moment I represent Northern Ireland on the National Historic Ships Committee, as well as being a member of the Nomadic Charitable Trust. I am still very much devoted to getting rid of sectarianism in Northern Ireland and I believe that the Alliance Party will deliver on a shared future for all our constituents.
