The Five Demands

Petition for Union Flag at City Hall (NewsLetter)

More than 12,000 people have signed a petition to keep the Union Flag flying at Belfast City Hall.

DUP councillors delivered the petition to council on Tuesday.

The Union Flag is currently a permanent fixture at Belfast City Hall, while it is flown on designated flag days at the Duncrue complex and Ulster Hall.

An equality impact assessment into the policy was recently carried out in response to a letter from the Sinn Fein party group on the council to the chief executive in March 2011. The closing date for submissions to the consultation ended on Monday.

The results of this are expected to be presented to the council later this year.

DUP group leader on the City Council William Humphrey said the petition to keep the Union Flag flying at City Hall got one of the biggest responses that he can recall to a petition handed in to the council.

“Over the last few weeks, DUP and UUP councillors have encouraged the public to support the continued flying of the Union Flag at City Hall by way of a petition,” he said.

“On Monday, we delivered the signatures of more than 12,000 people expressing their opposition to any moves to remove the Union Flag from Belfast City Hall.

“To the best of my recollection this is one of the largest petitions handed in to the council.

“People from across the community see the ongoing debate about this issue as unwarranted and ill-timed.

“It is to their shame that, in a time of economic crisis, the nationalist parties in the council have devoted so much of their energies to removing a flag which causes no harm to community relations and no offence to any reasonable person.

“I am pleased at the response. I want to thank everyone who signed the petition and I would urge all parties on the council to take note of the views expressed.”