Drugs meeting was political - Mayor claims

THE Mayor of Ballymena has suggested that the timing of a high profile anti-drugs meeting in the town was organised with 'a political purpose'.

Ald. James Currie claimed that the organisers of the event were 'either very unaware' of how Ballymena council operates or had made a deliberate decision to hold the meeting on a night when it would have 'been extremely difficult' for any councillor to attend.

The Mayor was in the unforgiving glare of the media spotlight last week after heated exchanges on the controversy driven 'Nolan Show' on BBC Radio Ulster.

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Last Wednesday, the Mayor found himself embroiled in the debate about the scale of the drugs problem in Ballymena, contending that the town had 'no worse problem than any other town in Northern Ireland.'

After a fierce verbal row between himself and PUP activist Ken Wilkinson, the Mayor was challenged about his view by the mother of a Ballymena man who had died from heroin related problems while staying at an apartment in Carnlough.

When the woman revealed she had been told of her son's death while she was on holiday in Turkey, the Mayor asked if, with hindsight, she believed that was a 'wise decision'.

The woman hit back by explaining her son was 32 years old and contended she could have 'been sitting in Ballymena' when his death occurred.

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Fall-out from the radio show was almost immediate and presenter Stephen Nolan was quick to latch on to the fact that the anti-drugs meeting would clash with the Borough Council's annual sports award dinner - although the functions were literally within yards of each other in the same building.

Hardly surprisingly, the sharp talking radio host put the Mayor on the spot, asking him if he would attend the drugs meeting. The Mayor said he had not been informed of the meeting while the dinner had been in the council diary for 'many many months.'

Callers to the station lambasted the Mayor for his comments, describing his performance as 'insensitive'.

On Thursday evening, the Mayor was called from the dinner and asked to give an interview to a reporter from the Nolan Show. And it was during this interview that the Mayor suggested that the anti-drugs meeting had been politically motivated.

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He said (referring to the Sports Awards Dinner): "This is an annual dinner celebrating the achievements of people in this borough who have excelled in the field of sports. The people who organised this event (the anti-drugs meeting) should have known that ...had they asked any member or officer they would have known we had a commitment to this function. Maybe that was deliberate and I think councillors were involved in it."

When asked if he was suggesting that the timing of the meeting was driven by politics, Ald. Currie replied: "One could make the deduction that it was political."

Mr. Currie later pointed out that only one local councillor had attended the drugs meeting. That was Sinn Fein's Monica Digney, whose North Antrim MLA, Daithi McKay was a ketnote speaker at the event.

Ald. Currie stressed that the issue of drugs was taken seriously by Ballymena Borough Council, pointing out that between 55,000 and 85,000's worth of funding had been directed towards drugs outreach and other anti-drugs programmes.

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When asked why he could not make an appearance at the meeting, Ald. Currie said that the timing was unsuitable and pointed out that he had 250 guests attending the Sports Awards dinner, including civic representatives from other towns.

Ald. Currie also told the Nolan Show that he did not regard his 'Turkey' comments as criticism of the bereaved mother.

He said: "I asked her - and it was a reasonable question - whether with hindsight it was wise to leave a member of her family who was ill. I've had family ill and I've cancelled meetings and holidays ... I just pointed out that it was that lady's decision."

In a final exchange, Mr. Currie said people should 'stop talking in myths' about Ballymena's drugs problem.

"Drugs are a number one problem in towns and cities across the UK and Republic of Ireland - Ballymena is not worse and no better than anywhere else," he said.

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