A heated debate has erupted at Stormont over a billboard located on the Camlough Road outside Newry, which has been linked to Sinn Féin in the past. The infrastructure minister, Liz Kinnings, has defended her response to the situation, insisting that “there is no Sinn Féin billboard” at the site.
The billboard, which has previously displayed Sinn Féin slogans and currently carries a message for Palestinian children, was the subject of a motion tabled by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) calling for its removal. Kinnings, an assembly member for Newry and Armagh, acknowledged that the billboard appears to be situated across land owned by her department as well as privately owned land.
In a letter to the infrastructure committee, Kinnings stated that the Department for Infrastructure had twice requested the removal of the billboard, first in August 2023 and again in November last year. However, she maintained that the display posed a “low risk to road safety” and that there was “no obstruction” to traffic or sight lines.
The DUP’s Gareth Wilson accused the minister of a “blatant disregard for policy and an apparent abdication of responsibility,” while his party colleague Jonathan Buckley described the situation as “beyond parody.” Sinn Féin assembly member Cathal Boylan dismissed the “faux outrage” over the billboard as “nothing short of ridiculous,” suggesting that the assembly members should instead discuss “toxic, hate-filled” bonfires if they were “serious about illegal displays.”
Alliance Party assembly member Andrew McMurray called for “scrutiny” to extend “right across Northern Ireland in relation to the erection of paraphernalia on public property.” Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) assembly member John Stewart expressed frustration that time was being dedicated to this issue when there was an “easy resolution,” arguing that the display had remained in place “because quite simply they are Sinn Féin boards” and the minister “could have taken action.”
In response, Kinnings described the debate in the assembly chamber as a “pantomime” and questioned whether members were “seriously” asking her to divert resources from “filling potholes” to address all the posters erected across Northern Ireland.
The contentious billboard has once again highlighted the ongoing political tensions in the region, with parties clashing over the perceived affiliations and messaging associated with the display.
