Green Party Councillor for Louth Mark Dearey has called on DUP MP Jeffery Donaldson to withdraw remarks made in the House of Commons offering the loughs and ports of Northern Ireland as potential homes to the Trident fleet of nuclear submarines currently based at Faslane in Scotland.
Cllr Dearey has pointed to recent remarks from SNP leader in Westminster Angus Robertson MP on the “chaotic, shambolic safety culture on these aged subs... where broken or faulty equipment with no spares leads to slapdash patch-up jobs.... shows how utterly stretched (the Navy) is.”
He said: “Given that his fellow MPs in the SNP who have direct experience of the Trident presence are deeply worried, it would serve Mr. Donaldson well to reflect before making offers without any public discussion or consultation in Northern Ireland or in the Assembly.
“As a Councillor who represents the coastal community on Carlingford Lough, I would also like to hear Mr Donaldson clarify if it is one of the loughs he has in mind. It is the height of arrogance to leave that question hanging out there. The DUP are formally committed to nuclear deterrence and to NATO targets for defence spending, and that’s fair enough, but this kind of solo run is designed to anger opponents and court favour with the Tory Government at the expense of North South relations. It needs to stop now.
“I am attending the Nuclear Free Local Authorities AGM in Manchester next Thursday and I will be raising Mr Donaldson's reckless offer with council colleagues and MPs from around the UK and seeking a resolution that Trident relocation only be done on the basis that it is being welcomed by host communities.”