Sean Neeson MLA
Following a 33-year political career, Alliance’s Sean Neeson has decided not to stand in the next Assembly elections. The East Antrim MLA and former party leader currently sits on the Enterprise Committee and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, part of the Council of Europe. He is a councillor for Carrick Castle on Carrickfergus Borough Concil.
Please explain your transition from teaching and marketing to politics.
I was a teacher at St Comgall’s College in Larne for 15 years and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment. I mainly taught history and became head of the history department after my first year. I also drew up a syllabus on civics because I believed it was important for young people to understand civil society.
I was elected to the 1982 ‘Jim Prior’ Assembly and left teaching, but after the fall of the Assembly in 1986 I decided to return to university where I gained a postgraduate diploma in marketing at the University of Ulster, Jordanstown. Subsequently, I set up my own company, ‘Neeson Marketing Enterprises’ but still maintained my interest in politics.
I have been an elected member of Carrickfergus Borough Council since 1977 and was deeply involved with the Alliance Party in all the political negotiations during the 1990s, including the Good Friday Agreement. I was delighted to be elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998.
Over the course of the peace process, what has changed in Northern Ireland for better and worse?
I first started teaching in 1968 and my classroom overlooked the entrance to Larne Lough. I remember in May 1973 looking across the lough to Ballylumford Power Station and seeing the smoke coming out of the chimney stacks. This signified the end of the UWC strike and the fall of the power-sharing Executive. To me
that was one of the most disappointing days of my life.
Our present power-sharing government has now lasted 12 years and yet there are still divisions in our society. We still have the tensions during the marching season and we still have segregated housing and teaching. However, life is much better and communities have been brought together in sport and entertainment.
We can be proud of Belfast as our capital city although the present recession is creating problems as it is right across the islands. There is much greater North/South co-operation on issues such as energy and infrastructure. I am optimistic about the future but it is vital that political leadership must take on the responsibility to heal the wounds that years of conflict have brought.
What are the three main issues facing East Antrim at the moment?
Both Carrickfergus and Larne have set up committees to implement master plans to revitalise the town centres.
East Antrim is the centre of generating electricity at Ballylumford and Kilroot as well as natural gas distribution, and one of the big energy issues is the proposal to store natural gas underground in the Larne area.
The economy is a huge issue bearing in mind that in the 1970s and 1980s, Carrickfergus in particular lost huge industries in Courtaulds, ICI and Carreras. Recently the huge loss of jobs in Nortel and other IT companies has made a major impact. However, the development of local enterprise agencies at Ledcom in Larne, Carrickfergus Enterprise Agency and Mallusk Enterprise Park in Newtownabbey, have all made a positive impact on the local economy.
What are your priorities for the Enterprise, Trade and Investment Committee in the forthcoming year?
The Enterprise Trade and Investment Committee has just embarked on a major investigation into the development of energy from renewables throughout Northern Ireland. It shows our continuing support for the Green New Deal.
The committee has spent a considerable amount of time dealing with changes in credit unions in Northern Ireland to enable them to provide more services to customers. Regulation will pass from DETI to the Financial Services Authority or its possible successor. Recently in the Assembly I called for the establishment of an office in Northern Ireland when the changes take place. Collectively, we are interested in the impact of the EU on the economy and earlier this year the committee paid a working visit to Brussels.
How important is Europe to Northern Ireland?
As someone who represents Northern Ireland on the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Europe, I am totally committed to strong links with the European Union. I believe the Northern Ireland Assembly should have a greater presence in Brussels so that we could have a stronger impact on European directives which have a major impact on our everyday life.
Recently as Chairman of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Business Trust, I hosted a seminar in the Long Gallery on the impact of the Lisbon Treaty. I am pleased that our three MEPs and directors from the European Commission contributed to the event which was very well attended by MLAs and members of the business community.
How do you like to relax?
My major interest outside of politics is maritime heritage and I am a member of the Nomadic Charitable Trust as well as representing Northern Ireland on the UK National Historic Ships Committee. My home is almost like a maritime museum with ships’ paintings and models.
Over the years I have contributed written articles and photographs on maritime heritage to published books and magazines.
Just over six months ago my wife Carol and I became grandparents for the first time
