Belfast’s first Green Deputy Lord Mayor has appealed to the council to stop the city’s built heritage being “lost to unscrupulous developers and mysterious arsonists.”
At Monday’s AGM meeting of Belfast City Council, Green Councillor Áine Groogan became the new Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast, taking over from outgoing Deputy, Councillor Michelle Kelly, who left the council at the end of the last mandate. Representing the Botanic electoral area, Councillor Groogan is the first Green councillor to receive either the Deputy Mayor or Mayor role in any council in NI’s history.
Sinn Féin Councillor Ryan Murphy was installed as the Lord Mayor of Belfast, taking over the chain of office from Councillor Tina Black, also a Sinn Féin Councillor. Councillor Groogan was only informed of the opportunity hours before the installation ceremony at City Hall.
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After signing the declaration, Councillor Groogan gave an uncompromising speech to her fellow councillors. She told the chamber on Monday: “This is a very sudden installation, (it was) quick and panicked getting ready for this, so apologies if everything is a bit rusty. But thank you so much for my family and friends who have managed to make it down to this.”
She said: “Congratulations to the new Lord Mayor, Ryan Murphy - I am looking forward to working with you in the year ahead. I am overwhelmed but incredibly honoured to take up this position tonight, especially since I know I am the first Green in Northern Ireland to do so. Deputy Mayor may not be the first pick for some parties, but for us as a small party, it is a big thing to achieve.
“As a small party we have to fight for every vote, every news story and every achievement, it really is a big deal, and I hope to do the Green movement proud.”
She added: “I might be the one in the chair over the next year, but like everything this will be a whole Green team effort. I was already delighted that the people of Botanic put their trust in me to return me for another four years.
“I represent one of the most, if not the most, diverse constituencies in Northern Ireland - the fact we have five parties over five seats really showcases just what a diverse community it is. I really want to celebrate that diversity over the next year.”
She said: “In the midst of negativity and sensationalised nonsense in the media, I want us to be clear and unequivocal in everything we do in the council, that Belfast is a city for all. We are a welcoming place, but I am mindful of how much we still have to do, to show in real terms that asylum seekers, refugees and marginalised groups are very much a part of the fabric of this city.
“I am conscious we are starting this council term, much as we did in 2019, with no Assembly or Executive in place, but I feel we are in an even more tumultuous time than then. We are in the middle of a cost of greed crisis, where people are struggling to feed their families, heat their homes and pay for childcare, and our community and arts sectors are facing down the barrel of devastating budget cuts, after having been decimated for decades.
“And we cannot forget we are in the fight of our lives to save this planet. That sounds like a bleak place to be, but I am not bleak, I go into this term feeling so hopeful. The people of this city have always led the way for change, and I have no doubt they are outside this chamber doing the very same right now.
“In the absence of Stormont, people turn to Belfast City Council as a leading civic voice, and I know we are up for making this place freer, cleaner and fairer. Belfast as a city has come a long way since 1998, but to be honest, I didn’t think I would have to be having some of the same old arguments around binary politics and division.
“As one of the ceasefire babies, I was promised more than this. But we all have a job to do in this chamber to catch ourselves on, and start putting people and the planet first, because we have so much to do.
“We need to support people so that they have a decent standard of living and wellbeing, ensuring communities are empowered to have a meaningful say in how this city develops, and that no more of our built heritage is lost to unscrupulous developers and mysterious arsonists.
“We have to support community organisations that have for decades been quietly working away, doing the real work of peace building. We have to work to protect the most vulnerable in this city, moving to a health focused approach to address the grip that drugs have on so many.
“And we need to be doing everything we can to decarbonise this city, quickly, but ensuring a fair and just society for all, prioritising rewilding, biodiversity and our air quality too.”
Council members receive special extra allowances for taking on extra duties such as mayoral roles and committee chair roles. In 2021 to 2022, Alliance Councillor Kate Nicholl, now an MLA, received an extra £29,000 for being the first citizen, on top of her councillor’s allowance, while DUP Alderman Tom Haire received an extra £5,208 for being the Deputy Mayor. That year the basic allowance for being a councillor in Belfast was £15,486.
At last month's elections, Sinn Féin extended their lead as the biggest party on the council with an extra four seats, to an all time high for the party of 22 seats in the 60 seat chamber. The DUP lost one seat and retained 14 councillors, and continue as the second largest party in the chamber. Alliance gained one seat and continue as the third party with 11 seats.
The SDLP and Greens both lost a seat each, and were returned with five and three seats respectively. The UUP had no change at two seats, People Before Profit lost two seats to have only one councillor, the TUV gained a single seat and the former SDLP councillor Paul McCusker, now an independent, was returned.
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