Speaking from Strasbourg, where she is attending the World Democracy Forum, Dr O’Lynn said:
‘Ian Paisley’s efforts to introduce a bill that would require a ‘supermajority’ of voters to support any referendum on constitutional change in the UK are short-sighted, gimmicky, and, frankly, hypocritical.’
‘Paisley’s proposals would allow Westminster policy to unilaterally override the mechanisms of the Good Friday Agreement – which, in case the DUP have forgotten, was passed with the support of 71% of voters in 1998.’
‘Voters will also be baffled by this move from a member of a party who threw their full political weight behind the hardest Brexit going – despite the fact that over 50% of NI voters wanted to remain in the European Union.’
‘In his statement on the DUP website, Mr Paisley claims that this proposal is about learning from the mistakes of the past and ensuring stability, not instability.’
‘As people here wait for the delivery of support that should have been in place months ago, as we face a budget overspend that will see Westminster taking crucial decisions about our future that should be made locally, and as we head towards a new age of austerity, all I can conclude is that Mr Paisley either does not know or does not care about the real conditions of life faced by our constituents.’
