Constituency work
Three MLAs talk to agendaNi about the ‘bread and butter’ issues making up their constituency work.
While Stormont is Northern Ireland’s formal political arena, constituency offices are very much the front-line for MLAs where the people they represent get in touch with their problems and questions. Barry McElduff (West Tyrone), David McClarty (East Londonderry) and Alasdair McDonnell (South Belfast) shared some of their thoughts on what this part of their job involves.
All three agree on the importance of having good staff, both welcoming and competent. “I am fortunate to have an empathetic and confidential team who recognise that the smallest of issues can have a significant impact on an individual constituent’s life, and who treat each enquiry with due care and attention,” says McClarty.
Town centre locations also proved useful to him and McElduff, while McDonnell’s two centres are located on or near major roads through South Belfast.
A wide variety of queries come across their desks. Rural residents, agendaNi understands, tend to bring fewer but more diverse cases than their urban neighbours.
At present, McDonnell’s caseload features housing shortages and repairs, controversial planning applications, antisocial behaviour, immigration, Health Service waiting lists, the education crisis and restricted lending from banks.
Irish passports are a common query for McElduff, especially when people find theirs is out of date just before going on holiday. Advice on rural planning is frequently sought and parents of special needs children would ask him for help to find a classroom assistant.
“If I wanted something fascinating to read on a train I would take the office diary with me because in it there are lots of people’s concerns,” he remarks. The impact of second homes and noise from students are frequent complaints on the North Coast.
McClarty usually receives queries by phone from visitors to the office although people often approach him and his staff when they are out and about.
McElduff finds the same, whether buying a paper, during half-time at a Gaelic match or when he is ordering a Chinese takeaway. Most people phone but he also receives queries through twitter, facebook and from councillors. Regular door-todoor canvassing alerts McDonnell to cases. He also publishes a newsletter three times per year and an annual Westminster report to keep constituents informed.
The different levels of government can confuse people, with McDonnell finding that a “vast number of enquiries” are council-related.
Many people, according to McClarty, have a “misperception that we can deal with absolutely anything” and he does his best to find out who can help them.
“But it is important to reinforce that the work done in the Assembly does directly impact on the lives of everyone in Northern Ireland,” he continues. Stormont is now responsible for most areas affecting everyday life except tax, social security, defence and foreign policy.
Constituency queries can be translated into questions to departments, material for debates and committee scrutiny, and they also influence party policy.
Unusual cases range from the trivial to the serious. The Compensation Agency refused to pay compensation to an East Londonderry man’s family after his violent death, as he had been known to the police. Eastern European tenants regularly visit McClarty’s office, sometimes with problems with their landlords.
McElduff has been seen as “a lawyer, a social worker or a law enforcer” but is also asked to compere at various events. A boxing tournament was one recent example; forthcoming ones include a Mr and Mrs competition, in Dublin, and Strictly Come Dancing, in Armagh.
“I was recently contacted by a constituent and asked to assist in finding a home for a roaming goat which was causing untold damage to gardens and flowers in a street in South Belfast,” McDonnell relates. “I can confirm the goat is safe and well and has found a happy home.”
