NI Conservatives spokesman, Trevor Ringland, has welcomed Stormont’s decision to pass a bill barring people with serious criminal convictions from becoming special advisers (SPADs) to ministers.
“This is a positive piece of legislation, which prevents appointments that are grossly insensitive to victims of paramilitary violence and brings some accountability to the special adviser role”, Trevor commented. “Ann Travers in particular deserves a great deal of credit for her courage and determination in campaigning on behalf of her sister, Mary and others whose lives were taken by illegal organisations. MLAs who withstood enormous pressure to sign a petition of concern and turn the plight of victims into a sectarian headcount also deserve credit.”
“The phrase ‘hierarchy of victims’ has been trotted out repeatedly during this debate, in a very dishonest and sinister fashion. It’s extremely important that, when we talk about victimhood as a society, we don’t fall into the trap of equating the bomber with the bombed. While the hurt and suffering caused to families might be universal, there is a clear moral distinction between those who set out with criminal intent to perpetrate violence and those who were on the receiving end, which our treatment of the past must accurately reflect.”
“The situation whereby people who had been involved in the IRA were rewarded for their part in a violent, illegal conflict, with highly paid, prestigious political posts, without any mandate, was wrong. The fact that appointments could be made without any consideration of the feelings of innocent victims was also wrong. This bill should remedy those wrongs and it should therefore be welcomed.”