socialist environmental alliance header

Announcements of S. E. A. Meetings

Public Meeting to urge investment in high speed rail link rather than runway

Press Release 26.1.2004

The Socialist Environmental Alliance urges all of the ³concerned individuals² who paid for a full-page advert in the Derry Journal last week to attend a public meeting next Wednesday where each of the claims made about the proposed airport runway will be shown to be spurious.

The claim that London can be reached from Derry in 45 minutes and Dublin in 30 minutes is typical of the advert. The operators of the flights don¹t even claim times like these from take-off to landing---much less total travel time. Have the people who placed this advert ever used these services? Do they know anything at all about the journey between Stansted and Liverpool Street in London? Or about present road conditions and the traffic situation on the route into and out of Dublin city centre?

Who exactly do the faceless people behind this costly propaganda have in mind when they refer to ²those who are opposed to the development of the city and the region²? The Donnybrewer residents, the SEA, the Green Party and the many others who are opposed to the runway extension have all strongly supported the development of the city and the region. But we have argued that development dictated by the whims of Ryanair---and that¹s what¹s happening here---is the wrong way to go.

It is notable that the anonymous group behind the advert lumps together the idea of a Derry-Belfast motorway and the idea of upgrading the railway network---and then dismisses both options on ground of cost.

As far as the SEA is aware, nobody at all is calling for the construction of a motorway to Belfast. But there are many who see the upgrading and extension of the railway network as the best option for the people of the area, for job creation, for the economy and for the environment.

We again urge those behind the advert to come out into the open and attend the public meeting at the Central Library, Foyle Street, at 7.30 pm next Wednesday, February 4th. They might benefit from listening to different views. Members of the council's airport sub-committee are also invited. Among the speakers will be representatives of the Donnybrewer residents, the Green Party and the SEA.





SEA Logo