ACCUSATIONS have been reported in the media regarding the trustworthiness of promises made by Westminster politicians.
No doubt they will offer a stout defence to these charges. However, in the interest of balance, I would remind you of a promise made on behalf of the SNP in April 2007, that if elected, a Campbeltown/Ballycastle car ferry service would be restarted. A press release at the time "highlighted the pledge that appears in the SNP Economic Strategy document ... to take forward the restoration of the Campbeltown/Ballycastle ferry link.
The document continued to state "to boost our economy and build on Scottish links with Northern Ireland, we are committed to fulfilling the promise of a ferry service between Campbeltown and Ballycastle, to bring more tourism, residents and business to Kintyre and the West of Scotland".
The press release also noted that the community had been "badly let down in the past" and that the ferry would be "a vital component of its future economic success". It concludes with the statement that "this commitment comes from a party that will honour it."
In November 2009 the Oban Times reported that representatives of Argyll and Bute Council had met with their counterparts on Moyle District Council. The meeting resulted in an agreement to liaise with the Scottish Government, to develop tender documents for the ferry route. All were agreed that such a service had huge potential, to benefit the local economy and enhance the tourist industry, both in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Why have these promises not been kept? The communities of Antrim and Kintyre are still being let down, seven years after the SNP "commitment".
Ian Y Macintyre,
Westlea, Lady Ileene Road,
Tarbet.
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