The Union flag flying at Cavanaleck, Enniskillen RMG23
A local councillor says that Unionists will be wary of proposals from the Alliance Party to regulate the flying of flags in designated areas.
The party has suggested creating a licensing system that would allow people to fly them for a restricted amount of time. This would not impact on the flying of flags on people’s homes, but only those flown in public places, particularly on lampposts.
Applicants would have to apply for a two week permit to display the Union flag, Irish tricolour and other flags. There would also be a two-week gap between the licenses being granted and any costs for removal of flags or other expenses would be paid by the applicants.
The Department of Regional Development own street lighting and Minister Michelle McIlveen has confirmed that there is no lawful way to get permission to display flags on street lights.
The Alliance Party say they are going to consult the public and organisations to ask if they can “establish a body to which people could apply for a licence to display legal flags in a time bound respectful manner and for the purposes of celebration”.
Flags are often seen as the marking out of territory, particularly at flashpoints during the marching season. Despite agreements in Enniskillen that it is acceptable to fly flags in the mixed Chanterhill/Cavanaleck area of the town at certain times of the year, there were still Union flags flying there last November – four months after the Twelfth.
The local community in Chanterhill have been at the forefront in making great progress in relation to the flying of all flags in this area through engagement with the PSNI and Housing Executive.
DUP councillor Keith Elliott said that the community in Chanterhill wanted their flag to be flown “in a respectful and dignified way.”
He added: “In light of the Alliance Party’s role in having the Union Flag removed from Belfast City Hall, Unionists will rightly be wary of anything that party does in relation to the flying of the flag of our land in this part of the UK.”
Sinn Féin Councillor Debbie Coyle pointed out that as part of the ‘Fresh Start Agreement’, her party supported the proposals, along with others, to the create of a Commission to examine the approach to the flying of flags and cultural expression.
“We are supportive of situations where the public display of flags is based on tolerance, respect and mutual understanding and not based on the marking of communal territories or triumphalism. Instances of public displays of flags which are flown for the sole purpose of provocation or defining territory should not be tolerated. The proposals, as agreed, in the ‘Fresh Start Agreement’ should proceed as soon as possible,” she said.
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