Campaigners protest at Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council meeting over response to health bill plans

The Lisburn and Castlereagh Community Trust (LCCT) filled the local council’s environment committee gallery requesting an opportunity to speak about “human rights abuses”.

The move came as Northern Ireland councils decide on their response to an ongoing consultation to the Northern Ireland Department of Health’s Public Health bill.

The Department of Health says the “planned bill will replace the 1967 Public Health Act, ensuring Northern Ireland can respond to a wider range of severe threats to public health”.

The Lisburn and Castlereagh Community Trust were denied an opportunity to speak at the meeting. Outside chambers, LCCT group members spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), saying: “As has been the case at the local council meetings across NI in the last two weeks, councillors resolved that individual elected representatives and their parties should respond to the consultation individually.

“We the people of Lisburn and Castlereagh outright reject the tyrannical proposals in the 2024 consultation for a new NI Health Bill as presented by Health Minister Mike Nesbitt.

"Our good intent is to protect the rights and freedoms of the people in NI. This Bill would lead to human rights abuses and is a misrepresentation by the DoH who say they are ‘mirroring’ such laws in England.”

The LCCT members handed a pamphlet to the LDRS from the pressure group ‘Reject Tyranny NI’ outside chambers.

In a statement issued subsequently, they added: “The Bill proposals strip both local councils and other departments of their authority to manage local health responses. "Poor communication of the consultation process, combined with inadequate public engagement and a lack of clear information ‘accessible’ for all people makes this consultation undemocratic, further undermining trust and transparency in public health policy making.

“It is also astounding that these consultations are even in place when they are yet to be informed of the learnings of the Covid inquiry, which has not yet completed.

"LCCT take this outcome as only a partial win and will continue to push for a deputation to be on the agenda of the next up and coming committee meeting as we’ve done from our first communication with the Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council.”

In chambers a council report was provided to committee members, outlining the DoH’s consultation asking for views on new health protection measures. The report added that the overarching principle of the legislation is to protect the population against various forms of infection and contamination, by enabling effective response to public health emergencies. The officer’s report had recommended approval of the LCCC consultation draft response to the DoH.

However, Alderman, James Tinsley said: “On reflection on this consultation in more detail, I have found that there are some alarming things that I myself and other community members find unacceptable. There are too many points that I am not comfortable with. I propose that we respond to this consultation as individual parties.” The proposal was seconded by committee vice-chair, Councillor, Gary Hynds: “I am a freedom loving elected representative. I have many concerns with references in this bill.

“I was an avid objector of Covid restrictions. We need to be able to balance freedoms and health concerns and as elected representatives we should put people’s rights as individuals first.”